BWCA Fish cooking oil of choice? Boundary Waters BWCA Food and Recipes

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BWCA Food and Recipes

Fish cooking oil of choice?

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PINETREE

06/12/2012 08:35PM

We mainly use corn oil in the BWCA on fish,but use olive oil at home and I think olive oil gives less of that oily fried taste. You taste more of the fish than the oil you cooked it in.

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KevinL

06/12/2012 09:18PM

I like using the butter flavored crisco.

KevinL

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Hawbakers

06/13/2012 07:11AM

quote KevinL: "I like using the butter flavored crisco. "

Hmmm. Thanks for that idea! Think I'm gonna to add it t0o my list.

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PINETREE

06/13/2012 08:44AM

My original post was many cooking oils when used to cook fish,in the end all you taste is the cooking oil. If it adds a little favor fine,but not the whole flavor. A hot oil when the fish are introduced I think keeps them more crisp and the oil on the outer edge of the fish,instead of throughout the meat.I think cooking oils can make or break a good tasting fish.

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CrookedPaddler1

06/13/2012 09:11AM

crisco is the only way to go! I like the sticks that you can get -- i usually figure about 1/2 per fish meal -- i would go with 1 per fish meal for a larger group.

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Tony

06/13/2012 10:15AM

We use peanut oil.

tony

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MeatHunter

06/13/2012 11:16AM

Have used both corn oils and the butter flavored Crisco sticks. I think the oil does a better job, but I like the subtle flavor the sticks impart on the fish.
Skippin the oil all together this year. Brings a fish basket thingamajig that you clamp the fish in. I just hated cleaning the pans after cooking with oil LOL......

Some people see nature as being made "Just for them", and view others as an invasive species..... We are always hearing about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about Welfare running out of money? What’s interesting is the first group worked for their money .. the second group did not.” WTF???

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keth0601

06/13/2012 11:45AM

I like to use popcorn oil.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."

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PINETREE

06/13/2012 02:08PM

quote keth0601: "I like to use popcorn oil."

Sounds good. What would that be made up of?

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keth0601

06/13/2012 02:55PM

Popcorn oil.

It seems to have a pretty high heat tolerance and has a nice but not too pronounce butter flavor to it.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."

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Wally13

06/13/2012 10:49PM

agree with Tony. Peanut Oil is a great choice for frying fish as it will fry at a very high temps without burning as compared to vegetable corn, canola oils.

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PINETREE

06/14/2012 08:41AM

quote Wally13: "agree with Tony. Peanut Oil is a great choice for frying fish as it will fry at a very high temps without burning as compared to vegetable corn, canola oils."

I will have to try it.

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keth0601

06/14/2012 08:47AM

Corn and soybean oil both have the same smoke point as peanut oil as well (450 degrees). I used to use corn oil since it's almost tasteless and it's pretty cheap.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."

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shock

06/15/2012 03:18PM

i agree with crookedpaddler1 the crisco sticks are fantastic no mess or risk of a bottle breaking and gives it a little bit of a buttery taste and if you cook bacon for breakfast save the grease for a fish fry its awesome fish in bacon grease oohhhhhhhhhhhh so good.

keep your line wet, good things will happen

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Jackfish

Moderator

06/15/2012 03:54PM

This is an interesting thread. We've always taken vegetable oil and it works fine, but there are always other ways to try. As soon as I'm ready for my next walleye dinner at home, I'm going to try the Crisco sticks.

"Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." ~ John Muir

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PINETREE

06/15/2012 06:31PM

Just got done having panfish with the skin on,rolled in Shore Lunch corn meal cooked in olive oil. Very very good. Hard to beat.
Question,has anybody ever tried sunflower oil for cooking fish?

Note: For years I just cooked with the same old oil,same batter etc.. I don't know but in my old age it is time to be brave and try something different.

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Flatwater5

06/16/2012 09:38AM

Has anybody tried cocnut oil. I have seen it at walmart in a 1 lb screw top plastic can. It is a saturated fat so hard at "room" temp.(harder than Criso) Probably not the healthiest choice but OK for a few days in the bush. Nice flavor and very high smoke point. Makes clean up easy. Just set the pan aside to cool and once the oil hardens it can be scraped out. Agree with Pinetree, hotter oil definately makes much better fish. Cooler oil soaks into the fillets and makes them greasy and mushy.

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nojobro

06/16/2012 10:14AM

How much of a Crisco stick to use when frying fish? One whole stick, or half, or?

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KevinL

06/16/2012 10:31AM

quote nojobro: "How much of a Crisco stick to use when frying fish? One whole stick, or half, or?"

I normally use about a half a stick.

KevinL

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Jackfish

Moderator

06/16/2012 11:06AM

quote KevinL: "
quote nojobro: "How much of a Crisco stick to use when frying fish? One whole stick, or half, or?"

