# Pickerel Deep Fried



## Murray (Nov 13, 2020)

After a quick rinse.





Battered and protected from the oil with bread crumbs















Not the healthiest meal but a family favourite. Usually I use cod but my wife found a deal, 11 pounds for $99.  We had 22 pounds not that long ago. Best freshwater white meat fish IMHO.


----------



## dernektambura (Nov 13, 2020)

Trade your fish and chips for home made vine...?  I'm hungry now...


----------



## Murray (Nov 13, 2020)

Tempting. We use to make our own wine but found we didn’t have enough self restraint.  A glass of wine a day is supposed to be healthy, a bottle or two, not so much...


----------



## TNJAKE (Nov 14, 2020)

Man that looks good and perfectly cooked. Nice work


----------



## jcam222 (Nov 14, 2020)

Good looking fish! I’ve not had pickerel in a very long time.


----------



## SmokinAl (Nov 14, 2020)

That do look good!!!
Al


----------



## PulledPorkSandwich (Nov 14, 2020)

Fillets look great!  Question though:  Don't pickerel have "y-bones" like northern pike?  Did you do any thing special to remove them before frying?


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

PulledPorkSandwich said:


> Fillets look great!  Question though:  Don't pickerel have "y-bones" like northern pike?  Did you do any thing special to remove them before frying?


If you look at the first picture notice the split in the filets, runs from about halfway to the front of the filet, that is where the y bones were.


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> Man that looks good and perfectly cooked. Nice work


Thank you


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

jcam222 said:


> Good looking fish! I’ve not had pickerel in a very long time.


Thank you, I find both Cod and Bass have a similar taste and texture and are a good substitution.


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> That do look good!!!
> Al


Thank you.  No shortage of fish in your area, last time we were visiting Micky my wife thought I was going to grow gills, ate so much fish.


----------



## indaswamp (Nov 14, 2020)

I've caught a pile of pickerel...never ate one though, always threw them back. Fun fish to fight though.


----------



## disco (Nov 14, 2020)

Wow! That looks perfect! Big like.


----------



## PulledPorkSandwich (Nov 14, 2020)

Murray said:


> If you look at the first picture notice the split in the filets, runs from about halfway to the front of the filet, that is where the y bones were.


Ah, that's a neat job!  You didn't lose much meat at all!

I used to catch a lot of northern pike when I lived in Minnesota.  I never figured out how to get rid of the y bones without losing a lot of meat, so I ended up tossing them back.  Your pickerel look very tasty!


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 14, 2020)

Looks Great, Murray
Nice Job!
Like.
I used to catch small Pickerel in the 16" to 21" range, but they were so damn Bony, we only made Ground Fish Cakes with them.

Bear


----------



## Jonok (Nov 14, 2020)

I rather suspect that Murray is referring to “pickerel” in the Canadian sense, and that those are walleye fillets.  Grass pickerel are long and skinny like Northern. (And I don’t think they’re particularly common in Alberta)


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

disco said:


> Wow! That looks perfect! Big like.


Thank you


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

Bearcarver said:


> Looks Great, Murray
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> I used to catch small Pickerel in the 16" to 21" range, but they were so damn Bony, we only made Ground Fish Cakes with them.
> ...


Thank you. There are a few species called pickerel, chain, grass and sauger that I know of. These guys that I cooked are also known as Walleye.


----------



## Murray (Nov 14, 2020)

Jonok said:


> I rather suspect that Murray is referring to “pickerel” in the Canadian sense, and that those are walleye fillets.  Grass pickerel are long and skinny like Northern. (And I don’t think they’re particularly common in Alberta)


Correct, that being said I’ll try any fish any time so long as I know what body of water and what country they come from.  I never order fish of a menu though, two reasons, I don’t know where they came from and secondly they are usually overcooked.


----------



## Jonok (Nov 14, 2020)

We catch one or two down here in Michigan, and agree with your assement of their palatabililty


----------



## PulledPorkSandwich (Nov 14, 2020)

Murray said:


> Thank you. There are a few species called pickerel, chain, grass and sauger that I know of. These guys that I cooked are also known as Walleye.


Ah, OK.  I used to catch what Minnesotans called Walleye and Northern Pike when I lived in Minnesota.  While I routinely threw Northern back, I never threw a keeper sized walleye back.  It is one fine-eating fish, with very few bones.

Murray, yours do look excellent.


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 15, 2020)

Murray said:


> Correct, that being said I’ll try any fish any time so long as I know what body of water and what country they come from.  I never order fish of a menu though, two reasons, I don’t know where they came from and secondly they are usually overcooked.




