Fried Walleye

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Fried walleye is a classic for a reason: Crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside. The method I use here is buttermilk fried fish, and it works with all firm, white fish, from walleye to perch, seabass to snapper.

A platter of fried walleye with lemon.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Coming up with a specific fried walleye recipe just seemed like an odd exercise: After all, it’s simple fried fish. Then I started to think about all the ways you can go about frying fish, and realized there was one key method I’d eaten a lot as “shore lunch” in Minnesota that I hadn’t covered here in HAGC.

Buttermilk fried fish.

Yep, it’s basically the same as my recipes for buttermilk fried rabbit and fried quail, but with walleye fillets.

You marinate the fillets in seasoned buttermilk, then dredge them heavily in flour — repeating the process if you want “extra crispy” — then fry them in lots of very hot oil.

Tips for Better Fried Walleye

No matter what method or what fish you want to fry, here are some universal tips that will help you get the crispy, not greasy, fish you want.

  • The best oil for frying walleye or other fish is one with a high smoke point, so canola, grapeseed, peanut, rice bran, safflower or avocado. These oils can go to 400ยฐF without burning.
  • Keep your oil as close to 350ยฐF as you can. The single most common problem when frying fish is oil that’s too cool. Cool oil makes for greasy fish.
  • To that end, don’t crowd the pan. Give each piece of fried walleye some room. Fry in batches.
  • Between each batch, let the oil return to 350ยฐF. This is another very common mistake newcomers make.
  • Put your fried walleye on a rack set over a baking sheet in a 200ยฐF oven. This will prevent the fish from getting soggy.

The main seasoning in this recipe goes on the fish and/or in the buttermilk, not the flour. The reason is because certain spices, and many herbs, will burn in the hot oil, making them bitter. When those seasonings are under the flour they’re protected.

Any spice mix you want works, from Lawry’s to Cavender’s to Ethiopian berbere to whatever whatever. You do you.

If you want to make gluten-free fried walleye, I’d suggest dredging the fish in a 50-50 mix of starch — tapioca, potato or corn — and a gluten free flour you like, such as rice or chickpea flour.

Close up of three pieces of buttermilk fried fish with lemon.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Other Ways to Make Fried Walleye

Buttermilk fried fish isn’t the only way to fry walleye. Here are some other methods that are equally good.

Basically you can use almost any sort of flour or starch to make fried walleye. I’ve even used pulverized Doritos in place of breadcrumbs, and gone with 100 percent starch, too.

Accompaniments

Beer, obviously. Duh. Or lemonade for those who don’t drink alcohol.

But I’d also suggest some homemade cole slaw and potato salad, a classic Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese and pickled red onions, or hell, slap your fried walleye between two pieces of bread, add bacon, lettuce and tomato and call it a day.

Three pieces of fried walleye with lemon wedges.
5 from 17 votes

Buttermilk Fried Walleye

This is a great method for frying walleye or really any other firm, white fish.
Course: Appetizer, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Hank Shaw
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound walleye fillets, or other firm, white fish
  • 1 tablespoon Cavender's seasoning, or any other seasoning mix
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups full fat buttermilk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • A dash of Tabasco (optional)
  • A dash of Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • 1 cup flour
  • Oil for frying (see below for types)

Instructions 

  • Cut the fish into large pieces for frying. Salt them and dust with the seasoning mix. Press this into the fish fillets, let them sit on the cutting board while you heat up the oil in a large pan, Dutch oven or fryer. You want enough to almost submerge the fish. Bring the oil to 350ยฐF.
  • Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet in your oven and set it to 200ยฐF.
  • Mix the buttermilk, eggs, Tabasco and Worcestershire. Dunk as many pieces of walleye as will fit in your frying pan without them touching each other.
  • You can either flour your fish in a large, shallow pan, or in a plastic bag. Regardless, flour the fish heavily, pressing it into the pieces. You want a few chunks here and there. If you want your fried fish extra crispy, put them back in the buttermilk and back in the flour a second time — if you do this, you will need more buttermilk, eggs and flour.
  • Fry your fish until golden brown on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move them to the cooling rack in the oven while you do the next batch.

