The Voyageurs Voice ... Rainy Lake Houseboats Newsletter

Grandma Blanches world famous Walleye!

I was lucky enough to start my guiding career as a ten year old boy working for my grandparents Charlie and Blanche Williams at the famous Kettle Falls Hotel. One of our jobs was to fillet the walleye caught by the commercial fisherman for my grandma to serve both the guests staying at the hotel and for those that would make the thirty mile boat trip for dinner.
 
Grandma’s recipe is really quite simple! She deliberately did nothing to overpower the delicate taste of the walleye.
 
Four servings
 
4 eight ounce walleye fillets cut in half
4 eggs, whipped with fork
1 cup flour
3 cups white bread crumbs*
1 -2 quarts of cooking oil
 
* Grandma’s bread crumbs were made with the left over homemade bread she baked every day in her woodstove oven. The left over slices were left to sit and once the bread was dry and crumbly it was hand ground into crumbs with a medium consistency; not fine ground.  You may not want to make homemade crumbs but can do this quite easily!
* Buy your favorite white bread at the bakery. Cut it into ½ inch slices and set it out to dry. When it is crumbly grind it in your food processor to a medium consistency.
 
To prepare:
Wash fillets and pat almost dry. Dredge fillets in flour, then dip in beaten eggs, coat in bread crumbs. I do this right before cooking not allowing the bread crumbs to absorb moisture.
 
Heat your oil in a cast iron fry pan over medium high heat letting oil reach a temperature of 375 degrees. Add three to four pieces of fish, cooking until it is browned and floating. Try not to overcook.  Add remaining pieces of fish and repeat cooking process. This may sound a bit heavy (breading and frying) but you will find the walleye to be light to the point of almost fluffy!
 
Enjoy with your favorite sides! I find a French Sancerre or Muscadet wine to be almost perfect for this walleye recipe.

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