Crappie Taste

We have a annual oyster roast at my local fire dept. Every year in February. We used to buy 10lbs. Of Whiting or Trout filets and there were ALWAYS fish left over. 3 years ago I started supplying all the fish and they where all crappie filets. The first time I took 15 lbs. And there wasnt a CRUMB left. The second year I took about 20 lbs. Again ALL were eaten! ! This past February I took 15lbs of crappie filets and 15 lbs of yellow perch filets......... yep 30 lbs of nothing but filets and nearly all of that was eaten and we were missing a few members that night!! The guys say that they are some of the best fish that they have ever had!! Please tell her friends that they had some badly cooked fish because there is no way that many people would not like them. Good Luck. J. C.

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Originally Posted by brucec

I would never give anyone that's iffy about eating a certain type of fish one that has bones in it!!!!!!!!!!!! I fillet all crappie regardless of size!!!!!!!!!!!

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That's good advice. Don't fry them whole for someone the first time. Fillet them and make it easy on them.

It depends on your wife's personality, but if she is willing to try deer and duck, and give it a fair shake, her friends opinions may actually help you out. If she goes into it with low expectations, and you fix the crappie up right, she will be pleasantly surprised. At least that's the way my wife is. It's all about expectations with her. On the other hand if your wife has the kind of personality where her opinion is tainted by her friends and she won't give it a fair try, then you've lost the battle already.

I also agree that if she ate bream and liked it, she ought to like crappie even better.

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Originally Posted by ppowell

Ask her (or her expert opinion friends) what fish she likes and secretly buy and cook that and say it's crappie. Wait to see what happens...

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After 43 years of marriage I have to say that's NOT a good idea.
You may want to try fillets cutting out any blood lines. Also soaking the fish in a brine before cooking
Just my 2 cents

Fillet the crappie for sure. Bread them in House-Autry seafood breader. Any grocery store carries it. Heat oil to 350 degrees. If you can afford it use peanut oil. Drop the fillets in and cook them until they float. Do not over cook as mentioned. They will soak up too much oil and be greasy. For a nice dipping sauce use equal parts of ketchup, tatar sauce (or mayo if you don't like the relish) and honey. Mix the three up in a bowl. Let us know how it turns out!

We all just soak fish or any wild game meat in lemon juice and salt. Lemon juice will take out the wild taste and salt of course take out the blood. Then just cook the way you want to. Hope this helps.

Blackening season fish, cast iron skillet, awesome fish tacos!

Not for me, but I would add a little spice to the breading, or use a prepared breader like Zatarains. I would also soak the fish in milk or buttermilk for at least a few hours before frying. Good luck! Also, a good batch of hush puppies complements your fish fry greatly.

Crappie,why do you think they have such a bad name? They are not fit to eat,they taste like CRAP,throw everyone you catch back.you must have a bad taste in your mouth if you like them things,uuugh

Crappie to me one of the best eating fish going. I like to soak my in sea salt, water over night. Used to dip in egg & buttermilk before using yellow cornmeal. Now I just used the yellow cornmeal and the fish com's out a golden yellow. Yum!
LittleJohn

I'm glad to announce it was a success! I cleaned the fish a second time, then soaked them in a bit of brew, drip dried them, then breaded them in the Cajun Louisiana (brand) breading from the store, and fried in Canola (all we had...). She did not have any problems with eating around the bones (a born natural after some quick advice from me on taking apart a fish). She stated that it was not bad, but she "wouldn't want to eat them every day. Maybe once or twice a month!" I take that as a win in my book. Her friends must have had some bad fish or something. I'm not sure.