I normally use about a half a stick."

For how many fish?

"Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." ~ John Muir

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overthehill

06/16/2012 08:12PM

Pan fry- a mix of whatever I have which is usually peanut or vegetable oil) AND leftover bacon grease.

Deep Fry- Peanut and/or vegetable. (Whatever we have and it's usually cheap.

Of course HOT oil is key. As soon as fillets hit towel, they are lightly rubbed with real BUTTER and salted. We usually use a mix of white and yellow cornmeal (more white) and about 1/3 flower for dry breading. Works for us. We mainly eat crappie, but often other fish too.

Not to Hurry-Not to Worry

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jeroldharter

06/16/2012 11:18PM

To each his own.

I use olive oil. If I were 20 and skinny, coconut or peanut oil would be obvious choices.

Butter flavored Crisco is foul. Sorry. I was in Canada and had a walleye shorelunch that the guide fried in "butter-flavored" Crisco. Never again. Cloying "butter-like" flavor that can be one bite too many. Regular Crisco is good, but might as well use lard for a couple of meals if you go that route.

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mamorgan

06/18/2012 12:47PM

quote Flatwater5: "Has anybody tried coconut oil. I have seen it at walmart in a 1 lb screw top plastic can. It is a saturated fat so hard at "room" temp.(harder than Criso) Probably not the healthiest choice but OK for a few days in the bush. Nice flavor and very high smoke point. Makes clean up easy. Just set the pan aside to cool and once the oil hardens it can be scraped out. Agree with Pinetree, hotter oil definately makes much better fish. Cooler oil soaks into the fillets and makes them greasy and mushy."

We use coconut oil at home for some things. I've been starting to use it for more and more as I get comfortable with it. I make some homemade chicken nuggets for my boys and use coconut oil to pan fry them in. It does leave a slight coconut flavor behind, but not overpowering. I haven't tried pan frying fish in it yet, but I've been thinking about it.
Among people who try to only eat "non-processed food," coconut oil is considered very healthy, if it's not been highly processed. If you are interested, here is an article from a "Real Food" blog that talks about processed vs. non-processed oils and fats including coconut oil.

Refined Oils

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tyh

06/19/2012 08:40PM

i don't use any oil anymore, our last few canoe trips, fish is cooked with a little bit of dehydrated butter powder, and season salt of choice (lemon pepper or my homemade blend) wrap the filets in tin foil and cook on the coals, wrap in a tortilla, eat.

at home or at the cabin we panfry in sunflower oil. beer batter deep fry in peanut.

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PINETREE

06/19/2012 09:30PM

When I go alone sometimes I will boil lake Trout in water and Chicken broth and maybe a Instant chicken soup package. I like it and only a one pot trip and not much cleaning up.
Old timers did some type of boiling water and some ingredient and called it poor mans lobster?

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keth0601

06/20/2012 11:21AM

quote PINETREE: "When I go alone sometimes I will boil lake Trout in water and Chicken broth and maybe a Instant chicken soup package. I like it and only a one pot trip and not much cleaning up.
Old timers did some type of boiling water and some ingredient and called it poor mans lobster?"

Add sugar and a little salt to the water. That's how we do catfish sometimes. No fishy taste and it's firm and lean. Dip in butter like lobster. Mmmm....

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."

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Savage Voyageur

06/20/2012 09:42PM

We use butter flavored Crisco to fry fish. It works and tastes great. Cleanup is also east, just wipe out the pan.

"So many lakes, so little time." WWJD

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Pinetree

05/26/2019 12:43PM

Well I have changed to Safflower oil and fish taste so much better. Higher cooking or boiling point and most important the oil doesn't dominate in the taste at all. Like corn,crisco, olive or others. Very good.

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x2jmorris

05/27/2019 11:06AM

Vegetable oil but I wouldn't be opposed to trying different stuff. Just so used to it.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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marsonite

05/27/2019 03:01PM

I think it's hard to beat clarified butter aka ghee.

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Pinetree

06/24/2019 10:03PM

Any new advice or thoughts?

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Zwater

06/27/2019 06:55PM

Peanut oil!

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cyclones30

06/29/2019 01:41PM

On our last trip we took a small nalgene of corn oil and it worked great. We also took one baking stick of butter crisco, I'm not sure we ever used it for frying fish but did use for other uses. I like both and will continue to take both or one or the other. (we're farmers in the Midwest, corn and soybean oil are all we use)

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Oldtown13

06/30/2019 08:35PM

We use lard.

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montanapaddler

07/01/2019 12:05AM

We use regular vegetable oil. The crisco sticks wouldn't really fit our workflow. We reuse the oil by dumping it back into the bottle once its cool enough and saving it for next time, which wouldn't be possible with the crisco sticks.

