Hooked on Lake Erie walleye: 4 recipes for the perfect blank-canvas fish (2024)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When it comes to walleye fishing on Lake Erie, these are the good old days.

I’m 62 years old. To the best of my recollection, I have been fishing for walleye since I was four. One of my first memories is holding a short, steel rod while our 15-foot aluminum Crestliner trolled along the shoreline off Lorain, dragging home-made spinner rigs tipped with nightcrawlers.

Suddenly I found myself in a life-and-death battle with a big sheepshead. I couldn’t budge the head-shaking beast. I had to ask for help. It was embarrassing, but I’m guessing my dad and grandfather could not have been prouder.

I was hooked.

When I cut my angling teeth in the 1960s most people considered Lake Erie dead from industrial pollution, blooms of algae triggered primarily by phosphates in detergents and over-harvest by gill netters. Still, our three-generation fishing team managed to catch our fair share of yellow perch, walleye and even one or two of the soon-to-be-extinct blue pike.

Thousands of new boaters and anglers were joining the fun by the late 1970s, several years after politicians had the wisdom to buy out the licenses of commercial gill-netters. The absence of nets in Ohio waters, coupled with improved water quality, soon led to an explosion in the population of walleye. Lake Erie became the “Walleye Capital of the World.”

The fishing is even better now. Very good hatches in 2014 and 2015 refilled the lake. As the fish grew to catchable size, catch rates skyrocketed. For any fisherman or woman with a few basic skills, the question has not been whether or not they would catch a six-fish limit, but how long it would take.

And it could get better. The 2018 hatch was the best ever recorded, meaning millions more walleye will grow to legal size (15 inches) by the end of next summer.

• Related: Lake Erie walleye boom’s cause is a mystery, but no one is complaining

Granted, battling a walleye is not exactly something Hemingway would have written about. As game fishing goes, the fight can be more like reeling in a wet rag than an adrenaline-pumping battle with a billfish, muskie or giant salmon.

But what the walleye lacks in feistiness, it more than compensates for in tastiness. It’s delicate, flaky, pearly-white flesh is the perfect blank canvas for anyone practicing the culinary arts. There are more ways to prepare walleye than Bubba Blue’s list of shrimp dishes in “Forrest Gump.”

Here are the four go-to recipes in our home. It’s a good place to start, but the fun of a bounty like we’re experiencing is that you should get plenty of opportunities to try new things and find your own favorite dishes.

Walleye Meuniere

Substitute Dover sole for walleye and this is the recipe that turned Julia Child on to French cooking. It’s a simple and elegant dish that takes only about 15 minutes to prepare. Light, fresh and delicate fish is the key. I’m pretty sure if Julia had tried it with walleye instead of sole, the results would have been the same.

1 lb. walleye filets

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 lemon

3 Tbsp. butter

chopped fresh parsley

Mix Old Bay, garlic powder, salt and pepper and reserve in a small container. Rinse walleye in cold water and dry with paper towel. Sprinkle most of the seasoning mix evenly over both sides of the filets. Heat oil in non-stick skillet on medium-high. Dredge fish in flour and immediately place in skillet. Saute until light golden-brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to platter. Wipe out most of the flour that remains in the skillet with a paper towel. Return skillet to heat and add wine. Reduce by half. Squeeze in juice from half-lemon. Add butter and swirl until melted. Return fish to pan and coat with lemon-butter mix. Place fish on platter. Pour remaining butter sauce over fish. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning mix and chopped parsley. Serves 2 to 4.

Grilled Walleye

This recipe began as a filling for fish tacos at our annual taco and margarita bash. When we kept watching our guests scarf down the walleye plain without bothering to fill a taco with fish and condiments, we decided it might work better as a stand-alone dish. Because walleye is so flaky and delicate, keeping it together on the grill can be tricky. Make sure you have hot coals and the grate is clean. Spray with a little non-stick spray and wipe off with a paper towel before grilling. Don’t try to move the fish until it comes up easily. I’ve found that the more tightly grained tail sections work better than the thicker shoulder for grilling. If you want to try the original dish, serve the fish with warm, soft tortillas, shredded cabbage, guacamole or avocado slices and your favorite salsa. Don’t buy too many tortillas if you’re entertaining fish purists like we do. And don’t forget the margaritas.

