The Happy Camper: Favourite Fish Recipes
I think it’s odd that the average camper doesn’t fish while on a trip. My father taught me to wet a line at the age of four and he’d roll in his grave if I didn’t toss a fly or troll a lure for supper while I’m out there.
Here are just a few of my favourite ways to cook my catch:
Herb-Stuffed Grilled Crappie in Lime Sauce
Ingredients:
- Juice and zest from 1 lime
- 2 tbsp. olive oil or canola oil
- 1 glove garlic, diced
- 2 fresh crappie or perch fillets
- 4 fresh dill branches
- 4 stalks chives
- Canola oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
Thaw lime juice, if frozen. Clean and fillet fish. Pat dry with paper towels. Place dill and chives along the length of one fish fillet. Top with second fillet; rub fish lightly with oil. Wrap in foil, secure tightly.
Cook over medium-hot coals or on a lightly oiled grill for 10 minutes, or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the fish drizzled with lime juice.
Caribbean Brook Trout
Ingredients:
- One brook trout fillet (a small lake trout or rainbow trout will do the job as well)
- Wooden skewers
- 2 lemons
- 1 small bag (100 g) jalapeno plantain chips
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- Mango salsa (dehydrated; store bought or homemade)
- 1 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. red pepper, diced small
- Few drops of Tabasco sauce
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Pinch of dried thyme
Directions:
Mix chips, oil and pepper in a bowl or zip-lock bag and crush into small pieces.
Cut trout into chunks and place three to four chunks on each skewer. Dip fish in chip-mix and wrap in tinfoil. Cook over heat for five minutes per side and cover with lemon and mango salsa.
Spanish Perch
Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 perch fillets
- 2 sausages
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper (dehydrated)
- ½ cup diced leeks (dehydrated)
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 can (443 ml) chopped tomatoes (dehydrated)
- Pinch of saffron
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup peas (frozen or dehydrated)
Directions:
Cut perch into chunks and add to an oiled pan on medium heat. Add onion and sausage. When meat browns, add garlic, red pepper, leeks and peas and sauté for one minute. Add to cooked rice and simmer for 20 minutes.
Baked Pecans & Walleye
Ingredients:
- 4 walleye fillets
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ cup whole pecans
- Pinch salt and pepper
- 12 Breton Original crackers (or anything that resembles them)
Cucumber salsa (made at home and dehydrated)
- ½ English cucumber, finely diced
- 1 large tomato
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
- 3 drops of Tabasco sauce
- A dash of salt and black pepper
Directions:
At home: Mix ingredients for cucumber salad, dehydrate and store in a zip-lock bag.
At camp: Mix olive oil, pecans, salt, pepper and crackers. Crumble mixture into what resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Roll walleye in crumbled mixture and place on in tinfoil. Bake over coals for eight to 10 minutes and top with dehydrated cucumber salsa.
Santa Fe Fish Cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. walleye or pike
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups dried potato flakes
- 2 Tbs. cilantro
- 1 tsp. dehydrated jalapeno pepper
- ½ tsp. dried onion
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 egg white or ½ cup powdered egg
- 1 cup dehydrated salsa
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
* for best results use an Outback Oven
Directions:
In a small pot, combine reconstituted potato flakes, fish pieces, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, salt and pepper. Divide contents into small bundles and shape them into round cakes. Dredge in flour. Dip them egg white (or reconstituted powdered egg). Dredge them again in cornmeal. Bake in deep-dish frying pan or Outback Oven for 20 minutes. Reconstitute salsa sauce in 1/4 cup of boiling water and serve on top of fish cakes.
Baked Trout Amandine
Ingredients:
- 4 small brook trout
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
- 1 lemon
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 1 tbsp. dried lemon thyme
- 1 tbsp. dried sage
Directions:
In a small pot, combine bread crumbs, almonds, lemon thyme, sage and pepper. Mix well. Sprinkle contents of pot over skin-side of gutted trout. Roll trout in tinfoil with slices lemon and bake in coals of campfire for 15 minutes.
Roast Lake Trout
Ingredients:
- 1 medium size lake trout (gutted, not filleted)
- 1 small walleye fillet (or walleye cheeks if you have them)
- 2 fresh lemons
- 1 medium white onion
- A few good pinches lemon pepper spice
- 1 McIntosh apple sliced into chunks
- 1 cup butter
Directions:
Gut and de-head the lake trout and lay it on top of a square of tinfoil. Fill the cavity of the lake trout with the cut-up lemon, apples, onion, butter, and walleye. (The apples help keep the meat moist while baking.)
Sprinkle on lemon pepper, wrap fish up in tin foil and place in hot coals for 20 to 30 minutes, turning it over halfway through. Remove from fire, open tin foil and peel or flake off meat (skin will stick to foil).
Bacon-Wrapped Trout
Ingredients:
- 2 medium-sized brook trout (or rainbow trout)
- 1/2 lb. bacon
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- Pinch of thyme
- 1 lemon, sliced
- Pinch of parsley, for garnish
- Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
Gut the trout and dredge outside of fish with the cornmeal. Season the inside of fish with salt and pepper and place thyme and lemon slices. Then, wrap the bacon around the centre of the fish and place in aluminum foil. Cook for approximately five minutes in campfire coals or top of wood stove.
This was one of Ernest Hemingway’s favourite camping recipes. It’s one of mine as well.
Related content on Explore:
Campsite Cooking: Our Amazing Three-Day Meal Plan
The Happy Camper: Winter Camping Food Prep
