Walleye Tacos

Walleye is our favorite fish Up North. Caught in the lakes of Minnesota, when fileted properly it is boneless and ready for cooking. Usually it’s breaded and fried in some way, or broiled with lemon for those who are watching their calories. I’ve found a few other ways to make walleye shine, and one of them is in fish tacos!

You could use pretty much any kind of seasoning profile, whether it be Italian spices, Mexican spices or a mixture of somewhere in between. I’m a between person: I use garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil, oregano, and a little cumin. Add salt and pepper and it’s a tasty blend of spices.

Add spices to panko crumbs

I start by setting out 3 dishes: one for the flour I’ve seasoned with salt and pepper, one for the beaten eggs and one for the seasoned Panko crumbs.

Cut walleye filets into 1 1/2 ” pieces

I thawed the walleye filets and cut them into smaller pieces, sort of like slices. The fish was from one of the trips my P.S. and our son made last summer to a lake. Although most Minnesota lakes are stocked with walleye, these were caught in North Dakota.

Dip pieces into first flour, then egg, then panko and place in heated oil in a nonstick skillet

I dip the pieces of walleye into first flour, then egg, then the Panko crumbs. I bread them all and set them onto a platter before beginning to fry them in small batches.

When browned on both sides place in paper toweling lined baking dish and keep warm in the oven

I let the fish turn to golden brown on each side before turning them. I remove them from the pan and into a baking dish I’ve lined with paper toweling and slide the dish into the preheated 200°F oven. I keep them warm in the oven until all of the fish has been fried.

Walleye Tacos

We ate the walleye pieces wrapped in smaller flour tortillas topped with finely shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and a drizzle of homemade ranch dressing. Sometimes I make a quick lime cilantro sauce but this time I had a lot of ranch dressing to use up. It worked out well for the flavors. We probably like the walleye tacos best and these were amazing. The Panko insures that the walleye pieces are super crispy so that the texture is perfect with each bite.

Walleye Tacos

4 walleye filets, cut into 1 1/2″ wide pieces
1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs; beaten
2 cups of Panko
Seasonings of choice: I used 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper and cumin
Tortillas, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and ranch dressing or dressing of choice for serving

Preheat oven to 200°F.

Add flour, salt and pepper to a flat bowl.

Add eggs to a second flat bowl and lightly beat

Place Panko and spice seasonings in a third flat bowl and mix with a fork.

Dredge fish pieces in first the flour, then the egg mixture and finally the Panko mixture. Place pieces onto a platter as they are dipped.

When all pieces are breaded in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat add 1/2″ of canola oil. Heat until a piece of fish placed in the skillet sputters. Cook fish in batches, turning onto the second side when the first is lightly browned.

Place finished pieces of walleye into a baking dish lined with layers of paper toweling and place in oven to keep warm in the oven until all pieces are fried.

Serve on flour tortillas with shredded lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes and sauce of choice. We like a ranch or sour cream and lime cilantro sauce.

Serves 4