1 lb. walleye filets (preferably tail sections)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. butter

1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Choice of chopped fresh dill, cilantro or parsley

Mix Old Bay, brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper in a small container. Rinse walleye in cold water and dry with paper towel. Place butter, lemon, garlic, half the chopped herb and a little salt and pepper in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until butter melts. Rub olive oil over both sides of fish. Sprinkle seasoning mix over both sides of filets. Place on hot grill until lightly golden brown (about 2 minutes - char marks are good; burned is bad.) Brush fish with lemon-garlic butter before turning. Baste already grilled side two or three times until fish is done (another minute or two). Place on serving dish with the better looking grill marks facing up. Pour remaining lemon garlic butter over fish, sprinkle with remaining chopped herbs and serve immediately. Serves 2-3.

Walleye Chowder

Yes, this recipe includes Cheese Whiz, that processed orange goo that would make a good punchline for any food-themed joke. I have endured no shortage of grief when I tell guests about the key ingredient in their lovely chowder, but they’re usually converted when they taste its creamy, cheesy, herb-infused goodness. I have tried substituting a homemade, premium sharp-cheddar white sauce for the Cheese Whiz, more to try to improve it than to avoid being the butt of jokes. Surprisingly it did not measure up to the Kraft concoction. I inherited this recipe from my mom, adding the clam juice for a little more briny goodness, and the sherry just because. Stirring in fresh herbs at the end, and sprinkling some on for garnish, really ties this dish together.

1 lb. walleye, cut in 3/4-inch cubes

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 bay leaves

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup clam juice

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sherry

10 oz. Cheeze Whiz (about 2/3 jar)

3 medium potatoes, cut in cubes

3 celery stalks, diced

3 carrots, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup cooked sweet corn

Salt and black pepper to taste

Chopped fresh thyme, basil and parsley (about a cup total)

Heat oil in soup pot or Dutch oven, add celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Cook until vegetables are starting to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Add chicken stock, sherry and clam juice. Bring to a boil and add potatoes. Adjust heat to simmer. Cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in cream and warm to simmer. Stir in Cheese Whiz, warm to simmer, being careful not to break up potatoes. Add fish and corn, stir occasionally and simmer for 3 minutes. Add salt and black pepper if desired. Remove bay leaves. Stir in fresh herbs just before serving, reserving some for garnish. Serves 4-6.

Walleye Fry

I’m also a big fan of the traditional flour-egg-wash-bread crumb preparation for fried fish, but have found that the following recipe takes a little less time if you’re making a large batch. Plus, the crunch factor is skull-rattling. My wife and I used this recipe for 30 consecutive annual fish fries. I can’t imagine how many yellow perch and walleye gave up their lives for the dining pleasure of our guests.

2 lb. walleye filets, cut into serving-sized pieces

1/2 cup flour

8 oz. lager beer (about 3/4 can)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup cornflake crumbs

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Additional salt for final seasoning

Recommended amount of vegetable oil for your fryer

1 lemon

Place flour and baking powder in large bowl. Stir in beer until mixture reaches the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Adjust by adding more beer to thin, or more flour to thicken. Mix cornflake crumbs and seasonings on sheet pan. Dip filets in batter, dredge in coating mixture, turning and pressing into mixture for a thick coat. Shake off excess and place on another sheet pan. This step can be done up to several hours ahead. Refrigerate until cooking. Heat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees. Drop filets in fryer, being careful not to splash hot oil. Do not overfill. Cook in batches until golden brown. If oil in fryer cools with successive batches, cooking time will increase. Shake off as much oil as possible, then finish draining on a wire rack over paper towels. Salt immediately and squeeze on fresh lemon juice before serving. Serve with your choice of tartar sauce, co*cktail sauce or your favorite salsa. Serves 4-6.