Friends of mine are going fishing for the weekend in Northern Michigan. They’re expecting to catch a bunch of fish, since they’re staying with someone who has boats, all the gear, the cabin, and is a fishing enthusiast. Possible types of fish are bass, bluegill, trout, yellow perch, steelhead, (perhaps salmon if not too early in the season?) I’m expecting to share in the bounty. And a large-gathering fish fry/BBQ has been mentioned, if they do well.
So…fish recipes? How about on the BBQ or grilled? Any tips for freezing fresh fish?
We used to catch and eat a lot of those types of fish when I was growing up in the Midwest. Bass, perch, and bluegill are probably too soft and delicate to grill, unless you are into doing whole fish. (Bluegill and sunfish are called panfish for a reason.) We always went with fileting them, dredging lightly in seasoned flour and, frying in butter. Serve with a little lemon. Really fresh fish is incredibly good and the less you mess with it, the better.
Beer batter and panfry 'em. If you freeze the fillets, do so in a lot of water. My family used to use milk cartons. Otherwise, they will taste fishy. Another option is to freeze in skim milk, but that always seemed wasteful to me.
As cher3 mentioned, fresh fish is best the simpler it’s prepared. I second his/her recipe of dredging filets in seasoned flour and then pan frying it in some butter. If you happen to have white wine with you, add a bit of that to the pan for the last minute of cooking and you will have a moist, delectable fish that tastes like fish should! Use lemons and capers as desired.
If you’re grilling the fish and you want a charred, smoky flavor, use a grill basket as johnpost suggested. If you don’t have a grill basket or want a moister, delicate tasting fish, wrap it in aluminum foil. In either case, rub the fish with olive oil inside and out and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place a pat of butter, some lemon slices inside the fish and use some of the following herbs according to taste/availability: Tarragon, dill, cilantro, rosemary. If you’re using foil, add a splash of white wine before wrapping it up.
As for freezing fresh fish, you want to minimize air contact as much as possible. That’s why serious hobby fishermen will have a vacuum sealer. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, wrap it carefully in plastic wrap (so you don’t have air pockets), and then wrap it again in aluminum foil (to protect the plastic wrap). I do not recommend freezing it in water using milk cartons or any other container because the fish will absorb the water while freezing which results in mushy fish when cooked.
Just as the freezing method is important, so is the thawing method. What you want is a quick, natural thaw. Placing it under a cold running tap is best. What you don’t want to do is to leave it out on the counter to thaw at room temperature. This only promotes bacteria growth.
Trout, (and probably many of them) is really good wrapped in foil with some onion, garlic, lemon, and salt/pepper. Just toss it on the fire or grill. It usually takes 15-30 min depending on temps.
From the lake to the fire to your face in under an hour is simply incredible.
I would simply panfry them in butter, if they aren’t too large. some of the fancier methods with bags and dutch ovens and on a spit above a cedar wood fire seem best suited to larger ones.
Like most cooking, the simple way is generally the best
Jean Haverkamp, Babbitt Minnesota 1966…would call us and say “Jack just went to catch some walleye, come on over.” By the time we got our shoes on and put our hamburger back into the refrigerator, Jack would have caught the fish, brought them home, cleaned them and would be frying them.
We were sooooo spoiled and didn’t appreciate it nearly as much as we should.
And a large-gathering fish fry/BBQ has been mentioned, if they do well.