There is nothing better than the thrill of catching a fish. You never know if you will catch something or not, but a day of fishing is worth it. Rain or shine, I love to go out with my kids. And sometimes, we’ll come home with something. We prefer to catch and release, but there are a few times that either we have to take it home because it is injured or we just want some of that yumminess in exchange for our patience. We usually catch white fish, kookenai salmon or trout and I have good friends that bring me big salmon from Washington and Alaska. Thank you L.G for bringing me this delicious salmon for my post. I went fishing last weekend and caught absolutely nothing. Thank goodness he had some, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a review. 🙂
Wild fish is better for you, but I also think it’s flavor is better. If you don’t cook or catch it very often, it can be a bit of a challenge to prepare it. That’s why Jon Wiplfli’s recipe book “Fish” is so good. With over fifty recipes, this recipe book has many mouth-watering recipes from simple to technical, so that you can cook your most recent catch. If you are not a fisherman, you can get most of these fish at your local store or market. **This book was sent to me as a courtesy to review. All opinions are my own and I only share products that I love.
From the back cover: “Catch. Eat. Repeat. Join outdoorsman and chef Jon Wipfli as he covers the many ways to enjoy freshwater fish. The book starts with efficient cleaning, gutting and butchery, helping even novices get the most out of their fish. The techniques for breaking down a fish include both two-fillet and five-fillet methods, both detailed with step-by-step photography. The recipes are beautifully photographed and range from restaurant-quality preparations to more rustic meals built around the fire. Most are flexible enough to work with a wide range of fish and all can be made with store-bought fish as well.”
About the author: “Educated at New York City’s French Culinary Institute, Jon Wiplfli left behind the world of high-end commercial kitchens to form Slay to Gourmet and Animales Barbeque Co., businesses that focus on field-to-table cooking, cater private events, and serve the general public damn fine barbecue. He is the author of “Venison: The Slay to Gourmet Field To Kitchen Cookbook.” Jon live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.” -Excerpted from “Fish- Recipes and Techniques For Freshwater Fish“.
The recipe book starts with a short section on fishing which includes guidelines to regarding fishing responsibly, eating fish and cooking with fire. I appreciate the note on following rules and regulations and how by purchasing a fishing license, this promotes jobs, conservation and sustainability. Included are great tips on cooking over a fire, which isn’t to hard but does require some vigilance and skill. While discussing eating fish, Wipfli does indicate that some of the recipes main fish ingredient can be swapped out for something else. For me, I would probably use the small kokenai salmon that we catch ice fishing for most of the salmon recipes even though they have a milder flavor and are not large. I love that the chef even encourages you to try different ingredients and combinations.
The second section is packed with information and instructions on gutting, cleaning, scaling, storing and filleting fish. Cleaning a fish is one of the first skills my children learn when they start fishing. If you can’t gut it, we are not keeping it. The chapter is very thorough, with a step by step how-to cleaning instructions and gorgeous color photos for reference from start to finish. It is important to store and clean fish properly, because it does affect the quality.
The third section is the recipes. The section are grouped by the types of fish and includes recipes for the following: salmon, trout, walleye, Northern pike, crappie, bluegill, perch, catfish, sturgeon, muskie, white fish, and crawdads. All of the recipes have very detailed instructions with a brief description and some thoughtful tips. The photographs are absolutely stunning and full-color. Some of the recipes are: lake trout cooked in a foil packet with mushrooms and peppers, wood-fired salmon served alongside fennel salad and seasoned yogurt and steelhead trout quiche.
I was going to try several of these, but it depended on what I could catch. And fishing with a toddler means I made great memories but had crappy luck. I will update this again the next time I catch something with hopefully an additional recipe. I had picked out a few trout and white fish recipes to try such as smoked trout stuffed pudgy pie (using a pie iron), fire-roasted trout on avocado trout, grilled crawdads and smoked whitefish with Tai chile salad. So, we tried wood-fired salmon and used a camp fire instead of a grill. It cooked and tasted like perfection. The recipe was easy to follow and simple. There were recommendations for different sides, with the recipes included in the cookbook. I paired this with a salad I had made earlier for another dish. (recipe used with permission from Jon Wipfli )
I cooked this in a dutch oven over a campfire. The salmon I used was wild Alaskan koho. I did not put coals on the lid and it cooked in the same amount of time as if it was on the grill. I did crack the lid to let some of the smoke in. I think everything tastes better with cast iron and cooks more evenly. It is not as intimidating as some people think. Be sure to use leather gloves when using cast iron. Because it retains heat, it is very easy to get burned.
Hoe comfortable are you cooking wild fish? Is it something you do on a regular basis or something that you would like to do more? be sure to check out this helpful and amazing cookbook for cooking your next catch. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Don’t let a bad fishing day ruin your adventure. Live in the moment. And be outside with no limits. Love, Pauline