Notes

Leftover walleye is tasty eaten cold, right out of the fridge.

Keys to Success

  • The best oil for frying walleye or other fish is one with a high smoke point, so canola, grapeseed, peanut, rice bran, safflower or avocado. These oils can go to 400F without burning.
  • Keep you oil as close to 350ยฐF as you can. The single most common problem when frying fish is oil that’s too cool. Cool oil makes for greasy fish.
  • To that end, don’t crowd the pan. Give each piece of fried walleye some room. Fry in batches.
  • Between each batch, let the oil return to 350ยฐF. This is another very common mistake newcomers make.
  • Put your fried walleye on a rack set over a baking sheet in a 200ยฐF oven. This will prevent the fish from getting soggy.
ย 

Nutrition

Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 767mg | Potassium: 528mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 267IU | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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15 Comments

  1. THIS recipe is what I/we are looking for- OUTSTANDING- the taste of the fish is clear/clean – just super –

  2. Many thanks for sharing. IMHO, walleyes are the best tasting freshwater fish in the US. I only wish we could get some in our fish markets here on the West Coast.

  3. Hello, Mr.Hank Shaw! I just Wanted to
    say thank you for posting all the Good Recipe. My Husband and I have two sets of Twins Boys of course and they get very Excited when my husband and I tell them we going to take the boat out to go fishing. I wanted to let you know you have a big support system Old and Young. So, Thank You! for posting the Recipes we look forward to trying something new. Thank You! very much and keep up the Good work.

  4. Every summer as a child I went to my grandparents farm in Warroad Minnesota /Lake of the woods and we would always have walleye , she would use buttermilk and egg then coat with crushed saltine crackers. I have yet to find a fish that tastes better than the “shore lunches” we had , fresh vegetables from the garden , Grandma’s fresh homemade yeast rolls and the annodized aluminum cup of koolaid ( I had braces and could have done without the aluminum cup,it was like putting your tongue to a 9 volt battery).
    Thankyou for the recipes and bringing up good memories of the 60’s and 70’s .
    Thanhs for writing “Hook Line and Supper it is really good !

    1. I grew up in the 60s in Wisconsin. Even then, a Walleye dinner was very special. I didnโ€™t know until I grew up & left the state how rare Walleye is. It truly is the best wild caught fish in the US. The tender, sweetness & flakiness are rare. My mother also used saltines as her last coating: after a dip in seasoned flour, then egg wash, she would roll the fillets in crushed saltines before frying. The saltines didnโ€™t burn as the fish was fried in peanut oil, & the saltines provided a wonderfully rich, exterior crunch. Buttermilk really isnโ€™t necessary. The fish doesnโ€™t need to be tenderized.
      I now live in the western part of the US & order frozen Walleye online from Walleye Direct. The quality of their product is unsurpassed.

  5. What is the science behind the buttermilk? Iโ€™ve heard it suggested to use buttermilk on โ€œmuddyโ€ fish to remove that flavour. And a buttermilk soak is also a common approach to fried chicken. But what is it actually doing to the fish/chicken?

    1. The science is that the enzymes and acidity help to tenderize the meat , the acidity also allows the herbs and spices to release thier flavor….. the deal with chicken is now basically tradition but used not so long ago because the chicken that was “chosen ” would be an older one that needed tenderizing.

  6. Love the very-Wisconsin beer suggestions for the batter (OK Grain Belt is MN, but a lot of it gets drank in WI too).

  7. I love making my own batter, but not gonna lie… some good ol’ shore lunch (I like the cajun) is brought on every fishing trip I go on just in case. ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. THANKS FOR THIS RECIPE- WILL SAVE IT, IN CASE I EVER, FIND WALLEYE? HAVE ONLY HAD WALLEYE A FEW TIMES AND WISH WE COULD FIND IT HERE IN THE DEEP SOUTH?

    1. I think it prefers cool, deep water, and is most common in the Great Lakes area. The South is probably too warm for local catches, but perhaps sunfish, striped bass, or marine redfish could substitute?