Page 7 - May/June 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma
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WILD ABOUT COOKING


               THE BEST BIGMOUTH BASS RECIPE

               By Josehf Murchison, Cooking

                 All good fishermen keep at least one meal from every fishing trip. This is the best largemouth bass (or smallmouth bass) recipe you
               will ever try. On my last fishing trip, I kept two 5-pound bass about 20 inches long.

                 Filleting:  For perfect boneless
               fillets, start by cutting the skin at                                                               CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
               the anal vent along the belly to the
               head. Remove the innards.
                 Make the second cut up the side of
               the fish, behind the fin and gill, to the
               top of the back. Then make the third
               cut alongside the spine to the tail. Fold
               the loose side of the fish back over
               the tail to reveal a fillet of meat with
               rib bones.
                 Hold the fish’s head, then pass the
               knife between the skin and meat,
               working outward from the tail. This
               produces a skinless fillet. Finally, remove the ribcage   hours. When the water is bloody, rinse the fillets with
               from the bottom of the fillet to make it boneless.   clean, cold water and soak some more. Repeat until the
                 Repeat the same cuts on the other side of the fish to   water no longer gets bloody. Then cut the fillets into
               get the second fillet.                  single servings. If you feel any lateral line bones, cut out
                 Leaching: Before cooking, leach the blood out of the   a thin strip to remove them.
               fillets to prevent tainting the flavor of the fish. Refrig-  Preparing: Cooking fish fillets only takes about 10
               erate the fillets in a bowl of water and check every few   minutes from preheat to cooked.


               INGREDIENTS                              FILLET DIAGRAM
               Black pepper
               Garlic powder
               Paprika
               Butter
               Griddle or large frying pan. (I like an electric
               griddle for its regulated even heat.)


               DIRECTIONS
               • Preheat electric griddle or pan to 450 degrees.
               • Place fillets on a plate or tray. Sprinkle fillets with
                black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
               • When griddle is hot, add butter and spread                                                        CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
                it around.
               •  Place fillets spiced side down on griddle and
                sprinkle the unspiced side of fillets with black
                pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
               •  When fillets go from opaque to white halfway
                through, flip fillets to put uncooked side down.
               •  When fillets go from opaque to white all the way
                through, the fillets are cooked. This should only
                take about two minutes per side.


               MAY/JUNE 2022                                                                                     5



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