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How to Gut a Northern Pike
by Brendan Pelsue
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Overview
Northern Pike is a predatory freshwater fish found in Europe and North America. Gutting a fish is the most simple way of readying it for cooking. To gut a Northern Pike, cut open the fish, remove its internal organs, and then wash the remaining muscle tissue. No single maneuver in this process is complex, but since Pike are long and thin, it can sometimes be difficult to keep their bodies still while making incisions.
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Gutting the Fish
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Step 1
Lay the whole pike on the cutting board on its side, so that one eye faces upwards. Place one hand firmly on top of the pike, so that the fish will not move when you make your incisions. Visually locate the fish's anus: a small hole just below the pair of fins closest to the fish's tail (the anal fins). Press the filleting knife into the fish's anus. This is where you will begin to make your incision.
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Step 2
Pierce the pike with the filleting knife just until you feel the knife push through the fish's muscular underbelly. If you push the knife in too deeply, you may pierce the fish's organs and release mild toxins into its muscle tissue. Slowly make an incision in a straight line from the fish's anus just to the beginning of its jaw. On a pike, this will mean bringing the knife through the center of the two pairs of fins (anal and pelvic), and ending the incision where the fish's bony gill cover (the operculum) separates from its soft underbelly.
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Step 3
The incision will reveal the pike's internal organs: a series of soft, dark masses. Reach into the fish and gently pull out the organs. They should come out easily and as one piece. If they do not, make a lateral incision across the part of operculum closest to the underbelly and try again. Discard organs.
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Step 4
Make a second incision from the pike's anus clean to the end of its tail, so that the fish's entire body can be opened like a piece of creased paper. Since the lower half of the fish is all muscle tissue, the second incision should be deeper than the first.
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Step 5
There will be some residual blood inside the fish. Run the gutted fish under cold tap water until all blood is removed. The fish is now gutted, and can be cooked without further preparation.
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- Cutting board
Whole pike
Filleting knife
Sink
- Cutting board
- Whole pike
- Filleting knife
- Sink
- Make sure your filleting knife is sharp, otherwise your incisions will be forceful and you will be at greater risk of cutting yourself.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department states that since Northern Pike has small rib bones, you may want to de-bone the fish before serving. De-boning is a more complex than gutting, however, and may take some time and practice.
- Make sure your filleting knife is sharp, otherwise your incisions will be forceful and you will be at greater risk of cutting yourself.
- The North Dakota Game and Fish Department states that since Northern Pike has small rib bones, you may want to de-bone the fish before serving. De-boning is a more complex than gutting, however, and may take some time and practice.
- Have a first aid kit with bandages and antiseptic on hand: Cuts from a fish-covered filleting knife can become infected without proper treatment.
- Have a first aid kit with bandages and antiseptic on hand: Cuts from a fish-covered filleting knife can become infected without proper treatment.
