I see many people comment on taking out the cheeks of walleyes, but not many talk about the wings. If you're not taking the wings out, too, you're really missing out on some very tasty morsels ;)

With buffalo sauce?

Never even heard of these before! Needless to say I have never had them. Something to think about next spring.

QueticoMike: "Never even heard of these before! Needless to say I have never had them. Something to think about next spring."

wings put cheeks to shame on taste and 1 reason why i like to keep an electric fillet knife around ,
cut out -peel off silver lining-batter fry like anything else. and Mikey you'll be saying "where have you been all my life" LOL ,

Interesting...I've never heard of such a thing. If I ever catch one I can keep, I'll give it a try!

I always save the wings, There is a pretty good amount of meat there. People often freak out when they see wings in the pan...... they think it was an accident.

Wings? I don't get it.

What exactly is the process? Is it fast and easy? Can we come to your place shock to be convinced? Should I bring anything? Dessert, salad or beverage?

Everybody raves about grouper cheeks.......I thought they were chewy.

I just got back from a western Ontario fishing trip. We filleted a lot of Walleye this trip. This was the first time I have ever taken the cheeks out and ate them. The cheeks reminded me of scallops, very good. Now next year I will be eating wings too. Thanks for the tip.

mastertangler: "Wings? I don't get it.


What exactly is the process? Is it fast and easy? Can we come to your place shock to be convinced? Should I bring anything? Dessert, salad or beverage?


Everybody raves about grouper cheeks.......I thought they were chewy. "

the best time would be after winter ice fishing ;) and i always love a good salad with a fish or steak dinner ;)
yes very fast and easy to cut out , especially with an electric fillet knife.
i find cheeks to be a bit chewy also
and as LOTW stated on walleyes over #3 there is a nice chunk of meat there.
i am a bit surprised more walleye guys haven't heard of this , i think the first time i saw this was on a fishing show they were doing up in canada many many years ago.
but yes on your next walleye cut those 2 lower fins out(behind the head) and be surprised ! almost crab meat like IMO.

Alrighty then........I see you leave the fins on. Is that just for proper "presentation" or should I dip those in some sauce and munch away? You should also have just a small sprig of parsley for a bit of color. And try to catch more than one walleye next time.......a whole plate full of those things might go nicely with a beverage. ;-)

MT if you want to eat the fins like a smelt, be my guess but i dont recommend the piece of cartilage LOL !! and i believe there is a green jagermeister bottle cap in the pic for a garnish ;)
1 of my ice fishing clan drop this 1 filet with cheeks and wings off for me , out of waconia from last winter and people say bigger walleyes dont taste good , they taste more then fine ! out of my local lake anyway ;) oh i forgot to mention the wings and cheeks were done in bacon grease from that morning ;)

Ha! You got it going on Shock, "Keep on Trucking" as they used to say back in our day.

Would love to see a video.

yogi59weedr: "Would love to see a video. "

when i catch another eye i'll sure post one , but this thread maybe 6 months old by the time that happens LOL. i found a good short video on youtube , check out how thick the meat is ! walleye wing

Wings are a must, been eating them since day 1.

I assume the skin peals off like on the cheeks?

One dumb question for you guys. I always fillet the white belly fat out of my fillets. I’ve heard that’s where the Mercury settles in the belly area for some reason. Is there any danger with eating the wings? The wings are right next to the belly fat.

Mercury is absorbed into the muscle tissue not the fat.

The wings come out in probably less than 5 seconds, but then I fillet walleyes at 2 a minute. Its pretty hard to screw up.
I don't recommend eating the fins but some people do. A friend spent a lot of money getting them removed from his dogs belly.

the wings aren't chewy like cheeks. they are more like fillet meat.

Just grab a fin and pull the meat off with your teeth and discard whats left.

I started doing this 25 years ago to stretch the meat a bit for shore lunch. Its rare for me not to take them now.

AmarilloJim: "Mercury is absorbed into the muscle tissue not the fat."

What makes you say that? Honestly, I am just curious and seldom take what anyone says just because they said it. I even cross examine the preacher and see if what he says is in the scripture and he is giving me the skinny in correct context ;-)

I was always under the impression that contaminants were found accumulating in the fat and blood......all of which I meticulously remove, mostly to improve the taste.

Agreed, I always harvest the wings and cheeks and cook them first as appetizers while we wait for the main course. I just shot a youtube video on how to get the best fillets and harvest the wings and cheeks. Let me know if you guys have any great recipes/cooking methods for the cheeks and wings, we usually just deep/pan fry them.

The Best Way to Fillet a Walleye

For some reason the link didnt work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRmQkUwR64c

You might have to copy paste

We did fillet the Walleye wings out along with the cheeks. They make a tasty treat.