My dad is my fillet fishing hero. He can whip through filleting a pile of fish in record speed. I can’t even count the number of fish fry meals I enjoyed while growing up. Not only could my dad find great fishing spots, he could bait the hook, guide me on the best casting techniques, coach me on how to reel them in, catch them in the net, unhook them, and when we got them home, he could fillet them with skill and precision of a pro. And he could cook them too, there is nothing like a fresh fish fry, the same day you catch the fish.
That is why the ability to fish and fillet them too, was tops on skill sets of my potential husband.
Wait…what?
You bet, I had specific potential spouse screening questions like, “So do you like to fish?” Or “If you go fishing, can you take the fish off the hook?” Or “Have you ever caught a tree or stump instead of fish and can you get the bait off them if it happens?” And…the all-time winning my heart question I ask is, “Can you fillet the fish you catch?”
I not only lucked out in meeting someone who loves to fish, he loves to cook too. And…yes, he can fillet the fish we catch. A match made in heaven! I’ve said it before and will say it until I die, I’m damn lucky, and definitely spoiled by a great guy!
Lucky for him, this week I caught a big a** smallmouth bass. And, yep, he fillets it. Again, I’m soooooo lucky.
I confess…I can fillet fish. (Shh, don’t tell). I’ve fillet fish before, my dad attempted to teach me a few times over the years. But it’s not my favorite part of fishing, kind of like taking big fish off the hook. I like to leave those tasks to the pros. I have my quirks, and I’m way better at catching the fish than taking them off the hook or filleting them.
My big a** bass was a big fish to fillet, weighing in at 3.1 pounds.
It was a handful of slippery, slimy, stinky fish. The truth is, and the reason why I pass on the task is, filleting fish is kind of gross.
I held my big a** bass long enough to pose for proof I caught it before it headed off to the chopping block. All I could imagine was, man, this fish is gonna be delicious. Chomp, chomp, chomp…
No worries, my husband was up for the challenge. He just reaches into the cooler, grabs the fish and off to the task he goes.
The fish just lays there, dead, waiting to be cut up, skinned, and then their remains tossed in the garbage.
I agreed to be the cook this time around. I can bend once and awhile, and pay back the ability to fillet-a-fish-gift by cooking the catch up by using my dad’s recipe for the fish fry.
Caution…just like being a pro fillet guy, there’s a secret to the recipe…the mixture requires flexibility and whatever spices you have/like to get the job done.
Steps to a great fish fry:
- Clean the fish fillets to check for any bones.
- Soak the fillets in ice-cold water, with a dash of salt and sugar, do so while you’re prepping the rest of the ingredients.
- Dry off the fillets before dipping in the egg mixture.
- Egg mixture, depending upon the number of fillets = 1 part egg whisked together with, 1 part beer (whatever kind you’re drinking), and 1 part Greek yogurt. There is no exactness to this, just make it up as you go.
- Dip fillets in egg mixture to coat them.
- Dip them into a flour mixture, (again, no exactness, just the right amount of flour for the fish caught).
- The flour mixture is just enough flour to coat the number of fillets you have, and you mix it with seasonings of your choice – just right for the flavor you want. I told you flexibility is part of the equation.
- Fry the fillets in a frying pan to a nice golden brown on each side.
- Enjoy!
On an extra gross side note…this big a** smallmouth bass was a bottom-dwelling fiend. He had done some fishing himself before I reeled him in. Rumor has it…a fish who eats crawfish will taste extra sweet when cooked. I don’t really know if it was the dash of sugar in the water or the crawfish this fish had eaten, but the cooked fish was delicious!
Oh, good graycious, I was so busy cooking, I completely forgot to take pictures of the cooked fish. Suffice it to say, we enjoyed the fish as fish tacos this time around. And the big a** fillets left enough for leftovers for lunch the next day. Now it’s time to schedule another fishing trip…
