I went to my fishmonger today to pick up some rainbow trout for Valentine's dinner, but they stopped carrying it. They picked up Walleye instead. I've never cooked or eaten Walleye, but I've made plenty of other fish before (seabass, tuna steaks, mahi, striper) so I'm definitely not scared of something new. My personal favorite is red snapper cooked en papillote, with some citrus inside to supply the flavorful steam.

How should I cook this Walleye? It's a skinless 2lb fillet.

I've never cooked it, but evidently it is a mild white fish, similar to red snapper. I would think en papillote would be a good method for walleye.

I've eaten it deep fried in milwaukee on a Friday night fish fry event.

Could you tell that it was different from any other fish? I love fried fish as much as anybody, but the problem with deep frying is that it gives such a strong oil+breading flavor that what's inside the batter is indistinguishable. I'm worried it's too delicate of a flavor for that.

Alright, this is what I'm going with:

Cut a heart-shaped packet out of parchment paper. Rub with a stick of butter.
Slice 3 green onions, lengthwise, into ribbons
Slice a tuber of fresh ginger into long ribbons
Slice 3 radishes and 1 lemon into thin rounds
Peel 4 cloves of garlic

Heavily salt & pepper both sides of the walleye
Layer about 10 snap peas onto one side of the parchment paper.
Cover snap peas with lemons, then top with radishes
Place walleye atop the radishes
Crumple the ginger and onion ribons on top
Season with 2TB of soy sauce and 1TB of rice vinegar
Place garlic cloves around perimeter, then fold parchment edges of the parchment. Seal the edges.

Bake for 18 minutes at 400F, then allow to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully open packet & slide walleye onto plate. Garnish with just a bit of onion, ginger, snap peas, and radishes.

I'll post a pic later for how it turns out.

Just make sure it didn't come from Lake Meredith.

Lake Meredith has walleye??

There is a fish consumption advisory for walleye dating back to ~2000. With the declined water levels since then, who knows if there is still a population.

No I couldn't.

Ornlu said:

---

Alright, this is what I'm going with:

Cut a heart-shaped packet out of parchment paper. Rub with a stick of butter.
Slice 3 green onions, lengthwise, into ribbons
Slice a tuber of fresh ginger into long ribbons
Slice 3 radishes and 1 lemon into thin rounds
Peel 4 cloves of garlic

Heavily salt & pepper both sides of the walleye
Layer about 10 snap peas onto one side of the parchment paper.
Cover snap peas with lemons, then top with radishes
Place walleye atop the radishes
Crumple the ginger and onion ribons on top
Season with 2TB of soy sauce and 1TB of rice vinegar
Place garlic cloves around perimeter, then fold parchment edges of the parchment. Seal the edges.

Bake for 18 minutes at 400F, then allow to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully open packet & slide walleye onto plate. Garnish with just a bit of onion, ginger, snap peas, and radishes.

I'll post a pic later for how it turns out.

---

Turned out great! Overall, the flavor was very delicate. The skin was tasty, and the flakes were very large. I'm impressed with the fish, but I still don't think it's as good as rainbow trout. My plating needs work tho.

I served it with spaghetti cacio e pepe, and frankly, it over shadowed the fish. The flavor was too overpowering to taste the subtle sweetness of the walleye. That brussels sprout salad tho was a perfect side.

Thanks for updating and sharing photo.

It's a great light white fish. In '96, we took a family trip to Nelson's Resort in Crane Lake, Minnesota. Oddly enough, when we pulled up, the first person we saw (the bartender) was wearing an A&M sweatshirt. We went on a guided fishing trip and caught a limit of walleye. The captain docked on a small rock island and filleted then pan fried the fresh walleye. It was just seasoning and fish - extremely simple. It was absolutely the best fish I've ever had and I've done yellowfin sashimi on the boat in Venice, LA.

Potcake said:

---

There is a fish consumption advisory for walleye dating back to ~2000. With the declined water levels since then, who knows if there is still a population.

---

I don't know I'd the advisory is still on, but walleye has made a big comeback at the lake. Lake levels have been somewhat consistent the last 3-5 years.

Advisory is still in effect and likely will be for a long, long time. DSHS would have to re-sample and analyze data to determine if a rescension would be in order. Mercury issues don't tend to go away, despite no obvious point source around there.

ETA, have they moved the marina back?

Potcake said:

---

Advisory is still in effect and likely will be for a long, long time. DSHS would have to re-sample and analyze data to determine if a rescension would be in order. Mercury issues don't tend to go away, despite no obvious point source around there.

ETA, have they moved the marina back?

---

They tried for years to trace it to some sort of oil activity, only to find natural concentrations in the Red Beds up above the lake. The advisory was in effect when I was stationed in Dumas from 85-92.

Good to hear you enjoyed the walleye. If you get it again, I suggest a saut method. I spent 9 months in MSP for work back in 2005-06 and found a place in Burnsville that served walleye either sauted with panko breadcrumbs, or almondine style. Due to dietary restrictions, I didn't get the almondine, but the sauted was delicious. I don't see the almondine on the menu now, but they do have a pecan salmon.
Here is a link to their menu: Jensens Cafe, Burnsville, MN