As you may have heard, this is the week we here in America reserve for stuffing our faces with no shame whatsoever as we give thanks to some hardy souls that braved harsh winters before central heating and gore-tex was even a thing.
In the spirit of this glorious holiday, we’re asking you to share some of your favorite limnological recipes – anything from walleye to wild rice to crayfish. If it lives in an inland water, it’s fair game.
Our entry comes courtesy of Carl “Big Daddy” Bachtel. In addition to being a multimedia and TV journalist at WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio, Carl is a Bass Pro Shops “Pro,” giving fishing seminars at area stores and he’s the guy behind WKYC’s series “Outdoors with Big Daddy.”
Carl’s big claim to fame, though, should be in pairing the world’s best freshwater fish (in our humble opinion) with sweet, sweet bacon. The recipe for his roll ups is below:
Yellow perch are excellent table fare and deep fried perch are a local staple. There are several ways to prepare the tender, sweet fillets, and my favorite is teryaki-marinated, bacon-wrapped and grilled. Here’s the simple recipe.
Coat perch fillets in teryaki marinade of your choice
Refrigerate and allow to marinate for 1 to 2 hours
You’ll need 1 slice of bacon per fillet
Partially pre-cook the bacon in microwave or oven. Must be able to roll it up
Take 1 marinated fillet and place on 1 piece of bacon and start rolling.
Toothpick the bacon/fillet as you’re rolling to keep it together
Start grill and heat it up on “high”
Place wraps on grill. Keep turning so bacon doesn’t burn.
When browned on all sides, baste with more teryaki sauce.
Keep turning and turn down grill. Close lid.
Let roll ups cook until bacon is done and fish goes pale, usually around 10-12 minutes.
When done, remove toothpicks and that’s it. They won’t last long and will be the hit of your holiday party.
Great. Now we’re hungry. If we get enough recipes in the comments section, maybe we’ll just have to have a post-Thanksgiving Center for Limnology feast!
What sounds good to you?