---

Here in Minnesota, it seems a foregone conclusion that people love to eat walleye.

It might not be a favorite of everyone, but there are so many ways to prepare it that there’s some version almost any people like. Walleye sandwiches, fried walleye, baked walleye, walleye cakes, fritters. There’s endless ways to eat a walleye, and with fishing opener coming up this weekend, I thought it would be a perfect time to highlight some fresh fish recipes.

I’d also be remiss not to mention a very Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there, particularly my mom, Loni, my mother-in-law, Connie, and my wife, Aly, who is a parent to two gigantic fur children in Benny and Jett.

+ + + +

We’ll start with a pretty basic fried recipe. This is the most common way people prepare walleye. Many use Shore Lunch for breading, and that works just fine in a pinch, but homemade is always better!

FRIED WALLEYE

4 walleye fillets

2 eggs, beaten 

1/2 c. all-purpose flour 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 pinch salt (Optional)

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 c. crushed saltine crackers

Vegetable or peanut oil for frying

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Check the fillets to ensure all bones and skin have been removed. Cut the fillets into manageable pieces, if necessary.

Place the beaten eggs a bowl and set aside. Combine the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in another bowl. Pour the cracker crumbs into a third bowl.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat to 375 degrees.

Dip the fillets into the flour mixture, then the eggs, and then the cracker crumbs and set fillets aside on a plate. Test the oil: it will crackle and pop when a cracker crumb is dropped into it.   Carefully lower two fillets into the hot oil. Cook until browned, about three minutes per side, using tongs to turn the fillets. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining fillets. Serve with fresh lemon wedges.

The key to frying fish in oil is to get the temperature just right. If it’s not hot enough, your breading won’t crisp up fast enough  and it will turn out soggy. If it’s too hot, your breading will eventually burn, and nobody wants that!

+ + + +

This is another simple recipe, but it’s a completely different way to prepare walleye, and is a bit healthier than adding breading and frying in oil.

 LEMON PEPPER PAN SEARED WALLEYE

2 walleye fillets, removing skin is optional

2 tbsp. of butter

2 tsp. of lemon pepper seasoning (or seasoning of choice)

Heat a skillet to medium heat and add the oil or butter to the pan.  Season the walleye fillets generously with lemon pepper seasoning. 

Place the fish right over the melted butter. Then cover the top of the fish. This creates steam in the inside of the pan. 

Cook the fish 3 to 4 minutes per side. The walleye will turn white when it is done cooking. 

With fish, there is an internal temperature you want to hit, but because of it’s flaky nature, it’s near impossible to get an accurate reading, so check it for the right color and texture. You want all the opacity gone, but you don’t want it to dry up either. A nice light white with flakiness to the fish is what you’re looking for.

Also, I emphasize the word  generous in the seasoning here, as you’re not getting the breading flavor here, so you do want to get a good lemon pepper or cajun coating on the fish.

+ + + +

If you don’t know what chard is, I suggest you try it in a recipe. It’s between kale and spinach on the green spectrum, and there is absolutely a place for it in the kitchen!

But, if you can’t find any Swiss chard for this recipe, you can certainly substitute either kale or spinach and it will get the job done!

SALMON & SWISS CHARD

1 medium red onion (sliced 1/2 inch thick)

1 1/2 tbsp. oil, divided

Kosher salt and pepper

1 large bunch red Swiss chard (thick stems discarded, leaves chopped)

2 cloves garlic (sliced)

4 5-oz. salmon fillets

Chili oil, for serving

Heat air fryer to 385 degrees. Toss onion with 1/2 tablespoon oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper and air-fry 5 minutes.

Toss with Swiss chard, garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and air-fry until chard and onion are just tender, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to plates.

Season salmon with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and air-fry at 400°F until skin is crispy and salmon is opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with chard and drizzle with chili oil if desired.

+ + + +

This last recipe I share every fishing opener.

I first ate this recipe when I trusted my father-in-law to make it for my wife and I’s rehearsal dinner before our wedding. We had a barn wedding, and part of the rental was having the barn the night prior to the wedding, so we had immediate family and the whole bridal party out there, as well as relatives who had traveled from out of town.

It was in the fall, and Mike and his best friend Dooney had saved up some of their walleye catch from the summer to feed upwards of 40 people with these fritters. 

There wasn’t a person at the dinner that didn’t rave about them. Most people had to unbutton their jeans to make a little extra room by the end of it!

 WALLEYE FRITTERS

2 c. flour

3 tsp. salt

1 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. pepper

3 tsp. baking powder

Beer or water

Diced walleye (1-2 inch pieces)

Shredded hash browns

Shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil to 375-400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients with just enough liquid (beer or water) to make a stiff batter. Stir in as much hash browns and cheese as you like.

Coat the walleye chunks in the batter mixture and carefully drop them individually  into the  hot oil. Remove when golden brown after 3-5 minutes.

As you can see, the reason I haven’t made it as good as them is it’s a pretty vague recipe. It’s one of those that’s passed down through a few friends/parents and all I get when I ask Mike for the recipe is a picture message of a copied piece of paper with fading text on it that looks at least 30 years old. He didn’t have a specific amount of hash browns or cheese he puts in, only saying he puts as much as feels right. My suggestion is to try it and add spoonfuls of hash browns and cheese until the batter has a consistent look, and then taste from there with individual fritters.

TFD: There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

---