GOOD EATS

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You've just finished a fantastic day of fishing, walleyes and perch in the live well, and hungry stomachs in the boat. You know that you enjoyed the fish fry at the restaurant a few weeks ago, but you haven't been able to make your fish taste nearly as good on your own. You also know that fish can taste different, and now you want to do it yourself. But how?

Well, even restaurants have to do something to make the fish taste better than how they receive the fish. Cleaning is the most important step in the process. No, I am not just talking about removing the skin and the skeleton, but it is what you do with the fillets once they are removed from the body that makes all the difference! Here is the best way that I have found to make your fish taste great, and the best part of this is that it works for any species of fish you may catch and wish to consume!

First, prepare your cleaning area. Make sure that it is free from any debris and dirt that might make it more difficult to keep the fillets clean. Next, use a clean bowl that you fill about 2/3's full of very cold water. Once you have removed the fillets from the skin, place them in the cold water, discarding the skin and skeleton to the garbage. Continue doing this until all the fish have been cleaned and fillets placed in the bowl of cold water.

At this point the fillets are now "clean"…almost. These next two steps are often skipped by most anglers, and in doing so miss what will make their fish taste superb to any they have before. Be sure to have a good and constant source of clean, cold water, such as water running from the tap, and continuously rinse the fillets until the water comes out as clean from the fillets as it was when it went in. Here is the next commonly skipped step: ice. Fill the bowl with the fillets to about 2/3's full and place in two large handfuls of ice. Either leave the bowl in the shade (if outside) and covered, or place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. At the end of that time, remove the fillets and place them in a freezer bag and freeze (if you are going to enjoy them at a later date), or place them in your breading and get them ready to fry!

What's that? You don't have a good recipe for breading? Well, then this is your lucky day! I have found the following to be a very good mix of seasonings while still protecting the flavor of the fish. Mix ½ cup of corn flour with 1 cup of white flour. Add 2 tablespoons of pepper and 2-3 tablespoons of salt, along with 1-teaspoon garlic salt. If you do not have a container for tossing the fillets in the breading you may use a Ziploc style bag and achieve the same results. Just put the breading in the bag (or container), followed by the fillets, and hand the bag to your son or daughter and let them shake the daylights out of the bag! It only takes a few moments to completely coat the fillets and they are ready to go "swimming in the oil"! Only allow them to cook until the outside of the fillets turn light brown, at which point they need to be removed and placed on paper towels to drain and cool.

Congratulations! You have now prepared the best tasting fish you will ever eat! That is what I call "Good Eats"! Once you have eaten fish cooked in this manner, you will never want to go back to any other way of eating fish. Tartar sauce is totally optional, and I have found that most people that I have cooked fish for don't even look for it!

Keep your lines tight, and enjoy the flavor of your own Good Eats!

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