Outdoors with Luke: All about a good fish fry

Jul. 15—I've fried croaker and speckled trout from a fire fueled by driftwood on the beach and I've fried freshly caught catfish and white bass on the banks of remote east Texas creeks.

I'm not sure I've eaten fish better than those walleye or northern pike fillets cooked over an open fire on a beautiful little island on a remote lake in northern Saskatchewan. The iconic shore lunch is a way of life when fishing up in Canada.

These days, I often fry fish in the shade of some big oaks in front of the little cabin on our few acres. I love everything about a fish fry. Everything from catching the fish to cleaning them properly to hearing that first fillet, well-seasoned and dusted with a mixture of corn meal and flour, hitting the grease. and the smell of that tasty fish bubbling in a skillet of hot cooking oil.

It's the stuff that great outdoor memories are made. I want my fish to be crunchy but not overcooked. I have known folks that like soft fried fillets. To my way of thinking a fried fish should be crunchy and it's that additional minute or two in the hot grease that does the trick.

My early recollections of fish cooking over a hot fire in the outdoors goes way back to the 1950s when I was a little whipper snapper growing up in very rural Red River County in northeast Texas. After my dad sold the 14,000 broiler chickens he raised every 10 weeks or so, he declared a holiday and loaded up the 1950 model International pickup and we headed to southeast Oklahoma to set up camp and enjoy a couple of glorious days running our trotlines, spending time together as a family and catching and eating tasty channel catfish.

The meals always consisted of plenty of fish, fried potatoes, canned pork 'n beans and plenty of fresh onions, usually right out of the garden. Daddy had hinged plywood tables that mounted to the sides of the truck and this is where the fish frying usually took place. Occasionally he would cook fish over an open fire but not for that first evening meal.

We were always in a rush to get the trotlines set, usually before we made camp. Our goal was to have enough channel catfish for the first evening meal. It was much quicker to fire up the Coleman stove than fool with building a wood fire to cook on. Back then we used what we called white gas for fuel. I often wonder if the unleaded gasoline we fuel our vehicles with today would also serve as fuel for modern day Coleman stoves. I'm guessing it would but with today's prices of gasoline, clean burning Coleman fuel is a much better option.

I have done my share of fish frying through the years and also been the guest at many other folk's fish fries. I can honestly say I've never known two cookers that go about the task of frying fish in exactly the same manner. There are many variations when it comes to batter, seasonings and oils. Some fish cookers swear by peanut oil and it is a good choice but I just don't see the need to pay the extra dollars. I usually fry fish with the cheapest canola oil I can find but honestly prefer using lard.

Up in Canada, all the good fish cooks use lard and snub their noses at poly unsaturated oils. They say that if the lard is sufficiently hot, hot enough for a match to strike when dropped in, the fish doesn't actually soak up and lard. I agree and would use lard all the time if it wasn't so doggone expensive. Lard is always available at Hispanic grocery stores but because of cost, I usually go for the cheaper cooking oils.

The sky is the limit when it comes to batters. Some prefer straight corn meal, others a mixture of corn meal and flour. Some folks use straight flour as a batter but for me, a good batter must consist of mostly corn meal. I've even on occasion used yellow corn grits as a batter. This gives the fish more of a crunch but can be a bit grainy for some fish eaters. There are also many pre packaged fish batters on the market and on occasion I use some of the Cajun batters.

Years ago, I learned to place fillets in a zip-lock bag and add buttermilk and Louisiana hot sauce. A couple hours marinating in this mixture is all the seasoning necessary for a tasty fillet. No need to add anything to the cornmeal/flour mix when using this method. Some fish cookers season their batter with their favorite dry seasonings. Everything from salt and pepper to garlic powder, paprika or lemon pepper.

The good thing about making your own batter is that you can experiment and create the flavor you like best. Growing up, I don't remember us using anything other than salt and pepper and for many that is all that's needed. Through the years, I have developed a taste for more spicy fillets, thus the Louisiana hot sauce.

Back in the day, we fished for not only sport but food as well. We ate everything from blue gills, to catfish to largemouth bass. I know for many the thought of actually eating a bass ruffles feathers but even the fisheries biologists recommend taking smaller bass to keep balance in a farm pond or a larger reservoir for that matter. There is a whole generation of fish eaters that have never tasted a crunchy fired yearling largemouth bass. Honestly it's one of my favorite fish to eat.

Some not so popular fish that I consider excellent eating are freshwater drum and yellow bass. Most fishermen have no idea how tasty they are. There is no red meat in yellow bass to trim away and many consider the little fillets to be a delicacy. Buffalofish are snow white and flaky and make excellent baked fish cakes but they also have the tiny Y bones which makes them challenging to clean.

Note I haven't mentioned crappie. In my opinion, crappie are fish for what I refer to as non-fish eaters. I know this statement is considered blasphemy for many fish eaters but crappie, to me at least, don't really taste like fish. They have a neutral flavor that takes on the spices they are seasoned with. In self defense, be it known Ole' Luke enjoys a big platter of crispy fried crappie fillets as much as the next person but given a choice, I'd have yellow bass fillets on that platter.

I'd better close for this week. I have a stainless steel sink full of blue catfish fillets defrosting and need to trim them up and make ready for a later afternoon fish fry. Until next week!