We tried roasting fish over an open fire recently and found that it is possible we breaded it lightly with shore lunch then skewered then with small sticks and with a fire that was mostly coals we set them on the rocks along the fire at about 18" for about 45 minutes turning about every 10. It actually turned out pretty good to get the fillets done the breading was not totally burned but close but the flavor of the fish itself seemed better than frying.
Anyone else try this? it would be great to catch your own food and not have to bring in oil

In the past we have roasted fish over an open fire leaving skin on one side and slathering it with spices and melted butter. A nice change of pace to always frying in oil. Olive oil and garlic would be a tastey change to. We had a fish grate with us.

I often cook fish without frying. Usually it is simply in foil. Smear some margarine on the foil. Place the filet on. Sprinkle with herbs or spices. Throw it on the grate over the fire.

Another great method is poaching. Generally I do this in plain ol' water. You can use milk or powder milk instead, or add a little sugar to the water. Simply fill a deep fry pan with water. Heat to steaming. Slide in filets. If it is not deep enough, turn the filets when the bottom turns white. Serve with some melted butter or margarine. Good.

If you have one of those baskets for grilling, make up some Italian dressing. Marinade the filets in it. Put in the basket and grill. Brush or drissel on the marinade as it cooks. Delicious!

The old timers used to "plank" fish. I never have, but the way I understand it is you nail a filet to a board and prop it up in front of the fire. I think the side against the board was not skinned. I would think you'd have to brush it with some kind of oil or margarine.

planking shad is a 350+ year old tradition in the commonwealth that is still done today during the spring shad run. shad are split and deboned, then stuck on nails driven through pine boards. the planked shad are lined up vertically on both sides of a long open fire that may be 3'x150' and fed with pine sawmill slabs. the shad is slow cooked/smoked by this fire for 6 hours or so depending on conditions and is basted about every 30 minutes with a "secret" concoction put together by the head cook. the local volunteer fire depts organize these for their spring fundraiser and you better get a ticket in advance because they always sell out.

I do the same as Bannock.

Lightly butter the foil, add fish, salt and pepper, paprika and half a lemon slice to each fillet. Seal the foil and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side. Quick, easy, and the only mess is the piece of foil when you're done. So much nicer than breading...and with fresh fish, much more tasty!

On our recent BWCA trip we had five or six meals of freshly caught fish. We fired up the fire in the grate. Shook the fish around in a plastic bag with shore lunch powder in it, greased a piece of foil and dropped the fish on the foil over the open flame. We then covered the fish with another piece of foil. We ate like kings! The walleye and bluegill filets were the best.

I just had the best fish experience in the BWCA. I like to fish and catch Northerns, and they are a real pain to filet. We just gutted them, cut off their head, and rinsed them off. We laid them on dry aluminum foil, buttered the inside of the fish, filled it with raw onions and salt and pepper. Wrapped it in a double layer of tin foil and cooked it on the fire grate 15 minutes each side. It was about a 30" Northern so it was pretty thick. When I took it off the fire it smelled great, and the skin stuck to the foil. The meat fell off the bones. We were left with a perfect skeleton which was pretty cool and no waste of fish. We ate it with rice. Wish we had a lemon! It'll be awhile before I use shore lunch again, the taste this way is so light and not greasy. Also the cleanup is great, no oily pan. We just put the foil in the fire and let everything cook off, then crumpled up the foil and into the garbage bag it goes. We even ate the fish right off the foil... so no plates to clean..... nirvana.....

BWJ has a good article about "Red Lakers" in the current issue. In the article they used metal fish baskets for grilling over the fire. Looked yummy!

I generally never use breading when cooking fish in the BWCA... Nothing better than walleye fillets sauteed with a little butter and oil... a hint of garlic, or lemon pepper and they are great!!

Bruce

I like the idea of fire roasting fish-I get tired of fried fish really quick. The seasoning method you described is the ticket. I've mentioned it to my fellow paddlers, and we've even tried it(after a fashion)on one occaision, but only because we were low on shore lunch. It's more healthy,won't be clogging up those arteries, and variety is a good thing.

