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Scoring with the fans
Today is a big day in many households as families and friends gather around televisions and buffet tables for The Big Game.
Today’s column is not about the Ohio State-Michigan or even the YSU-Samford football showdowns, though gridiron rivalries are a great segue to my topic.
Before we get down to business, however, perhaps you have a cache of fillets in your freezer. If so, get out a package to thaw. Do it now. Then come back to today’s column. We’ll wait for you.
If you are one of the thousands of readers who went to get fish out of the freezer a moment ago, chances are you have some crappie fillets in the mix. You’re lucky. They may very well be Buckeyes’ favorite freshwater food fish.
Many Ohioans catch and release walleyes. Many also keep them for the skillet. But almost everybody who fishes for crappies saves them for the skillet.
It’s no wonder. They are delicious. They are fun to catch. And they are abundant.
Youngstown-area lakes are littered with dozens and dozens of crappie anglers out in their boats and set up around bridges in the fall.
Find one crappie and you likely have located a bunch. Crappies congregate to eat on young-of-the-year shad and other small fish, as well as freshwater shrimp and insects.
Crappie schools are easy to identify on a good sonar screen and a skilled angler can stay overtop a feeding school of crappies with relative ease.
You’ll know when you come upon a crappie boat on the lake. It will be moving at barely a crawl, often with two anglers, both focused on an array of rods rigged with jigs to patrol specific depths.
Based on the harvests in recent years, it’s likely those boats’ livewells and fish baskets are toting a good number of slab crappies.
Whether you are working Mosquito, Pymatuning, Milton, Berlin, West Branch or Shenango, the chances are good you will be able to stay on the crappies until freeze-up. That means plenty for the kitchen.
All of this brings us back to the fillets you are thawing. They are absolutely, positively sure-to-be-a-hit finger food for this afternoon’s pigskin party. I found a recipe for “Game Day Cajun Fish Bites” on Ohio Division of Wildlife’s website.
Crappies are perfect for the recipe. You’ll need 2 pounds of bite-size fish pieces, a cup of pancake mix, a cup of plain breadcrumbs, two tablespoons (or more) of Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, a quarter cup of water, one egg and vegetable oil for frying.
Combine the pancake mix, breadcrumbs and Cajun seasoning in a plastic food storage bag. Whisk water and egg in a bowl. Dip fish in the egg wash and drop chunks in the plastic bag with dry ingredients. Shake to coat, fry in a half-inch of oil at 360 degrees in a large skillet for four to six minutes until golden brown, turning once in the process.
The recipe recommends a horseradish dipping sauce: half cup of heavy cream, half cup of drained horseradish, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the cream in a bowl until thick, but not holding stiff peaks, then fold in the other ingredients.
I subscribe to the school of thought that the best parts of Michigan are under water. Which only stands to reason, because that’s where the crappies live.
No matter who scores the most points today, if you serve Cajun crappie bites, your guests will be happy fans. Go, Buckeyes! Go, Penguins!
(Editor’s Note: To find additional recipes for your Ohio-caught fish, visit the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s website, wildlife.ohiodnr.gov, and click on the Education and Outdoor Discovery drop-down menu, where you will find the Wild Ohio Cookbook.)