Possible recipe to deal with perch fish
So I’ve caught nearly my legal limit of perch fish… awesome… however perch fish is practically impossible to eat without constantly picking out the tiny bones, so how about a recipe that can make the bones edible without being a threat to one’s esophagus. Here’s one possible use for perch… pickled fish! In theory, the acidic vinegar will soften the bones and any scales you’ve missed.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Pickled-Fish-Make-It-Yourself&id=366314
The recipe below is copied from the site above.
A northern has a lot of y-bones and if they are removed, quite a lot of flesh is lost in the process. By pickling the smaller ones the bones are nothing to worry about. The vinegar softens all those tiny y-bones. To pickle northern first of all you have to catch the fish. I tell everyone that asks me, that is the first step. There is no need to scale them for pickling because the skin becomes rubbery. I fillet them, remove the back bone and cut them into 1-2-inch pieces.
Next I place the pieces into a crock or large glass jar. I generously salt each single layer with pickling salt, making sure each piece is salted. Do not pack them tightly. When the jar is full pour vinegar to cover the fish. Place in the refrigerator for 1-week. Stir the fish every day. After 1-week empty the jar, discard the vinegar solution and rinse the fish in clean water and drain.
Measure 5-cups sugar and 5-cups vinegar into kettle and bring to a boil. Boil 5-minutes and let cool to room temperature. Next I slice onions and alternate them with the fish pieces in my jars. I add 1-2-tablespoons mixed pickling spice to each quart jar. Then I measure 2-cups of the vinegar solution and 1-cup of dry white wine together, making sure they are room temperature and pour that mixture over the fish and spices in the jars. Be sure to completely cover the fish.
Put the lids on the jars and refrigerate for 6-weeks to 2-months before eating. The longer they sit in the jars the better they are. Delicious.
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Loosely following the above recipe - the pictures below are samples of what I did.
Fish has soaked in vinegar brine for around 48 hours. Note the pink colour is from a red colour vinegar I used.