Fresh Walleye
Fresh Walleye from Lake Erie is a delicious treat we have occasionally. You see, the man I married long ago is from north-western Wisconsin. To say that he likes to fish is an understatement. He began fishing as a really young boy and has never stopped. This man drives to Wisconsin in February to sit on a frozen lake, pulling cold wet fish out of a hole in the ice!
Now that he has retired, he fishes even more frequently. Last week he went to Lake Erie for a few days and came back with Walleye, which is one of my favorites.
Dave not only catches the fish, but he also cleans and fillets them. Early on in our marriage, he cooked fish with the bones in them and I let him know I did not like picking out fish bones. He started filleting the fish to make me happy. He is quite adept at filleting fish now after the thousands that he has caught and cleaned over the years!
I have never cleaned or filleted a fish in my life and I don't plan on it. Why would I? Dave does a great job and seemingly likes to do it. (I am planning on keeping him.) One thing he has told me about the cleaning and filleting is that the dark meat has to be cut off because it has a fishy taste. Game fish has that grey and red meat, which pan fish does not. He says you can fillet the pan fish right to the bone. After filleting the fish, he brings it into the house and washes it in clean cold water for several minutes. If we aren't preparing it right away he stores it in water in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.
Sometimes Dave cooks the pan fish on the grill in Reynolds wrap. He has his own concoction of seasonings for that, too. But the walleye is always dredged in breading and fried in hot oil.
My husband has come up with his own breading mix, which includes a mixture of half GoldenDipt fish fry breading mix and half GoldenDipt Cajun breading mix. He usually adds about a half cup of Premium Saltine crackers, which have been ground up with the hand held blender. I asked why he adds the saltines and he said it makes the breading a little crispier. I don't know about that, but the end result is really tasty.
His preference is deep frying these in vegetable oil. Since the Walleye is a bigger and meatier fish, he cuts it into chunks before adding the breading. ( I actually like the crappies and bluegills fried in olive oil in a skillet, but they are a thinner fish. The olive oil with just a little bit of butter, gives the fish a good flavor.)
Fried fish is a regular meal served at our home. Dave is known for his fishing skills and his ability to cook them, too. Fresh walleye from Lake Erie or Wisconsin is definitely a favorite meal around here.
