Pickerel Done Two Ways

During the nicer weather I like to fish. The most often caught fish here are perch, bass and pickerel although other fish are caught as well. I'm able to stock the freezers with fish for the winter as well as serve fresh fish on a regular basis during the other months.

To freeze: Clean and fillet the fish. Rinse. Dip in water and flash freeze on a baking sheet. Repeat twice so the fish is covered with a nice glaze of ice. Package into vacuum freezer bags. Vacuum seal.

Simple Beer Battered Pickerel

I don't often prepare deep fried fish. This time I decided to use a simple beer batter to coat the pickerel then deep fry. A simple beer batter consists of a pre-made mix such as complete pancake mix and beer. In this case I used Bisquick but I've used the homemade version of baking mix successfully. Don't laugh as this does result in very nicely English style battered fish despite the simple ingredients.

Of note is the yellow corn! I have been begging the farmer's market to grow yellow corn for ages. The norm here seems to be peaches & cream corn but yellow corn is better for freezing, canning or making corn relish. This year the farmer's market has yellow corn so I am going to be doing up a lot of it.

Simple Quick Beer Batter (for fish)

2 c Bisquick or homemade version
1 can/bottle light beer (preservative free eg. Sleeman's)
2 c unbleached flour
seasoning salt (optional)
fish fillet of your choice
vegetable or peanut oil

Pre-heat deepfryer to fish setting (375ºF). Peanut oil is best but vegetable oil works as a substitute. Mix the flour and seasoning salt in a shallow baking dish. In another baking dish mix the baking mix and beer. Dredge each fillet in flour then the baking mix mixture. If you want a thicker coating, repeat. Fry until golden brown then remove from fryer and drain.

Draining

I drain deep fried fish in a strainer lined with a layer of paper towels. Traditional English style fish & chips are drained in newspaper. This draining step is necessary to prevent the coating from becoming soggy as well as removing excess calories for the oil. Once drained, the fish is ready for plating.

Malt vinegar or lemon juice are the perfect accompaniment for fish prepared this way. A light sprinkle of salt is nice too but avoid the heavy tartar sauces.

Pan Fried

Pickerel is also wonderful simply pan fried. A small amount of oil and seasoning of choice is used for this method but no coating. Coatings range from very lightly coated to the more heavily coated English style fish. More often than not we fore go the coating to let the taste of the fish shine through.

Method: Heat a fry pan (preferably cast iron) with a small amount of extra light olive oil. Add the pickerel fillets and sprinkle oh so lightly with seasoning salt. Allow to fry about 5 minutes or until the side facing the pan is no longer translucent. Turn the fish and repeat. Fry the fish only until it turns white and no longer.