Hey guys.

I have two whitefish in the freezer. They are still whole because I brought them home frozen...I have 4 fillets to play with

I want to do a video experimenting with four different ways of cooking whitefish.

One way will be smoked, for sure...my recipe.

But looking for the BEST or most unique ways or recipes you have ever done whitefish. Your favorite ways to eat them!

I would like to pick three other ways of doing the other fillets, and cook and test them in a video. Am thinking one should be deep fried maybe in one of my batters.



Any recipes guys?

Can’t say I’ve cooked whitefish, but I cook other fish the same way and it’s outstanding... salmon, mahi mahi, snapper, etc.

Season both sides with salt/cayenne/garlic and onion powder. Followed by a dusting of ranch seasoning.


In a pan, a few small pats of butter/margarine or oil. Small pile of chopped red (or any color) onions and bell peppers below the Fish fillet then a Little butter/margarine, onions and bell peppers on top, finished with some lemon or orange. Fresh sliced or shot of juice.


Bake or grill until fish is ready. I like to leave the veggies in big slices.


If you want to take it a step further, bacon above or below is a nice addition.

Simple pleasures for simple minds..........that pretty much sums up the way I sometimes prepare several types of fish, including Lake Whitefish. I simply boil the skinless fillets and eat them as you'd eat lobster. I either dip in melted butter (with lemon added at times), or I dunk the chunks in cocktail sauce of my own very simple recipe.......mix catsup with horseradish. My mouth is watering even as I type this.

I always fillet a side off and give it a good visual inspection. Whitefish from some lakes seem to carry a lot of worms in the meat.

Hard to beat smoked and i think it is because of the fat layer along the lateral line....

Trim that fat layer off and they are great pan fried or deep fried. Dip in egg, roll in cracker crumbs, fry, salt and pepper....

we mostly boil them not sure how unique that is

my great great grandfather was boiling fish for his timber crews in the 1880s there is even some articles in the news paper about him feeding his crew this way it has stuck and is family tradition , my great grandfather a commercial fisherman on Michigan and Superior and his son my great uncle kept fish boil the family gathering meal. uncle Bill died in 2019
my great uncles son still commercially fishes white fish his day job is tug captain and we had a family fish boil at his fish shed this summer to keep the tradition going and have a much needed family gathering.

for my home boils I use mostly lake trout as my dad sport fishes his retirement away on Lake Michigan in the summer and south FL in the winter.
mom prefers salmon so I get all the lakers

my uncles boil pots were/are speed queen washing machine tubs with a SS patch in the bottom where the agitator came through.

he made SS hardware cloth baskets for them larger bottom smaller top

fill the pot with water , get it boiling , add about 3 pound of salt

red potatoes preferably about 1 1/2 to 2 inches go first and get 10 minutes after returning to a rolling boil , add your white onions about 1 1/2- 2 inches also 5 more minutes then add the fish when you get about 10 minutes after returning to a boil you start watching when they start to float they are done if your potatoes are larger you may need to add a few minutes.

traditionally this would be a wood fire and a cup of kerosene or #2 would be tossed on the fire right at the end for the over boil carrying the scum and excess oil off the top.

in about 98 my Uncle built himself a set of LP burners and a second set before retiring from the ship yard where he was a machinist and tug captain besides his still fishing some this allowed a much cleaner operation that could be taken any where even to a tail gate party as long as you could bring enough jugs of water to fill the pot.

with no over boil , he mounted a sieve on a wood handle and removes the scum this way then at the end we dunk the baskets a few times and pull out

rye bread , coleslaw , melted butter , are served with it buffet line pie for desert drinks and snacks are a must for before or really any family gathering crackers and herring are common snack as well as cheese tray

I worked the boils for my grandpa as a kid when he did them for his church I sure wish I had gotten one of the church pots when they had stopped the fish boils when I was about 14 I asked a few years later and no one knew where they has all gone to , my grandpa had built 6 pots with baskets and we ran a 5 pot boil with a 6th pot for heating water for faster recovery on the other pots

this was all wood fired and I kept the fires and did the over boils , a show right before your meal did that from about 7-13 I was probably about 8-9 when they started letting me do the boils that was also the first time I bought fuel they had run out and sent me with the can and 50 cents , sure I had pumped gas before but I just filed the tank and my mom paid or sent me in with enough money to pay.
now I had 50 cents in my pocket and a can for diesel and no other money. I got to 45 cents and then it was ,click , click, click squeezing the handle and stopping as fast as I could, going up , got to 49 cents and went in an paid and walked back to the fair grounds with the can of fuel.

it is surprising how many people turn their nose up at the boiled onions , but I love them the ladies used to put them in a pail for me when they were left over from serving I would eat them like an apple .

I use a 30 quart pot and a Turkey fryer type burner for my home boils and only about a pound of salt

you give kids and new folks tail sections as there are fewer bones to deal with

My son brought home a mess of whitefish from ice fishing in Green Bay. Fried some, smoked some and pickled some. Really good fish to eat.

here are some pictures , this is a tamale pot I ued it because it has a lid which helps me get boiling with less fuel and my 30qt doesn't I think this one is 25 liters 27 quart
the tamale pots are sold quite reasonably about 25-30 dollars near Christmas at the grocery store they are all aluminum big SS pots are big money the reason my SS 30 quart doesn't' have is lid is because I bought it salvage and the lid was missing.

turkey fryer pots work also they are usually about 25 quart
this is a 6liter bucket of potatoes ans onions to give you an idea of the proportions


the pot I used this is the tamale pot


the fish same bucket as the potatoes were in , this is lake trout




you can see the wire thing I use to scoop it all out into my serving bowl when the boil is over

Deep fried

I'd bake them

Definitely pickled whitefish. Haven't had whitefish in years now. We always smoked some and pickled the others

yes but it almost seems a waste to use white fish for them, it is such a mild not fishy fish and it has a Y bone

you could make fish tacos with suckers and never notice once you have some salsa and seasoning on them

mostly people catch whitefish ice fishing or gill net

any fish, potato ,onion left over after the boil the next day or two generally ends up fish chowder I like mine with some sweet kernel corn

Almond Crusted Great Lakes Whitefish
December 4, 2020 Monahan's Seafood 1 Comment Recipes
Serves 4

11/2 – 2 lb. Great Lakes whitefish fillet
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup panko crumbs
mayonnaise
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper
Pre heat oven to 375º. In a food processor, pulse almonds with panko crumbs until coarsely chopped.

Cut fillets into 4 portions. Coat fillets with light coating of mayo. Cover fillets with almond crumb mix, pressing mix into meat side of fillet. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat ovenproof pan over high heat. Add olive oil and when oil is sizzling hot add fillets skin side up. After 1 minute flip and pop in the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until fish is just opaque in the center.

Baking option: Instead of pan searing some people prefer to bake the fish. Simply bake at 350º for 5 minutes. Then click up to broil to brown for another 1-3 minutes or until fish is just opaque in the center.

Whitefish here are usually destined for Agutuk (Eskimo ice cream).

Boil,the fish. Squeeze the juice out of the meat and debone it.

Then shorting, whipped, and mixed with sugar, add dry flaked whitefish and mix then add berries. Some put raisins and a bit of seal oil.

Its the desert of choice here. Goes good with cake.

Jeff, I am super interested in trying this one to be honest

Baked with a Parmesan crust they’re excellent.

Taste better than it sounds.

fresh bake whitefish is hard to beat , but it one of the few fish that won't keep frozen

Agreed. We drill a hole specifically to keep our whitefish on a stringer and then right into a cooler at the truck. We only keep enough to eat fresh or smoke, never let them freeze.

-NC