This last September we caught a pike and did not feel like cleaning it so we tried something different. We cut off the head, slit the fish open, and gutted it. Then we sprayed the cavity with butter flavored Pam and just laid it on the fire grate until both sides were black, and the meat was white and flakey. We ate the meat with a fork. Turned out really well.

Anyone else try something like this with pike?

I also cook my northerns that way. Put a stick of butter inside, sometimes I rap it in foil.

Still have to pick out some bones while eating, but makes cooking Northerns simple and can be done on the fire.

Haven't tried it with northerns, but definitely for trout. We leave the head on even. This recipe is killer.

thegildedgopher: "Haven't tried it with northerns, but definitely for trout. We leave the head on even. This recipe is killer."

Oh that sounds good. Going to try that on some rainbows come spring.

I should try out this whole method on a northern as well I'm sure it would be great.

Definitely! When I was younger we would scale the fish (to get the skin nice and crispy) and cut the head off.

That's the only way I cook pike when camping. I love it.

This sounds like a Survival Recipe. I'd have a hard time selling this to my crew at fish camp, I think.

I'm gonna try it..
Pike are a pain in the azz.

Like eating them like catch them hate cleaning them.

Make them clean the next pike. They will get on board quick

My definition of cleaning a fish IS cutting the head off and gutting it.

ockycamper: "Make them clean the next pike. They will get on board quick"

We had a northern in fish camp once in 22 years. For a taste test. Was ok...

bobbernumber3: "

ockycamper: "Make them clean the next pike. They will get on board quick"

We had a northern in fish camp once in 22 years. For a taste test. Was ok..."

Let me guess. They all thing walleye tastes great though?

thegildedgopher: "

bobbernumber3: "

ockycamper: "Make them clean the next pike. They will get on board quick"

We had a northern in fish camp once in 22 years. For a taste test. Was ok..."

Let me guess. They all think walleye tastes great though? "

The real conclusion was that bass were not worth cooking and northerns were bony. The real fish difference was lake trout. For all fish, keep the pieces small when cooking so they cook quickly.

i take it the slime just kinda burns off/dries?

We laid the fish on the fire grate and cooked until inner meat was white and flakey. The outside turns black, charred and crusty. We don't eat that.

The key is that the only work involved is gutting the fish, rinsing out the cavity, straying or coating the cavity with butter or seasoning, then just put on the fire grate and keep turning it. You have to pick out the bones while you eat but the fish really is good.

Our group voted that this is the only way to deal with pike.

We filet bass and trout.

HowardSprague: "i take it the slime just kinda burns off/dries? "

If you hang a northern in a tree for 20 minutes, all the slime slides off before cleaning.

Just learn how to get the Y-bones out. Its not too hard.

egknuti: "Definitely! When I was younger we would scale the fish (to get the skin nice and crispy) and cut the head off. "

Scale a northern?

I didn't think they had scales..........it is kind of hard to tell with all the snot on them :) .


Later,

Geo

Last summer, my son really wanted to try cooking a fish on a stick over the fire. Let him try with a ~10” SMB. Didn’t even gut it, but just shoved a sharpened stick down it’s mouth. Leaving the guts in seemed to moderate the heat and help steam it from the inside. When we thought it was done, just pulled the skin back, a bit of seasoning, and ate it. I’d like to try it with a modest sized pike next. The larger pike probably do need the guts removed. The post-cook seasoning is the key, and clean up was super easy. Plus it kept the kids busy and was easier than roasting marshmallows, at least for not burning.

I’ll still fry my walleye nuggets and do foil pouches or grilled brown sugar fillets for trout.

Our group of three boys ate the leftover Oreos for breakfast one morning. There was a partial container of maple syrup left that they drizzled over the cookies for extra sweetness. A handful of dead ants in the syrup added some crunch to the last few cookies.

I'm gonna continue to clean my fish prior to cooking.

I have used the "on a stick over the fire" method before. I've done it with bass and walleye but never pike due to the size. I try to get the fish more into the smoke to give it the smoky flavor and cook it slower, but I think the end result is close to the same. With a pike, I would probably chop it into chunks to get more of it over the heat at once and cook faster.

I like pike cut into 1" cubes and poached with some old bay and then dipped in melted butter. The guy who turned me onto it calls it "poor man's lobster".

If the Pike is 26" or greater than the Y bone is extremely easy to cut around, so I just cut fillets and fry in Shore Lunch like most other fish. I use this style for cooking Rainbow Trout in the spring though with two or three slices of lemon in addition to the butter.

Or use the 5 filet method. Makes cleaning the pike a breeze.

OMGitsKa: "Or use the 5 filet method. Makes cleaning the pike a breeze. "

Yep, this is what I do as long as the fish are a little bigger, 26" +

I tried that on the Mississippi with a catfish I caught. First Sushi I ever ate!

bobbernumber3: "

thegildedgopher: "

bobbernumber3: "

ockycamper: "Make them clean the next pike. They will get on board quick"

We had a northern in fish camp once in 22 years. For a taste test. Was ok..."

Let me guess. They all think walleye tastes great though? "

The real conclusion was that bass were not worth cooking and northerns were bony. The real fish difference was lake trout. For all fish, keep the pieces small when cooking so they cook quickly."

i cook all my fish about the same. Half biscuit, half yellow cornmeal, add some Tony Chachere's creole seasoning, take some mayo packs from your favorite sandwich shop and mix it with some water as a dredge...Heat the oil and delicious!

Next time...do it this way and try telling the guys that the smallie is a walleye and see if the snobs can tell the difference. It harder with northerns since the shape of the filets give it away...see if they can tell a difference.

For me, the fish are all good and i can only distinguish them by the firmness of the meat...with walleye being the lightest.

but really, walleye and crappie is what I serve people who say they hate fish because they just taste like whatever you dipped them in.

I might have to try that.

yogi59weedr: "I might have to try that."

Mike’s Company Walleye
Ingredients:
• 2 lb. (3/4” thick) walleye, cut into serving size pieces
• 2 Tbsp dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ cup melted butter

Method:
Combine onion mix and sour cream.
In a separate bowl, mix bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese, parsley, and paprika.
Dip walleye pieces into sour cream mixture, then roll into crumb mixture.
Place in single layer on greased baking pan. Pour butter on top.
Bake at 500 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes.

Notes:
Mike is a young fishing buddy (fishing nut). Years ago, he went on a Halibut charter in Alaska and came back with a lot of fish and this recipe. I’ve substituted walleye for halibut since forever.

That would be a trip to pull of at the camp site

ockycamper: "That would be a trip to pull of at the camp site"

Makes my pilfered mayo packets seem very pedestrian!

ockycamper: "That would be a trip to pull of at the camp site"

Yeah... the oven and extension cord!!

opps. Guess I got off topic with that.

By cleaning you mean filleting. Cutting the head off and gutting is still cleaning technically. WhenI read the title, I originally thought you just through the fish on the fire...to which I thought - oh no!

I cut and gut smaller brookies and pan fry them with some breading and butter until the skin is crisp. Once done, you can grab the spine and pull all the bones out in one swipe. At that point you can just eat the whole fish.

I'll try it with smaller northerns next trip.

Tried the watered down mayo on some walleye last night.
Interesting, dried batter stuck to the fish like buttermilk. Very tasty. I fried and baked. I preferred the fried. But I think I left the baked in the oven to long. Kind of chewy on the edges. Will definitely experiment with this... Thank you.