OK---Thanks Murray & Jonok!!
We don't have Northerns, but we have:
Walleye that is way different than any of the others. And Excellent table fare---Like a Yellow Perch.
Muskys, including Hybrid Tigers. Huge & Bony.
Pickerel are plentiful, but a 25" would be Huge. Like a Baby Northern---Very Bony.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 15, 2020)

Hybrid:
The Pennsylvania Fish Commission had Coho Salmon in the Delaware River but it’s underbelly was too soft for the sharp jagged rocks in the bottom of the Delaware, and it was getting cut up quite a bit.
So they crossed the Coho with the Walleye, because it had a tough underbelly. 
They called that new Species a Kowal.
It was a Great Sports Fish & great tasting, but it wasn’t aggressive enough for PA Anglers.
So they crossed the Kowal with the Violent Muskie and called it a Kowalski.
This Fish was a Great Fighter, but was quite slow, and they had a hard time teaching them how to swim. 

Bear


----------



## Jonok (Nov 15, 2020)

Ooh, Ooh, Ooh! Mr Kotter, Mr Kotter, Mr Kotter!!!!


----------



## dennis8483 (Dec 31, 2020)

Murray said:


> View attachment 470773
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## dennis8483 (Dec 31, 2020)

Murray said:


> View attachment 470773
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Pickerel is some fine eating. Top of the list. We used to make pickled pickerel. Fun to break out at gatherings for cracker snacks.


----------



## Steve H (Jan 1, 2021)

I kept looking at those fillets and thinking that must have been a big pickerel! Now I understand! I love Walleye, and I do believe they are one of the best freshwater fish out there. My personal favorite are perch caught through the ice.
Yours are cooked to perfection. I'd eat the hell out of these!


----------



## dennis8483 (Jan 1, 2021)

PulledPorkSandwich said:


> Fillets look great!  Question though:  Don't pickerel have "y-bones" like northern pike?  Did you do any thing special to remove them before frying?


If you fillet them differently you can get 5 fillets off one fish with little to no bone. Picture a square rib cage. Fillet both sides of rib cage until end of rib cage. Then top of rib cage for a half moon shaped fillet and then finally, both sides of tail.


----------



## Murray (Jan 1, 2021)

Steve H said:


> I kept looking at those fillets and thinking that must have been a big pickerel! Now I understand! I love Walleye, and I do believe they are one of the best freshwater fish out there. My personal favorite are perch caught through the ice.
> Yours are cooked to perfection. I'd eat the hell out of these!


Thank you,  I also like perch, a mild and sweet tasting fish much like Walleye. Especially fun with the Grandkids where they can catch lots in a short time.  No “I’m bored” when they are hauling in fish hand over fist.


----------



## Murray (Jan 1, 2021)

dennis8483 said:


> If you fillet them differently you can get 5 fillets off one fish with little to no bone. Picture a square rib cage. Fillet both sides of rib cage until end of rib cage. Then top of rib cage for a half moon shaped fillet and then finally, both sides of tail.


If I understand you correctly I used to fillet fish your way at one time until a Mine Captain I used to work with took me fishing and showed me his way which he learnt in a fish plant he used to work at as a summer student.  A slit along the belly to the anus then two cuts on each sides of the anus,  flip the fish over and cut through all the rib bones stopping 1/4 “to 1/2” short of the tail then cut the spine close to the tail.  What your left with is two fillets (skin on) attached to the tail fin.  If you are transporting the fish home you have evidence of species should the Conservation Officer check your catch. Once home then remove skin, rib cage and Y bones in the comfort of your kitchen.(away from Mosquitoes)


----------



## PulledPorkSandwich (Jan 1, 2021)

dennis8483 said:


> If you fillet them differently you can get 5 fillets off one fish with little to no bone. Picture a square rib cage. Fillet both sides of rib cage until end of rib cage. Then top of rib cage for a half moon shaped fillet and then finally, both sides of tail.



I've learned that the OP was referring to what I call walleyes, which have few bones, are easy to clean, and are fine-eating fish!

When I lived in Minnesota, we'd fish for walleye often, and end up catching "northern" a fair bit in the process.  Unless they were good sized, we'd almost always toss them back because they were hard to handle and  full of bones.  We'd all heard stories of the correct way to clean them to get rid of the bones, but none of us knew how to do it.  Your approach sounds like the way to do it -- almost makes me want to go back to Minnesota, catch a few northern, and try it out!  They're good eating if you can pick out the bones!

My dad used to catch what he called "pickerel" in northern Illinois from time to time.  They were usually pretty small and he'd toss them back.  From what he said, they looked a lot like a small "northern", and I suspect had bones like a northern too.


----------



## HalfSmoked (Jan 1, 2021)

Interesting post and a lot of comments. But for sure I could do away with that plate of fish that are cooked to perfection.

Warren


----------



## Murray (Jan 2, 2021)

HalfSmoked said:


> Interesting post and a lot of comments. But for sure I could do away with that plate of fish that are cooked to perfection.
> 
> Warren


Thank you, appreciate the compliment.


----------

