Blackened Walleye Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What do you soak walleye in before cooking? ›

Buttermilk fried fish. Yep, it's basically the same as my recipes for buttermilk fried rabbit and fried quail, but with walleye fillets. You marinate the fillets in seasoned buttermilk, then dredge them heavily in flour — repeating the process if you want “extra crispy” — then fry them in lots of very hot oil.

The best side dishes to serve with blackened redfish are garlic mashed potatoes, coleslaw, grilled asparagus, hush puppies, crispy green beans, french fries, carrots and potatoes, fried rice, corn on the cob, sautéed spinach with garlic, creole rice, and cucumber salad.

At-Home Prep. Once you get the fish home, decide if you want to remove the skin or not. Walleye can be eaten either way, but it's generally recommended to remove the skin if you're going to fry it. Next, you should remove the innards from the belly by running a knife through the belly from the anus to the neck.

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor.

Also, you can marinate the fish in a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar, and water for 30 minutes. This will help to neutralize the fishy taste.

The meat from a walleye is tender, flaky, and almost sweet and is often fried, helping to hold it together. Few other fish can compare to walleye when it comes to flavor, which is why they are widely thought of as the best freshwater fish to eat.

In a 3-quart bowl, soak fish in milk for 15-20 minutes. The casein protein in milk binds to the trimethylamine in the fish flesh, reducing the “fishy” odor.

Blackened Fish Recipe Summary:

Coat fish generously with clarified butter or a grape seed oil (Canola oil is fine too) Sprinkle the fish generously with “It's My Rub!” Power Blend. Heat a dry (not oiled) cast iron or heavy skillet to very high heat, until almost smoking.

Keep it Healthy: Frying seafood with a breaded coating is a popular way to cook fish, but not the healthiest choice. The cooking technique known as "blackening," however, provides a lot of flavor to fish (or poultry or meat), but with little sodium and no saturated fat.

Blackening seasoning is a combination of chili powders, herbs, and spices. Most recipes include some combination of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried basil, and dried thyme.

What is the best oil to fry walleye in? ›

Fried Fish Tips

If frying in batches, bring the oil back up to temperature before adding more fish. Don't overcrowd the pan with fillets, resist the urge to move the fish around once it's in the oil, and fry it long enough. Also, don't cover the skillet or fryer when frying the fish.

Soaking fish in brine or water before cooking to remove any muddy taste is not necessary. We prefer never to wash or soak whole or filleted fish in water or any other solution (except a marinade) before cooking as it affects the texture, and ultimately, the flavour of the fish.

Online research had recommended letting the fish soak submerged in milk for around 20 minutes, before rinsing and cooking in your preferred fashion. I smelled the fish before and after to see if there was a noticeable change—and to my actual surprise, there was.

If you soak fish in water and vinegar for about half an hour before cooking, the flesh will stay white; more importantly, if you add a little vinegar to a court bouillon, the fish will stay whole and firm.

The acid from the limes and lemons changes the structure of the proteins in the fish, essentially "cooking" the fish without using heat.