White Perch Recipe Suggestions

Hey guys - been catching lots of WP through tips shared on this board but have never brought any home to try for the table. From reading about white perch, I've seen some folks claim that they're the best eating fish on the bay -- but I guess that's relative.

In any event, I want to give them a shot but I'm looking for your favorite recipe suggestions.

Can anyone share how they like to cook 'em up?

I was looking for something beyond just the standard batter & fry (but if that's the best, I'll go that route)

Thanks,
Mark

[jhoss]

I make a mean MD crab soup, where I just substitute perch for crabmeat

[Dimo]

Gut and scale the fish. Salt and pepper everywhere inside and out. Lightly coat the fish with olive oil. Throw it into a fish basket thing, the ones shaped like a fish. Take whole garlic, salt and pepper it, wrap in a foil making almost a Hershey kiss. Before you close, drizzle in olive oil and juice spritz from Orange. Place on grill first, then grill the fish. Serve with side of Greek salad (and tzatziki) or steamed zucchini / squash dressed with some old bay and butter. Yum.

[Shady]

Think of them as a smaller version of a striper. The meat is pretty similar, but tastier IMHO. Fry, bake, blacken, broil, grill - can't go wrong

And similar to Jhoss, I've made fish cakes with them following the same recipe as MD crab cakes and its tough to tell the difference. Just broil the fillets for 12 minutes, flake apart with a fork and substitute for the crab meat.

[RustedAngler]

Mmmm...this all sounds delicious..I caught a yellow perch, once, but never a white perch. All this food talk makes me miss a giant MD Crab Cake pretty bad. One day...

[Excalibur]

Awesome. I have used striper meat for mock crab cakes before and that sounds like the ticket here too. May try it a few different ways so please keep the ideas coming. For those who keep wp, what do you do, just throw them in a cooler with ice as you catch?

[john from md]

Here is a fast recipe.

Clean and scale fish leaving the skin on. Marinate in plastic bag with your choice of salad dressing and seasonings. Fire up the grill and put a seasoned iron skillet on it. After pan is hot enough to make a drop of water dance, add 2 table spoons of Olive oil and rotate pan around to coat the contact area. Put the fish on and give them two to 2.5 minutes per side. skin will shrivel up and be no issue. Lift fish out with spatula so it doesn't break up.

On the plate, hold the tail and lift the meat from the tail end with a fork and the bones will remain behind. Do the same with the other side and all you have left are bones.

Enjoy,

John

[AbuMasgouf]

I think I posted on this before but can't find it.

Simplest way I enjoy is also on the grill, but a modified Masgouf style.

I split them open from the back with the scales still on (typical Masgouf style). Clean the inside and dry it and put on old bay seasoning or a dry BBQ rub on the meat. Grill scale side down first then flip for a quick finish on the meat side. They crisp up and become like a Plate and are real easy to flip.





This can also be done with Rockfish

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[sparky1423]

That looks Delicious Mustafa...that's a large grill! (Or really small perch)

[AbuMasgouf]

LOL! A little bit of both!

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[Fishinfool]

With fresh fish, especially white perch which I consider one of the best eating fish in the Bay, I am a less is more type.

First, I generally only keep perch at least 9-10 inches, depending on how fat they are. There are just too many small bones to keep anything smaller, IMO.

1. Gut, scale and clean fish thoroughly, and pat dry.
2. Dip in milk, then dredge in a combination of panko bread flakes and crushed saltines 50/50 with half teaspoon of salt, pepper and Old Bay to the dredge mix.
3. Saute for 7 min. on each side on top of the stove with pre-heated corn oil.
4. Filet after fish is cooked by standing up the fish up, removing the dorsal fin, and flaking off the meat from the top down.
5. Add fresh lemon and maybe a pinch or two Old Bay to the filets after they're cooked.

Enjoy with an ice cold Natty Boh, fresh Maryland corn on the cob, and your favorite salad made with fresh Maryland tomatoes.

As Chuck Thompson used to say; ain't the beer cold BABY!!!