Pickled Pike. This recipe requires time and effort but is well worth it!
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup white sugar
3 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp. whole allspice
1 tsp. whole mustard seed
1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup sweet white wine
1 cup pickling salt
2 qt. cold water
1 lb. skinless pike, bones removed, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 – 2 cups additional white vinegar
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
Combine 1 cup vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, cloves allspice, mustard seed and peppercorns in a saucepan. Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Cool. Add wine. Pour into a plastic or glass container. Let pickling syrup sit at room temperature for 4 days.
The next day, go fishing for pike! (or pull some out of your freezer :-)).
Mix pickling salt with cold water; stir thoroughly to dissolve salt. Pour over cutup skinless fish and refrigerate 48 hours. Once that is complete, rinse fish with cold water and cover fish chunks with vinegar. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Drain fish and discard vinegar. Loosely layer fish, onion and lemon in glass or plastic containers. Completely cover with pickling syrup and cover tightly. Refrigerate for five days, stirring once or twice during that time.
Pickling is done. Pickled pike may be stored covered with the pickling syrup in a closed container in refrigerator for up to 5 weeks. Makes approximately 2 qt.
