Freshly caught walleye (called pickerel only in Canada) fillets dredged in a secret family batter and pan-fried in cast iron over an open fire on a lakeshore, served with canned beans, potatoes and bread. The defining ritual of Northern Ontario cottage-country fishing trips.
The pickerel shore lunch is the defining ritual of Northern Ontario and cottage-country fishing trips. Walleye, called pickerel only in Canada, is freshly caught, filleted, dredged in a secret family batter (every fishing guide and lodge has one, handed down through generations), and pan-fried in cast iron over an open fire on the lakeshore. It is served with canned baked beans, fried potatoes and bread, and is celebrated by Destination Ontario and the regional tourism bodies as a signature Northern-Ontario tradition.
Crisp, golden, lightly seasoned batter giving way to sweet, flaky, clean-tasting freshwater fish, eaten hot off the fire with smoky beans and fried potatoes on a tin plate. Eaten outdoors, it is fresh, simple and the taste of a Canadian summer.
The walleye fillets are patted dry, dredged in a seasoned flour-and-cornmeal batter (the secret is in the spice blend, often including paprika, salt, pepper and garlic), and pan-fried in an inch of oil in a cast-iron pan over an open fire. The fire gives a smoky undercurrent no stove can. The fish is cooked quickly so the batter crisps before the delicate flesh dries, and served at once. The beans and potatoes are cooked alongside in the same fire.
Variations
A modern shore lunch uses a propane stove. Some cooks add a beer batter instead.
On the Palate
Where Pickerel Shore Lunch sits in the Canadian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 20 min
- 15 min
Build a wood fire and let it burn to medium coals; set a cast-iron pan over with 1cm of oil.
Watch outLet the fire burn down to steady medium coals before frying — raging flames scorch the batter black before the fish cooks.
- 24 min
Pat 600g pickerel (walleye) fillets dry; cut into portions.
- 34 min
Mix 150g flour, 50g cornmeal, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika and black pepper; dredge the fillets.
- 46 min
Fry the fillets in the hot oil 3 minutes per side until golden and crisp.
Watch outFry just until the batter is golden and crisp — the delicate walleye dries out fast, so pull it the moment the crust sets.
- 58 min
Meanwhile, heat 1 can baked beans; fry 4 sliced potatoes in a second pan.
- 64 min
Serve the fish hot with beans, potatoes and sliced bread, on tin plates.