Cooking in foil is the only way for our group to go. And the suggestion to gut the fish and steam it is also our only way. No need to filet, and worry about pin bones.

I like to add a sliced orange, and plenty of garlic.

Eat it right out of the foil and throw away the carcass.

Last trip, we had WAY TOO MUCH OIL and didn't fry fish once out of 5 fish meals.

Some pretty good ideas metioned here. I'll definately bring some italian dressing this year and lots of foil in case we catch a northern.

A few years ago we gutted & steamed some bass and perch. We put about an inch of water in a big pot, put one of the nesting deep dish plates in it upside and set the fish on it so they where above the water. The fish were seasoned we salt, pepper, & paperika and threw in some onions, covered and let it steam. The fish were great. At the same time we did the ol' shore lunch batter and fried the other fish in oil...the steamed fish dissappeared first.

I think it's basically the same idea as wrapping fish in foil and since I'll never fit a pike in my cookset I'll try the foil.

Steaming fish in the woods is new to me, but the way I do it at home is physically the same way in the pot, but I season the filet with garlic salt, maybe slice an onion over it, and tadah! It's done! An extremely fast way to cook it, it's light, and with a bit of tartar sauce, a meal to remember!

quote FrogWood: "Some pretty good ideas metioned here. I'll definately bring some italian dressing this year and lots of foil in case we catch a northern.



A few years ago we gutted & steamed some bass and perch. We put about an inch of water in a big pot, put one of the nesting deep dish plates in it upside and set the fish on it so they where above the water. The fish were seasoned we salt, pepper, & paperika and threw in some onions, covered and let it steam. The fish were great. At the same time we did the ol' shore lunch batter and fried the other fish in oil...the steamed fish dissappeared first.



I think it's basically the same idea as wrapping fish in foil and since I'll never fit a pike in my cookset I'll try the foil. "

I've posted this before, so if you've already read it - please excuse:

My grandfather wasn't a fan of carrying a lot of extra gear along.

Grandfather's roasted fish:

Start fire. Use hardwood or tag alder. Fillet fish, salt and pepper to taste, and hang on hazel brush to dry. Fillets should be about 1/2 inch thick or less. By the time the fire gets down to white ash the fillet should be dry enough. Fire should be white ash with live coals beneath.

Place fillet on white ash. Check periodically with two sticks. When brown spots appear, turn filet over. If fillet is dry, no ash should stick. Continue to check periodically. When brown spots appear on second side - fish is done. Great smoky flavor.

Over the past 2-3 years I have increasingly avoided frying in favor of broiling over the open fire. I use Zataran's Southern dry coating in a zip lock and then put the filets directly on the fire grate (I go to Q and take my own grate.) Use small gap grates to avoid filets falling through the gaps.

It is absolutely super! Has a slight smoke flavor, avoids about 6 lbs of oil weight in the pack, and is much more healthy. My crew does not even want fried any more - 100% broil.

Old Hoosier

quote TuscaroraBorealis: " "

That setup looks perfect. What is it and where can I get one?

quote snakecharmer: "

quote TuscaroraBorealis: " "

That setup looks perfect. What is it and where can I get one?"

I got mine several years ago at the Cabelas in Rogers. Upstairs near the smokers and cooking stuff. (thought I still seen them there this winter when I bought a dehydrator????) But, I just did a quick check on their website & didn't see it. here's a similarly priced one on Amazon.

fish basket

A similar tool is a hamburger basket with the long handle and clasp to hold it closed. Any campinf store has them.

The only issue is the wire mesh is pretty fine and it tends to get "stuck" on the filets. This can be minimized by generously oiling the wire BEFORE the filets go in and then it releases well.

ALso found squeeze butter is a good oil substitute and adds great flavor. Butter both sides of fillets while they are raw.

YUM

Old Hoosier