Jeff,
Two, no make that three methods I use for dealing with the "Y" bones.
First method is shown in the link below;
Removing the Y Bones from Northern Pike (Tutorial) - YouTube
The second method is dependent on the desired cooking method. If one desires to bread the fillets, followed by pan frying, to a crispy crust, (popular in fish camp), one can simply leave the "Y" bones in place. As shown in the above video, only a portion of the entire fillet will contain the "Y" bones. Therefore, prior to breading and cooking I will cut the fillet to separate out the piece with the bones from those pieces without bones.
In the drawing below; the first cut removes the ribs. The second cut separates the "dorsal" half (containing the "Y" bones) from the rest of the fillet. Everything gets fried up but I will fry the pieces that have bones in a separate batch.
When it comes time to consume those pieces, it is a simple matter to pick the piece up and break it open along the indicated line. At which time the tails of the "Y" bones are exposed and the bones can be easily plucked from the remaining meat. This of course means one must eat with his fingers, so it may not be for everyone. [
]
View attachment ybones.jpg
The third method may be the easiest of them all. The third method is to simply ignore the "Y" bones, forget they are there, do nothing with them. No, I am not crazy. [sly]
Remove the ribs, remove the skin, cut the meat into large cubes. Then get out your favorite pickeling recipe. Ten days later you will have DELCIOUS pickeled fish and you won't even know there are any bones.
