Recipe: Quick & Easy Baked Walleye with Wine

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE fried walleye, but there’s a lot that goes into a fish fry and a lot of mess to clean up. And with summer comes all kinds of vegetables that make for great side dishes that may not marry that well with the beans and fried potatoes requisite of shore lunch-like meals.

Come this time of year and a lot of folks grow zucchini, yellow squash, and all manner of green leafy vegetables that go great with this dish, another reason to put it in rotation. Lightly fried (or steamed) with onion or shallot, zucchini or yellow squash make the perfect pairing—or you could go with a simple salad accompaniment.

The other thing that’s nice about this recipe is preparation doesn’t take more than 10 minutes or so and then another 20 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees. You could also use an aluminum foil pan on the grill (or smoker) outside at the same temp. But it was raining so I went with a large glass casserole dish and the kitchen oven.

Ingredients (Yield – 2 servings)

• Two larger walleye fillets or four smaller fillets
• 3/4 stick of butter divided into equal pads
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 Tablespoons capers
• 1 shallot (sliced)
• 8 garlic cloves (minced)
• 3/4 cup grated or shaved parmesan cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Lemon slices
• Old Bay Seasoning

Step-by-Step

• #1: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• #2: Fillet your walleye(s), zipper out bones, and rinse. Pat dry.
• #3: Lay the salt and peppered fillets in a glass casserole pan and cover with 1 cup white wine
• #4: Sprinkle 3 tablespoons capers on the fish
• #5: Cover fish with minced garlic cloves and sliced shallot
• #6: Top fillets with four-six lemon slices and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
• #7: Lay out butter pads (3/4 stick) on top of fillets and other ingredients
• #8: Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of Old Bay Seasoning over all ingredients
• #9: Move entire casserole pan to the rack closest the oven heating element
• #10: Bake uncovered for 20 minutes
• #11: Move one large fillet or two smaller fillets to each plate, drizzle with white wine/butter/lemon/caper sauce and serve with your accompaniment. Enjoy!

Another note on accompaniments. While this dish does well with summer vegetables, it’s also a great dish to serve with angel hair pasta mixed with a little bit of olive oil and the lemon/white wine broth from the casserole pan. Rice, orzo, or wild rice also do well with this dish!

A final word: While fried walleye is a time-proven staple, besides being quick to prepare, baked walleye with wine is also on the heathier side of the spectrum for those of us trying to watch our weight. While there’s a lot of butter in the recipe, you don’t have breading and a lot of oil to boost your calorie count—another bonus.

Give this recipe a shot with your next walleye or pike. It doesn’t take a lot of fish to prepare; one good-sized 18 to 24 inch walleye for two fillets or smaller fish for preparation with four smaller fillets!

And for those of you fish pike-filled waters, this same recipe does wonder with properly cleaned and de-boned pike fillets.

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