My dad brings his fryer up, sets it up on a picnic table & fries up his fresh catch. Unfortunately, this year the fish haven't been biting but luckily he had some from a trip to Canada this spring.
First course, fried cheese curds.
If you aren't from Minnesota, Wisconsin or Quebec you might not be familiar with with this regional delicacy but oh do we love them here. Salty, squeaky, rubbery bits of cheesy goodness that are only made better by battering & deep frying them. Usually they are coated with a beer-based batter but my Dad used an onion ring batter he had on hand. Imagine the best mozzarella sticks you've ever eaten, I could have just eaten these all night!
Second course, this cut onion rings.
Crisp with a light batter, just perfect.
Third course, fried walleye
Walleye is only found in the Northern US & Canada. It is a very light, flaky, white fish & considered the best tasting freshwater fish. It's also the MN state fish. My Dad cuts the fillets into nuggets that he then soaks in egg & milk. Right before frying they are coated in Shore Lunch. Served with my mom's homemade tarter sauce while sitting next to the lake, its the perfect fish dinner.
WOW! I mean, really...wow. Wow. The curds. The rings. The fish nuggets. Oh, and the tartar sauce. I love a lady who knows how to make (or eat) good tartar sauce!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to try cheese curds. An old roommate of mine is from Milwaukee and I told her repeatedly she needs "to have your mom send us some curds!" and she never did. I want to try them so bad. Where can I get some? Can I special order them?
I have another pkge. of cheese curds left...hmmm....what would I do with them? Why...I would fry'em like your pops did!
ReplyDeleteNikki - I'm sure you could though cheese curds are actually best fresh, after that they lose their squeakiness.
ReplyDeletePeter - Frying them is totally the way to go
Oh WOW! I've never heard of these...they have like the perfect golden brown I've ever seen. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteOh yum...love fried fish!!!
ReplyDeleteYOu totally have to try the strawberries...to kick it up a notch add a bit of strawberry extract to the cream cheese mixture and a tiny bit of lemon juice!
WAAAHHHH! I want cheese curds and a fish fry! Fish fries are big here in FL and I am a big fan of them too!
ReplyDeleteI've never thought to bring the fryer along camping. Great idea - I'm so glad there's more summer left to enjoy now!
ReplyDeleteGreat timing! I just spent the last two weekends in Bemidji, MN and Madison, WI, respectively. I made sure to have my squeaky cheese curds at the Madison farmer's market (you can see my post about them here: http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/07/07/the-madison-farmers-market/) but unfortunately, they weren't fried. All your pictures look delicious!
ReplyDeleteOh, I bet I would love those fried cheese curds. I'm big into cheese curds, and I love mozzarella sticks. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteAlthough not from Minnesota or Quebec I am originally from Manitoba and we used to love this -a total feast. It looks wonderful and brings back so many good memories.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. Delicious! I'd love the recipe for those cheese curds!
ReplyDeletespirophita - there really isn't a recipe, we just battered the curds in a onion ring batter from the grocery store & fried them up until they were golden brown.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the great comments!
I miss fried cheese curds...they are the best.
ReplyDeleteKat, your post made me laugh. The first time I went to MN we had walleye that Zach's mum had caught on the lake and every time we go back Zach has to find a place to get cheese curds... they're a bit to rich for me though.
ReplyDeleteI am soooo jealous. My summers during my childhood were spent on lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin and there were numerous fish frys to attend. I have not been to one in so long.
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