Last few days the temperatures have risen and now I see dozens of LMB between 10 and 12" along the shore and in open water.
Even though I am not an expert, they seem to me to be too many for my little 1 acre pond, so I was thinking of catching some and, for the first time in my life, eating them.
I like to fillet the fish, I usually do it with saltwater ones and I would do it with these LMB.
I would like to ask you which recipe do you follow to prepare LMB fillets and how you cook them.
Thank you

Any kind of crumb mix you like - bread, crackers, corn chips, commercial mix, it's all good.

Dip fillets in crumbs, drop in hot oil for a few minutes, remove, drain, salt and pepper to taste.

It really is that simple.

Dip in egg wash and dredge in panko and fry is really good..... but we usually bake or broil to cut down on the fat.... salt pepper and garlic powder..... mmmm

Pat about the bake or broil way, do you just put the raw fillets as they are, cook them and then add spices or do you prepare the fillets before seasoning and/or crumbing them?
I'd prefer the fried way: easier, faster and tastier but for the reason you mentioned my wife won't let me follow it...

He he he me either! She seasons each filet, puts foil down in aluminum pan or cookie pan and melts a little butter over the top and bakes or broil til it flakes and we eat up. Sometimes we get flour or corn tortillas and have fish tacos

Now I am getting hungry. We also do like to eat LMB. My wife puts them in a glass pan, seasons with Johnny's Lemon Dill seafood seasoning, puts a lemon slice and butter on each fillet and bakes until flaky. Man that is good. That is also how she fixes our HSB.

I'm wondering how that lemon dill broil will work on whole bluegill. I have several with an appointment with the knife this friday.

I like LMB fried and broiled but I have to admit my favorite is when my bride makes it "Thai style." My wife is Thai and a great cook! My favorite LMB, BG, WE, etc. is when she steams it. She then makes a sauce using chilies, fish sauce,lime, sugar and garlic to drizzle over the fillets and then adds fresh cilantro on top. It just doesn't get any better than that!

If you want a nice crisp coating, mix 500 grams of a beer of your choosing, 50 grams of vodka, 400 grams of flour, 16 grams of kosher salt, and 10 grams of baking soda. Dip the filets in and fry in 350 F/175 C oil for a couple of minutes until golden brown.

I used Coors Original which isn't probably available in Italy.

Best LMB recipe I have is from Hong Kong exchange student: Scale and gut fish, but leave skin on. Head can be cut off if desired (she liked head on).

Stuff cavity with your preferred herbs and/or garlic, green onion, or lemon, then place on aluminum foil along with a small amount of water, wine, whatever. All you need is a teaspoon or two of liquid. Wrap up tightly, then place in 350 oven for ten minutes. Serve with some light soy sauce and rice vinegar, or whatever you enjoy.

I was dubious about skin, but it was delicious. Bones helped keep fish moist and were easily picked out or eaten around. Low carb, low fat.

Mike, we have tried the lemon dill seasoning, lemon and butter on BG and BCP fillets and it does not seem to work to our taste. I think maybe the LMB fillets are thicker and the BG and BCP are not. They do seem to dry out more.

My goto recipe is a bit odd, but delicious. Mix ordinary mustard and maple syrup (about 1/2 & 1/2 - I have also used honey). Then add some finely ground pecans (almonds also work). Mix well into a paste and apply to fillets. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side. Served over rice. Never had a complaint.

Thank you all for your recipes.
In the last 30 days 6 times I brought home many 10/12" LMB.
Each time I filleted them and then cook them in different ways.
I tried different marinades, different seasonings, different cooking methods and times.
The taste has always been good to very good, but the consistency has always been a little chewy.
Having never eaten LMB before I would like to know from you if your fillets of LMB are gummy too, to understand if it is related to the fish itself or if I have to look for the problem in my fish and / or in my ways to cook them.
Thank you

I'm no chef, but if bass gets overcooked, it can get chewy. This also applies to the other common freshwater game fish. Deep fried is my preferred method for cooking bass, catfish, panfish, and carp.

Steamed Thai style the way I related above, is NEVER chewy. But my wife can make great anything!

For years we always just scaled and gutted the lmb. The skin actually holds the flavor of the seasoning! Also last year another member of this forum turned me on to rolling the fillets he did in picante sauce for a very unique and very good flavor!!

