I recently went on a canoeing trip in the boundary waters of northern Minnesota. In addition to all of the beautiful scenery, a dozen bald eagles, and a bull moose I witnessed - I also cooked one of the most simple, yet rewarding meals I have ever cooked.
I went on this trip with one of my friends, and the first two days of the trip were mostly spent traversing smaller rivers and doing long portages (carrying the canoe on land over areas that can’t be canoed.) All of this was leading us to the larger lakes deeper into the wilderness that we were told contained bountiful amounts of walleye and northern pike.
Luckily, we were not misinformed! Once we reached these lakes, we were catching pike after pike and walleye after walleye.
We were catching far more fish than we could eat, which is by no means a bad thing. We decided we were more in the mood for walleye (no shade to pike.) So, after a couple hours of fishing, and after seeing a bald eagle circling our canoe ready to steal our lunch, we took our three best eating-sized walleye back to camp.
Back at camp, I did a quick fillet job on the flattest rock I could find in the campsite. Nothing fancy here, I did what is called a “fisherman’s cut” style of filet, which entails taking the filet off in one cut.
I decided to skin my fillets after removing the bones which is totally optional. If I had a cutting board I probably would have left it on the skin, but the rock left slightly more moss on the skin than I generally care for so I removed it.
After my fish was filleted, it was time to cook, which due to my hunger level and limited resources, I kept it as simple as possible. I tossed my fillets with a little yellow mustard and old bay, then dredged in a breading mixture called “shore lunch,” which is a brand made for fish you just caught, hence the name of the brand. Then, it was time to fry them up in some oil until nice and golden brown.
All it took was a couple minutes on each side and they were absolutely perfect and crispy. From there they got taken out onto a paper towel-lined plate. At home, I would usually put them on a wire rack which helps them stay crispier. But, in this situation just some paper towel is totally appropriate to help absorb excess fat.
After a couple days of eating mostly freeze-dried food, this walleye could not have tasted any better. It’s hard to describe the quality and the freshness of the fish with it being caught less than an hour before eating it. It’s also such a rewarding process to catch your own food, and I think it contributes to how much enjoyment and satisfaction can come from eating it.
So if you’re a fan of eating fish and have never caught your own to cook and eat, I couldn’t recommend it more. But, before you get out there, it doesn’t hurt to have some knowledge on how to process the fish once you do catch it.
To get some reps in, join us for our hands-on Fish Butchery and Cookery class on Monday, July 28 at 6pm at Lincoln Square. Happy fishing and happy cooking!
