HOW TO FRY FOR BEST-TASTING CRAPPIE
By: Jack Hennessy
Photo Credit: Jack Hennessy
The crappie connection within our family runs deep, goes back decades to when my dad would tell us stories about his fishing trips to Canada, where they feasted on slabs night after night. Then, before I moved from Minnesota to Kansas, my dad, brother, and I followed through on the dream fishing trip for all of us, motored out one morning in the cold blue dark, over an hour from camp, to a remote spot where crappie bit fierce and fast on anything.
CAPTION: The author’s father and brother pose with a cutting board full of slabs during a Canada fishing in July 2016.
My dad still raves about the fish fry we had that night. We never thought we’d be able to recreate that thrill and flavor on my local waters in Kansas, but we have been able to do so at a very remote pond not far from my house.
With the simple recipe below, I wish to share a part of our family experience with yours. I believe a crappie fry to this level will create its own special memories for those who gather around the table.
Recipe:
Ingredients needed:
- Crappie, skinned and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
- Almond milk or buttermilk
- Mix of 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/4 cup favorite spice mix
- Sunflower, peanut, or canola oil
Fillet crappie around rib bones and cut fillets in half. Trim out any spine. You can cut larger half of fillet in half, or keep whole.
Soak crappie in almond or buttermilk for at least 3 hours or overnight. (Ideally not much longer than 24 hours.)
In large mixing bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, and your favorite spice mix (I’m a fan of Fire & Smoke Society’s “The Usual” for a lot of dishes, including venison and other wild game.)
To fry, heat oil to 400 F. Ideally don’t let oil temp drop below 375 F.
Add crappie directly from almond milk or buttermilk directly to flour mix. Cover in mix, shake off any access, add to oil.
Continue to ensure oil stays between 375 and 400 F. When crappie is golden crispy, remove and set on a rack so that grease can drain. Let cool a minute or two then enjoy!
Thoughts or questions? Reach out to me on Instagram (@WildGameJack) with any questions or comments.
Get Cooking!
As always, good luck this fall everyone and remember to send any success pictures or stories from the field to [email protected] and you could be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article or any of our articles have helped you become a better hunter or conservation steward, consider becoming a member of the Mule Deer Foundation for only $35 dollars a year. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/
Jack Hennessy grew up south of Chicago, started hunting at the age of 26 when attending graduate school in Spokane, Washington. Since then he has combined his love of cooking with the outdoors. He lives in south-central Kansas where he hunts whitetails and chases roosters with his Wirehaired Vizsla, Dudley.
