When we were kids we spend a lot of weekends camping in the BWCA just miles from our hometown. We’d go out fishing and Dad would troll backwards with his 18 hrs motor and [the way I remember it] we never failed to catch fish. The best days were when we kept Dad so busy putting our fish on the stringer that he couldn’t get his own line in the water. Then we’d fry the fish up back at our campsite – there isn’t a meal I like better in the world.
Tory & I were lucky enough to spend 4th of July weekend by the lake in our hometown this weekend and caught enough fresh walleye for a fish fry. While we weren’t out at a campsite, being able to fry up fish right by the lake is a pretty close second. As Dad and I fried up the fish, the plate emptied about a quick as we could put fish onto it!
A batch of fresh walleye!
I set up a breading station on the end of the picnic table – you can’t see the fish because they are sitting on the bench part of the table.
One of my favorite tips for breading is to keep 1 hand dry and 1 hand wet. This will help all your crackers from clumping up. As soon as I got a plate of breaded fish ready, we put it into the pans to start frying.
The breading station
These little propane cookers are awesome for cooking anything outdoors!
Frying walleye by the lake
The secret to great fish is to season it immediately after it comes out of the oil. We like to use Nature’s Seasons seasoning blend.
Ready to eat!
Some of my family digging in! My 91 year-old Nana is really enjoying this time at the lake with her family. You can see Dad and me in the back trying to keep the up with the crowd as the eat as fast as we can fry!
Digging in!
If you aren’t lucky enough to be able to catch fresh walleye, you could certainly buy some in the store (although I admittedly never have) or use another mild white fish like tilapia.
Here’s the recipe:
- 2 sleeves buttery crackers (such as Town House or Ritz)
- handful minced dried onion
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 10 walleye fillets
- Canola or other frying oil (enough so fillets are just submerged)
- Nature's Seasons seasoning blend
- Crush cracker crumbs (I like to use my food processor but a ziploc bag and rolling pin work well too) and mix with minced onion.
- Preheat the oil in a wide fry pan, to approximately 350-375. I usually don't have a thermometer by the lake so I test the oil by dropping in a few larger cracker crumbs, if they bubble and float you are ready to go. If it browns too fast, turn the oil down.
- For your breading station you will need 2 pie pans or other shallow containers. Pour half the cracker-onion mixture into one pie tin and beat the eggs in the other.
- Prepare the fish by dipping first in eggs, let drip off, coat with cracker crumbs (adding more to the pie pan as needed) and set aside on a plate.
- Drop enough fillets into the oil to fill the pan without crowding.
- Cook until the fish flakes easily and the breading is brown.
- Remove to a platter lined with paper towel and immediately sprinkle with Nature's Seasons.
- Grab a quick bite for yourself and watch your friends and family dig in!
[…] our latest Lent recipes, these walleye fingers are an adaption of our classic walleye fish fry. Baking them is a little healthier and cutting them into fingers makes them like homemade fish […]