Baked Northern Pike with Crab Stuffing

This is a wonderful crab stuffing that can top just about any fish, but freshly caught Alaska Northern Pike was used for this recipe.  Pike is a mild, white fish.  It's very tasty, but has a lot of bones.  Easiest to just remove them by slicing them out even though it means losing a bit of the meat. ~Audrey

Ingredients:

2 cups Panko or bread crumbs (I used Panko)

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced white onion

1/4 cup diced red peppers

1 cup crab meat

2 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1-1/2  teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 cup melted butter

1-2 pounds Pike or other white fish

Audrey's first Northern Pike.

Prepare fish: remove bones, rinse, pat dry.

Prepare crab: remove meat from the shell and set aside.  I used Alaska King crab.  Try not to eat it all while doing this, save some for the recipe!

Lightly butter baking dish.  I used my 7 x 9 oval stoneware baking dish.  Place fish pieces on bottom - don't overlap, that way it cooks evenly.  Season with salt and pepper.

Mix together diced onion, celery, red peppers and seasonings.  Add crab meat, eggs, melted butter and 1-1/2 cups of the Panko.

Spoon stuffing over the fish and spread evenly.  
Sprinkle remaining Panko on top.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until fish reaches an internal temperature of 135 degrees and the top is golden in color.  Serve with a green salad and a nice glass of white wine - yum!

Serves 4

General rule: cook fish for 10 minutes per inch (measured at its thickest point).  I always use a thermometer to check the fish instead of plowing through it with a fork to see if it's done.

Audrey, ice fishing at East Twin Lake, Alaska.  The ice was about 4-5 feet thick-even in May!  This remote lake is about an hour Southwest of Fairbanks by small plane.

Special thanks to my friend Doug for flying me out to a great fishing spot!