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grayghoste78

07/01/2019 05:34PM

I have been using cotton seed oil for fish lately.

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Frenchy19

04/20/2023 01:23PM

marsonite: "I think it's hard to beat clarified butter aka ghee. "

Agree.

"The future ain't what it used to be" Yogi Berra

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Pinetree

04/20/2023 01:41PM

WOW, I originally posted this almost 11 years ago.
Well since then I have switched to different cooking oils, Now it is Safflower oil and is by far the best I ever used. You don't get that after or oily taste of other cooking oils and it cooks a little hotter.

Wonder how many people switched cooking oils over the years?

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Frenchy19

04/20/2023 06:18PM

Pinetree: "WOW, I originally posted this almost 11 years ago.
Well since then I have switched to different cooking oils, Now it is Safflower oil and is by far the best I ever used. You don't get that after or oily taste of other cooking oils and it cooks a little hotter.

Wonder how many people switched cooking oils over the years?"

At home I only eat salmon, and that I do not fry. On paddling trips, I have gone from using veggie oil to the butter flavored Crisco to ghee-all based on comments from this site. I really like the ghee, but maybe it is time to give safflower a chance!

Have an upcoming trip at the end of May going into Kawishiwi, and the video blog of Malberg in the Trips Report has me incredibly excited. If you have not watched that video, it is a must see!!

"The future ain't what it used to be" Yogi Berra

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timatkn

04/21/2023 01:30PM

I am going to try the Safflower oil the next time I go. 3rd go around for this thread, but i think the 1st time I've seen it :)

T

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keth0601

04/25/2023 06:54PM

I've switched to lard since the last time I replied in here. Oil leaking out one time was one time too many...

That and I like the flavor of fish fried in lard. Reminds me of walleye shore lunches fishing lake of the woods when I was younger.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."

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sns

04/26/2023 07:39PM

Avocado oil...

"I don't care what you believe. I care what you can prove." -Philosopher & Mathematician JJJ

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MacCamper

04/26/2023 08:10PM

I’m going to give Bacon Up filtered bacon grease a try this year. Love me my bacon, seems like a natural choice.

Never better, attitude is a choice.

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chewy

04/30/2023 05:51PM

Ghee !!! great fat. clarified butter. frying fish, toast, popcorn...

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NebraskaDano

05/09/2023 12:50PM

Put another vote in for Coconut oil. It tastes great. Make sure you get the refined as then it will have a smaller coconut flavor. Jar is plastic and is very easy to store, carry, and pour out of unless the oil is hardened which is easy to spoon out. Cooks fish great. Shore lunch walleye and coconut oil is my godlike meal.

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ockycamper

06/16/2023 05:51PM

When I bring oil, it is olive oil. I grew up over seas and we always cooked with olive oil.

However, most of the time anymore i season the fish with red or blackened seasoning and fry them. . . or use olive oil spray. . .spraying directly the filets, then roll in batter and fry them.

The benefit of all of these is there is no oil to get rid of.

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SEMNFLYGUY

06/22/2023 04:46PM

LARD, real lard. Three reasons. Authors in The Boundary Waters Journal use it. It is not a trans fat. Can't spill or leak. However, it does need to be kept cool enough to not melt. I do bring fresh food and use an insulated food pack.

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iCallitMaize

06/25/2023 06:53PM

MacCamper: "I’m going to give Bacon Up filtered bacon grease a try this year. Love me my bacon, seems like a natural choice."

It’s really good. Add it to your fry bread.

I use the butter crisco like one of the original posts from 10 years ago.

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ducks

07/09/2023 04:50PM

I tried the butter flavor crisco stick for the first time on my trip in June and loved it.

Ride EZ

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AmarilloJim

07/10/2023 08:10AM

ducks: "I tried the butter flavor crisco stick for the first time on my trip in June and loved it.

"

When done cooking with the Crisco, I let the leftovers cool and solidify some. Then I pour back into the foil pack where it completes solidification. Easier clean up and less waste. I only use the Crisco for cooking fish.

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Pinetree

09/03/2023 10:44AM

still sticking with your original oil or did you try something different this year?
I Still love my safflower oil.

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Pinetree

09/03/2023 10:44AM

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fadersup

12/11/2023 06:13PM

Wally13: "agree with Tony. Peanut Oil is a great choice for frying fish as it will fry at a very high temps without burning as compared to vegetable corn, canola oils."

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timatkn

02/08/2024 01:09PM

Pinetree: "still sticking with your original oil or did you try something different this year?
I Still love my safflower oil."

Ya know I said I would try the safflower oil and I just never got around to it. I already had Peanut and Canola and am too cheap to buy something until the other stuff runs out. But it is still on my list of things to try.

T

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