Walleye flesh care, taste and preparation.

[Walleye Express]

I've was told recently by some out of state clients that walleyes taken from Green Bay do not taste good. I've personally never fished or have eaten walleyes from Green Bay so do not know if this is true or not. I do know that I've eaten walleyes from different areas including small inland lakes and indeed their flavor can be better or worse. I'm positive every element they live, breath and forage in determines what their taste is like. With that said, I wonder how many people know or care that you can spoil their taste by not taking proper care of them just as soon as they come in the boat.

At the cleaning station the other day I saw a guy bring a 6 gallon pail of walleyes up to be cleaned. They were not on ice and looked about as white and washed out as any I've seen floating dead on the surface of the water. My guess is they died on an old style stringer or in a unregulated live well and in essence have been deteriorating for hours before the cleaning process. I'm thinking these will not taste as good as the ones I threw immediately on ice fresh off the hook.

But the processing care should not stop there. The fillets should also be washed of all blood and slime and go immediately on or in ice. I even wash mine again at home and they sit for 4 hours or more in the frig in a light iodized salt solution. This firms the fillets up, removes all remaining blood in the flesh and breaks down and floats to the top any remaining fatty tissue. One final wash and in the zip loc they go, with just enough water to cover the fillet.

Of course you can still spoil the flavor by not cooking them properly. One of the biggest complaints from people who don't like fish is that they "Taste to Fishy". If you fry your fish try cutting them in smaller pieces. Let the batter you use become more of the flavor. If you fry a huge chunk of fish, it's going to taste fishier. Disguise the fishy taste as much as you can for those family members not wild about the taste in general.

And finally one of my favorite grilled walleye recipes that I call Cheesey Walleye. Take one whole fillet and lay it in tin foil. Season to liking with Garlic Pepper, Lemon Pepper and Parsley flakes. Place 3 small tabs of butter on fillet and sprinkle fillet lightly with Zesty Italian salad dressing. Put grill on high and let cook for 15 minutes. Open foil and sprinkle Cheddar Cheese on fillet first and then crushed Nacho chips or Green onion potato chips. Close grill for another 2 minutes and allow cheddar cheese and chips to mold a crust. Remove and serve fillet on the foil. I guarantee you will be licking the foil of all it's juices after the fillet is gone. :grin:

[Nailer]

Soaking fillets in milk will help dissolve remaining blood and neutralize fish oil also.

[Adam Bomb]

Great points fellas. I also use the milk ritual when i take fish from the freezer.

I'll also add that you should remove all the silver skin on the belly as well as all the red meat from the skin side of the fillet. Next i like to "zip" our walleye to remove the center row of bones from the fillet.

[tgafish]

Bleeding them for a few minutes on a rope before putting them in the cooler also does wonders for the blood in the fillets