Canned northern pike... with a kick!

espringers · Jan 19, 2016

The ingredients.

Half pint jars. 1 tsp on bottom. Stuff jars leaving a bit of head space. 1 tsp on top. Did 4 with siracha and 2 with garlic chili paste. I've never used chili paste before. But, figured wtf. Normally, I just use 1 tsp on the top. But, I've decided it needs a bit more kick since nobody else in my house eats it anyway.

Lids on fingertip tight and into the canner with 3 quarts of water and 2 tbsp vinegar to prevent the outside of the jars from staining. 100 minutes at 11 pounds.

Before they are completely cooled, I turn/flip them a few times to mix up the siracha a bit as it doesn't get too mixed in the canning process. Finished product.

Lunch in a jar. Thanks for looking (copyright owens bbq).

Muzzytipped · Jan 19, 2016

Looks like a nice office snack. Thanks for posting.

espringers · Jan 19, 2016

we catch a lot of pike in the permanent and refuse to throw any back. normally, i clean them at the house, rinse in a bucket of ice cold lake water and put them in a bag to be eaten that day or within a day or two at the house. if they don't get eaten right away, they end up in canning or pickling jars. freshly cleaned and rinsed winter pike is great table fare. i think the smoker might get put to use eventually this winter.

eklindworth · Jan 19, 2016

When I pickle pike, I don't de-bone as the pickling solution takes care of them. Do you need to de-bone for this process? I would like to try this with some pike I have in the freezer but it still has bones.

Thanks

ek

guywhofishes · Jan 19, 2016

Thumbs UpThumbs Up

Brian Renville · Jan 19, 2016

eklindworth said:
When I pickle pike, I don't de-bone as the pickling solution takes care of them. Do you need to de-bone for this process? I would like to try this with some pike I have in the freezer but it still has bones.

Thanks

ek

the pressure cooker takes care of the bones.

espringers · Jan 19, 2016

take out the belly bones and you should be good to go. one of the reasons this batch went in the canner was because a friend was "practicing" his pike cleaning without anyone around to show him how to get the y bones out. it didn't go very well. so, canning or pickling became the obvious solution.

- - - Updated - - -

can anyone explain how the fish "makes its own liquid"? this has me kind of confused. you put the fish in the jar with a couple of teaspoons of whatever... or even just a 1/4 teaspoon of salt... and there is all of this room in the jar before it goes in the canner. then magically the jar is nearly plump full when it comes out of the canner? i suppose some liquid is drawn out of the fish and dispersed in the jar. but, its not like the fish drys up completely. anyway... just thinking out loud.

Kentucky Windage · Jan 19, 2016

I prefer pressure canned fish over pickled fish everyday of the week. Nice work!

svnmag · Jan 19, 2016

I'm not trying to be a wiseass here; does this stuff taste like fish? I prefer my fish to be white, meaty and well, taste pretty much like nothing (except for batter and ketchup).

espringers · Jan 19, 2016

Ya. Tastes like tuna or sardines or herring with whatever you season it with. In this case, siracha. You can just can it with a tiny bit of salt. For 1/2 pint, 1/4 tsp would suffice. Or even no salt at all and just season it if you feel the need when you eat it. I use hot sauce cause I would likely add it when I eat it anyway and it's easy to not mess up.

guywhofishes · Jan 20, 2016

Ketchup???!!!

KDM · Jan 20, 2016

espringers said:
take out the belly bones and you should be good to go. one of the reasons this batch went in the canner was because a friend was "practicing" his pike cleaning without anyone around to show him how to get the y bones out. it didn't go very well. so, canning or pickling became the obvious solution.

- - - Updated - - -

can anyone explain how the fish "makes its own liquid"? this has me kind of confused. you put the fish in the jar with a couple of teaspoons of whatever... or even just a 1/4 teaspoon of salt... and there is all of this room in the jar before it goes in the canner. then magically the jar is nearly plump full when it comes out of the canner? i suppose some liquid is drawn out of the fish and dispersed in the jar. but, its not like the fish drys up completely. anyway... just thinking out loud.

The cooking process along with the pressure breaks the cell membranes of the flesh and the liquid escapes. Not all the fluid escapes the meat, but if you pay attention, the outside quarter inch or so gets more firm when you cook fish as does most meats when cooked due to dehydration. You can also kind of watch and listen to this process when you put fish in hot oil you get that immediate "sizzle" that calms down as you cook the fish, but never really stops until the fish is so "crispy" and dried out you can't hardly eat it.

scrotcaster · Dec 17, 2021

Iam gonna can some pike this weekend ..lots of recipes out there,,,,, anyone got a tried and trued one so i don't ruin a batch?

TIA Would also take any recipes for canned muskies too

SDMF · Dec 17, 2021

svnmag said:
I'm not trying to be a wiseass here; does this stuff taste like fish? I prefer my fish to be white, meaty and well, taste pretty much like nothing (except for batter and ketchup).

Ketchup? Are you breading and frying warm-water LM bass or skipjack perhaps?

CatDaddy · Dec 17, 2021

I feel like the picture of the finished product still in the jar is a tease. Let's see it on the fork or a cracker!!! Curious how it turned out....

Signed,

Jealous in Eastern ND

tikkalover · Dec 17, 2021

Crackers=;:;barf

LBrandt · Dec 17, 2021

My Mother used to can Northern and she used ketchup, a little cooking oil and I think onion. Pressure cooked and it tasted like salmon. Was great on saltine crackers. LB Would take to Saturday night card games and never brought any home.

fireone · Dec 17, 2021

Same here. We always made fried fish patties out of canned northern.

svnmag · Dec 17, 2021

SDMF said:
Ketchup? Are you breading and frying warm-water LM bass or skipjack perhaps?

Yes. Skipjack.

Mike1949 · Feb 4, 2023

LBrandt said:
My Mother used to can Northern and she used ketchup, a little cooking oil and I think onion. Pressure cooked and it tasted like salmon. Was great on saltine crackers. LB Would take to Saturday night card games and never brought any home.

Canned northern pike... with a kick!

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