I blacken bass just like you would redfish. Use a cast iron skillet, place on top of your gas grill, get extremely hot, dredge fish in butter and cajun sauce and sear it, place on top of Jasmine rice. Bigger filets do better. Good luck.

Fileting a Fish

This is how we clean fish. Fast and easy. Easy to adapt to leave the skin on.

Flame nice idea of rolling fillets! Could you explain better how you cook them?
Thanks

I ll try the steamed way. Nobody here love gummy fish...

Quarter Acre if fried they won t become chewy?

Italy BASS, My friend had a bowl of picante sauce and he just put the fillets in it to marinate just till it was time to roll them in corn meal and then straight into the hot grease to fry. I have NEVER tasted fried fish like that and enjoyed it so much I even took some home to the wife to let her try it and she loved it too!! He joked with me he had a "secret sauce" but revealed it was no real secret but picante sauce only! I would imagine you could marinate the fillets and then broil them also if you didn't want to fry.

I suspect you are overcooking them. Most always if cooked correctly they will be flakey and not chewy and I have cooked them several different ways.

Flame, do you know what strength the sauce was? Hot, mild etc? I may have to try it, sounds good.

From my years of experience enjoying almost any kind of fish I would guess the chewy part is coming from over cooking, and many people do it. Fish doesn't have to be cremated to be perfect and safe to eat, especially if handled properly, ie, filleted or scaled and cooled of quickly. my biggest turnoff is when fish been laying around in the sun on a pond bank for a period of time before cleaning and getting them on ice. I fillet mine, and as for breading for most panfish and catfish is the cheap Zatarains fish breading from Sams Club, then deep fried.

Tracy, he used the medium and it was just right for me. I don't like real hot stuff. Also he said he had marinated the fillets in the picante in the fridge for about 3-4 hours just prior to cooking. I'm cooking some tomorrow!!!

Having countless fish fry's over the years with an unlimited supply of BG, LMB, BCP and HSB (especially before I moved off the pond property), after filleting I would rinse and then let them soak in salt water for 10-15 minutes. Not sure why but for one it kept them from getting stiff. Then after patting dry they went in vacuum sealed bags, layed flat for quick thawing.

For breading, the smaller filets (BG & BCP) got the smaller breading (such as Zatarain), the bigger filets we prefered crushed cornflakes, panko bread crumbs, etc. Whichever I used I also added different seasonings to the breading; cajun, lemon pepper, McCormicks or whatever sounded good.

Pat dry, eggwash then breading. Then off to the grease, the oven or the air fryer and as others have stated, it doesn't take long! 1-2 minutes in 350 degree grease for the smaller filets.

And here's a very helpful tip to have breaded filets ready whenever you want them, or if you have an upcoming fishfry planned:

After breading the filets, lay them flat on wax paper on a large cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for at least 30 miuntes. You can then load them into a large zip-lock freezer baggie, they won't stick together and you'll have breaded filets ready at all times. No need to thaw, just grab a few drop them in the grease (or oven) and you're good to go!

And no one said they have to be breaded and fried. Baked naked with some butter and a little lemon pepper and they are outstanding.

Do not overcook!

PS - When you've stocked them, raised them, caught 'em cleaned 'em and cooked 'em, it doesn't get much better, IMO .

If time permits, we have always soaked our fish in a salt water brine over night. It helps remove any remaining blood, slime, etc. in the fillets. Typically, we change the brine at least once. The first soak usually turns a little pink in a few hours. The fillets do get stiff by morning.

If you filet them be sure and remove the blood stripe with a v shaped cut . With the blood stripe removed the muddy flavor will be gone.

Thanks, Keith!

A suggestion for keeping fish fresh without freezing: Use paper towels to dry them as much as possible, then place in sealed plastic. Put in bowl with ice, sprinkle ice with road salt, and place in fridge. Periodically add ice and salt as needed.

Superchills fish without damage caused by freezing. I've kept fish for over a week this way and tasted fresh caught. But make sure they are dry!

Aren’t the fish filets freezing in the rock salt ice mix, below freezing when you make ice cream.

Maybe because I packed several fillets in each baggie, they did not freeze. Kept right at 32-33F. But you're right, if I had just one thin fillet per baggie, might have been a different story.

I fried LMB fillets for supper yesterday. Not chewy at all. Tender and flaky.

Seems over the years I've heard several people say when deep frying. "As soon as it floats up, Its done" Is there any truth to that?