Fish Fun and 'Game'

Wisconsin is famous for its Friday night fish fries.  All kinds of fish may appear on the table - perch, cod, walleyed pike, whitefish, or blue gills. 

And Potter Perch is an historic recipe used to prepare it -

"Potter Perch honors the Wisconsin congressman who, while debating abolition, was challenged to a duel by Rep. Pryor of Virginia. When Pryor named bowie knives as his weapons of choice, Potter indignantly withdrew, declaring he was no butcher" writes Margaret Guthrie in her Quivey's Grove Heritage Cookbook.  Quivey's Grove is a long-standing, highly popular restaurant on the edge of Madison.  Her recipe for fried fish is fast, easy and true Wisconsin.

I cooked it for our Mardi Gras party and my kids LOVED it.  My husband and I lost out on second helpings of fish because the kids ate it all up!  You know I'll be making this fish again very soon!

And you don't have to use perch, any of the fish named above will do.  Last night I used wild Canadian whitefish because it was fresh and reasonably-priced at Madison's Seafood Center, and their perch was frozen. I was very happy with my choice.

Potter Perch

Guthrie offers two different ways to coat the fish: plain flour, or a mix of pretzels and cornmeal.  I came up with a third way because the cornmeal that I was certain was in the cupboard, wasn't. These are the proportions for coating 1 to 1.5 pounds of fish.

Flour Coating:

• 1 bottle of beer or cup of buttermilk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tablespoon seasoning salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Pretzel and Cornmeal Coating:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup water, beaten with egg
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup pretzel crumbs

Cristie's fudge:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

Begin to preheat the oil so that it reaches 375 degrees by the time the fillets are ready.  (I put about one cup of canola oil in a large skillet and used a candy thermometer to read the temperature.  My husband says that the secret to frying is getting the oil temperature right.  I believe him; he's a better cook than I am, and the fish turned out great.)

For each coating, mix the dry ingredients together.  Dip the filet's in the wetting agent (beer, buttermilk, or egg wash), then in the seasoned flour, or cornmeal and pretzel crumbs. Drop each fillet carefully into the oil and fry until brown and crispy on all sides.  This takes 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.  Drain on paper towels and serve immediately, accompanied by a good local beer, coleslaw, and french-fried potatoes (cooked separately from the fish!).

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Katie creates the Wisconsinmade.com web pages.  The featured products you see are Katie's picks.  (So it's pretty easy to know what's on Katie's wish list for Christmas - heads up Katie's friends and family!)  Katie just got married a few weeks ago so this is her first year as a deer-hunter's widow.  Like other WI hunting widows, Katie has wild times planned with her female friends who like to party with all the conveniences of modern civilization, i.e. indoor plumbing, central heat, and the mall.   But Katie is no stranger to venison.  She likes the way her dad cooks it best.  He melts some butter in a fry pan, drops in a slab of venison, browns it on both sides, sprinkles it with salt and pepper, and eats it with sauteed onions between two pieces of rye bread.  What could be easier?  

But if you want some additional ideas on how to prepare it, here are some suggestions:

Venison Stroganoff

• 2 lbs venison tenderloin cut into thin ribbons, approximately 1" x "2" x 1/4" (beef may be substituted)
• 1/2 lb sweet butter
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 2 cups beef, veal or venison stock
• 2 cups stewed tomatoes, pureed and strained to remove seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs button mushrooms, stems removed
• 2 cups sour cream

In a heavy 3-quart covered casserole, brown the venison in 1/4 lb butter.  Add the onions and remaining butter.  Cook 5 minutes.

Mix together stock, tomato puree, salt, and pepper.  Add to meat mixture along with mushrooms.  Simmer 30-40 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream and adjust seasoning to taste, being careful not to boil.  Serve over buttered noodles or steamed rice.  Serves 6-8.  Taken from: The Northwoods Table .

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Beery Good Venison   Taken from: Drink Your Beer and Eat It Too!

• 2 1/2 - 3 lbs venison roast
• 1 1-oz package onion soup mix
• 1 12-oz can beer

Trim all fat from roast and put in slow cooker.  Sprinkle onion soup mix on meat and pour in beer.  Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours until meat is tender.  Serves 5-7.

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Roast Pheasant   Taken from: Wisconsin Country Gourmet

Wrapping the pheasant in bacon before roasting will help keep it tender and moist.

• 2 small pheasants or 1 medium-sized pheasant, plucked, singed and cleaned
• 1 - 2 whole onions
• 1 - 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 - 2 sprigs of parsley
• 1 - 2 large pinches of thyme
• 8 - 14 slices of bacon
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Wipe birds well with a damp cloth and sprinkle cavities with a little salt and pepper.  Using the first amount for one bird and second for two, add to each cavity onion, celery, parsley, and thyme.  Truss the birds and place on their sides in a shallow pan; lay strips of bacon across the breasts, legs, and thighs.  Roast at 375 degrees for 15 minutes (20 minutes for a larger bird).  Turn pheasants on to other side, cover with additional bacon.  Baste with pan juices and roast 15 minutes more.  Place birds on their backs, baste well.  Cover again with bacon and roast additional 10 minutes.  Remove bacon and return to the oven and brown.  Season.  Serves 2-4.