Fish: Recipes and Techniques for Freshwater Fish

INTRODUCTION FROM WIPFLI

In this book, I cover multiple species of fish, ranging everywhere from bluegill to muskie, but could not reasonably cover every species of landlocked fish. For the purpose of functionality I cover the species of which I have witnessed the most consumption. There is a plethora of species I would have liked to cover and, with any luck, those species will be covered in a future book.

My goal in writing this book was to create recipes that can be made by chefs of any level while incorporating various techniques and ingredients that may be unfamiliar to some. Beyond that, I hope it creates an increased interest in obtaining your own protein and getting outdoors and fishing! I would love to hear from readers about what should be included in future editions!

I hope this book is helpful to you.

CRAWDADS: Grilled Crawdads

When I’m cooking, I often draw inspiration from what’s around me. For better or worse, one thing that’s typically near me is some sort of smoker or giant grill. This recipe for crawdads, which is ideal for a larger gathering, embraces the grill by cooking sausage and corn in a pan right in the grill, then throwing the crawdads in and shutting the grill. This recipe uses the same ingredients as the Steamed Crawdads (page 149), but the results couldn’t be more different. Everything here is covered in smoke and steam from the beer—stronger, more rustic flavors.

Before cooking ’dads, make sure they’re properly cleaned. I use my (cleaned!) bathtub at home and rinse them in multiple batches of cold water until the water runs clean when they’re rinsed. It usually takes 4 to 5 rounds of water.