Musky fish is generally known as muskellunge fish. It is a rare type of freshwater fish that is typically found in North America.
It is the largest fish among the pike family. The weird thing is that It is also known as the ugly pike. As it is rare and typically addressed as ugly, one question always gets stuck in an angler’s mind.
Can you eat musky fish?Well yes, you can eat musky fish. I know a lot of people encounter this question because fishing is not only about catching fish. Everything has a commercial purpose and when your work does not serve that purpose, no matter how much fun it is you will always end up procrastinating.
So if you are one of those confused souls who didn’t know whether musky fish can be eaten or not, I am going to help you with all the information related to musky fish so that you can eat this fish even though your neighbour is sniffing at you!
Basic Information About Musky:
You can’t just eat a fish because I have told you to, right? I know it is pretty difficult to trust internet sources when you are taking risks on your taste bud. Well at first you should know all the information about musky fish. This will help you to decide whether you want to eat it or not!
- Its scientific name is muskellunge which is a member of the Esocidae family.
- It is a freshwater fish found in the northern American parts especially in Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin cities of USA.
- It prefers low-level waters with natural structures. Their preferred area can be found in clear water with weed edges or rock caves so that they can rest.
- It has an elongated defined body shape where its head is set far away from its dorsal and ventral fins.
- Naturally musky fish has six feet long body and its average weight is 30
- There are four types of muskies- barred muskies, spotted muskies, tiger muskies and clear muskies.
- Muskies usually survive in water bodies with 50-60 degree temperature.
- They are ambush predators who can varieties of fish including other muskies. They even eat rat, duck, frog and muskrat.
- They can be caught in fall easily.
How to cook musky?
Muskie fish can be cooked like any other fishes. You can pan-fry, bake or grill it. It basically depends on your taste bud. It is an excellent fish as a food that can different tastes according to your cooking style.
Pan-frying musky fish:
If you are familiar with frying any fishes then you don’t need any instructions. It is the same as pan-frying other fishes. For pan frying musky fish you need following items-
- A pan
- Butter or oil
- Lemon
- Seasoning ingredients i.e., salt, pepper etc
- Cleaned musky fish
- Source of heat
Step:
At first, you need to cut the cleaned musky fish into your desired shape of pieces. Then season it in the bowl with lemon juice and with any other ingredients for an hour. Add oil or butter in a heating pan and fry both sides of the fish. It will take you nearly 15 minutes to fry the fish and yes you are ready to eat the fish with your preferred carbohydrates or simply with fruit drinks.
Baking musky fish:
For baking musky fish you need following items-
- Cleaned musky fish
- Baking pan
- Oven
- Mixing bowl
- Ingredients for seasoning
Steps:
At first, cut the fish into your desired pieces and mix them with seasoning ingredients for an hour in a bowl. Then preheat the oven to 150 degree Celsius. Then place those seasoned pieces in a baking pan and transfer it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes and its ready for your meal.
Grilling musky fish:
You need following items to grill musky fish-
- Cleaned musky fish
- Seasoning ingredients
- Olive Oil
- A gas grill or charcoal
- Grill
Steps:
At first heat the gas grill in medium heat. If you are using charcoal fire it up until you see a good coating of ashes. Then bank the cleaned grill and brush oil in the grill to prevent stickiness. Then cut the fish into pieces and pat it dry. Add oil and seasoning ingredients in the fish and grill both sides of the fish.
How Can You Catch Musky?
You can catch musky fish either by trawling or angling. ‘Trawling’ means to use the fishing net to catch the fish. While ‘trawling’ you need to be aware of the density of the weeds in the bottom of the water area because it will determine whether you are going to be successful or not.
There is a greater chance to catch musky fish by angling. You just need to choose the correct lures for it and use the strongest fishing accessories to cope up with the strength of musky fish.
See: Best Musky Reels
Conclusion:
Muskie fish is obviously an excellent fish. What raises the question of whether you can eat it or not mainly comes from rare features. It is a rare kind of fish that can be found in only certain areas and so people are often confused whether it is edible or not.