In west central Alabama the Tilapia aren't have a very Merry Holiday Season. Seems we are close the that magic temperature and they are swimming in circles. We dip netted about 150 lbs today and fileted them. Anybody have a good way to prepare Tilapia?

They are delicious fried.

Dip em in Beer Batter and deep fry. I had ice over my whole pond except where I spray water into the air from my Well in North Alabama over the weekend. 20 degrees Saturday Morning. Bob in Hartselle.

Dip em in Beer Batter and deep fry. I had ice over my whole pond except where I spray water into the air from my Well in North Alabama over the weekend. 20 degrees Saturday Morning. Bob in Hartselle.

Heard a saying once. Grilled fish must swim three times in order to taste good. First in water. Then in lemon, then in butter. I add a little Tony Chacheries (bet I spelled that wrong) creole seasoning and grill them suckers on the BBQ. Delicious.

Try sprinkling cajun seasoning on fillets and baking or broiling. Great and low fat. I wish I could raise Tilapia in the north; mildest tasting fish I've ever eaten. They are $5.00 -6.00/lb at the northern grocery. They also freeze good. Place fillets in zip-loc bag, cover with water, freeze; good for at least 2-3 yrs. This eliminates freezer burn.

I will wait till warm weather to grill but that sounds great! Thanks for the info. They are still coming to up. Also, have noticed great numbers of thread fin shad swiming the shore lines and some bass hitting them.
Found the following on cooks.com ---- enjoy
1 c. flour1/4 tsp. pepper2 tbsp. melted butter3/4 tsp. salt6 oz. (1/2 can) beer2 eggs, separated
Combine flour, salt, pepper in bowl. In smaller bowl beat egg yolks until light, add beer and stir in dry ingredients (stir only until moistened). Stir in butter. Let stand at room temperature, about 1 hour. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold in batter. Dust fish with flour then dip into batter. Fry at 375 degrees for about 3 to 6 minutes, turn only once. Drain on paper towels. Caution: Don't try to fry too many pieces at one time.

War and Peace was written faster than Bob Lusk's cookbook!

I've cooked tilapia using a tried and true recipe. One part lemon juice to two parts oil (olive if you've got it). Season to taste, and marinate fish for 1 to 4 hours. Grill over flame, gas grills seem best because sometimes charcoal doesn't get hot enough.

Your War and Peace correspondent chiming in here.....
Duggan, would you know a tilapia if it swam up your creek?
I can't believe I'm defending a cookbook!
Speaking of which..SEND MORE RECIPES!! E-mail them to me. I have a file folder with only 22 recipes so far. Need at least 50 to make it fun. And, please include a story. Did your recipe come from your great-grand uncle's fishing camp on the bayou? Tell me the story.
And, Wayne, I love to broil tilapia with lemon pepper, barbecue spices, garlic powder and chicken seasoning on it. Great stuff.
Also, wrap it in foil, smoke it over pecan, hickory or mesquite (you don't have mesquite in western Alabama, do you). I like to smoke it at 170-180 degrees, over indirect heat, for two or three hours. Open the foil for the last twenty minutes. Serve with twice baked potato, hand tossed salad, candelight, with a gorgeous woman. Or, cook the meat, buy some chips and graze. Invite Bill Duggan over to clean up.

Your War and Peace correspondent chiming in here.....
Duggan, would you know a tilapia if it swam up your creek?
I can't believe I'm defending a cookbook!
Speaking of which..SEND MORE RECIPES!! E-mail them to me. I have a file folder with only 22 recipes so far. Need at least 50 to make it fun. And, please include a story. Did your recipe come from your great-grand uncle's fishing camp on the bayou? Tell me the story.
And, Wayne, I love to broil tilapia with lemon pepper, barbecue spices, garlic powder and chicken seasoning on it. Great stuff.
Also, wrap it in foil, smoke it over pecan, hickory or mesquite (you don't have mesquite in western Alabama, do you). I like to smoke it at 170-180 degrees, over indirect heat, for two or three hours. Open the foil for the last twenty minutes. Serve with twice baked potato, hand tossed salad, candelight, with a gorgeous woman. Or, cook the meat, buy some chips and graze. Invite Bill Duggan over to clean up.

Ouch, that was just a joke Bob. Look in your folder two of those recipes are from me!

I love your humor. I'm kidding, too. Kidding, except for the cleaning up part.
And, I tried your recipes, They're great, except I overcooked the raccoon.

INGREDIENTS

1 racoon, cleaned, skinned, head removed
1 tablespoon salt
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 large carrots, peeled and cut in slices
3 potatoes, peeled and cut up as desired
Salt and freshly milled pepper to taste

METHOD

Cut 'Coon into pieces. Place in a large pot. Cover with water, add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to hard simmer and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove meat from water. Place pieces in a large roasting pan (or tear the meat from the bones and cook just the meat) along with 2 cups of the water in which the beast was cooked. Cook for 40 minutes.

Add onion, carrot and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover and bake another 20 minutes or until vegetables are done.

Remove vegetables to a platter, and leave meat in the pan. There should be some liquid in pan with meat. If not, add some of the original cooking water to make about 3/4 cup. Bring quickly to a boil on top of the stove, adjust seasonings and thicken with a little flour dissolved in water. Remove to platter with vegetables and serve hot.

www.inmamaskitchen.com

The tilapia fried in beer batter was excellent! Another recipe.... I've used this at the beach with red fish and trigger fish fillets. It is easy and taste great. I think it will be great for the tilapia or bass fillets. Bob you can add this to your recipe book if you wish.
Here goes....

FISH FILLETS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

4 fish fillets (6 - 8 oz ea or whatever)
Corn Flour
Milk
Butter (approx. 1 stick)
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
White Wine
Green onions

Melt butter in skillet that will hold all fillets. Rub the fillets with salt & pepper, dip in milk, then corn flour and place in skillet. Cook gently (usually on medium). Shake the skillet now and then to keep fillets loose and prevent themfrom sticking. After the fillets have turned light golden brown on the bottom, carefully lift with a large spatula and flip over. Brown the other side. When brown, remove the fillets to warmed serving plate.
Turn fire to high, add additional butter, if needed. Put pan back on fire and stir continuously. Just when butter starts to brown, add the lemon juice, white wine and green onions. Sauce will thicken slightly. Sometimes I add 1/2 tsp sugar to thicken more. Remove from fire and pour over fish fillets. Serves 4

This is the BEST fried fish recipie I've ever had, 2 cups milk, fish fillets (bass, crappie, walleye, whatever.) Soak fish in milk for 5 min. Then, in a freezer bag , put 2 cups of Corn Flake crumbs (they sell this in grocery stores,not the cereal, but corn flake CRUMBS) 1/2 cup flour, and 2 tbsp. Tony Chachere's( correct spelling! pronounced- sha-Sherries) After soaking fish in milk, put a few fillets in mix bag and shake until well coated. Take out fillets and put directly into hot grease(I prefer peanut oil at 350 deg.) Cook until golden brown. This will make a puppy pull a freight train, I guaraunteeeeee. Let me know how you like it.