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Pickerel with Bread and Bacon Butter Stuffing

Fish the Dish • Food • Recipes

Spencer Watts starts with a whole walleye (or in Canada they call it a pickerel), he lathers this lake fish with a rich bacon butter and gives it a simple bread and bacon butter stuffing. Perfect for a campfire or home – you can’t go wrong with bacon and butter and fish.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Pickerel:

  • 4 strips Bacon
  • 1 stick (4 oz) Unsalted butter, softened
  • Honey
  • Salt
  • 1 Tbsp (15 ml) thyme leaves
  • 1 Whole walleye, butterflied or 2 skin-on fillets
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 Lemon, cut into wedges (for garnish)
  • Oregano (for garnish)

Stuffing:

  • Oil (for sautéing)
  • 6 slices Bread, cut into small cubes
  • 1 Small onion, diced
  • 1 Celery stalk (with leaves), diced
  • 1 Garlic clove, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼ tsp (1 ml) Oregano leaves
  • 2 Tbsp (30 ml) Bacon butter

Method

  1. Cook bacon to crisp in a skillet. Reserve bacon fat. Chop the cooked bacon into bits.
  2. Place softened butter, bacon bits, honey, salt, and thyme in a food processor. Blitz for about 20 seconds, until well combined. Transfer to a bowl.
  3. Add oil to the skillet of bacon fat at medium heat. Add bread chunks to one side of pan and chopped garlic, celery, and onion to the other side. Season with salt and pepper. About 3 minutes Toss the pan to combine bread and vegetables.
  4. Transfer the stuffing to a bowl to cool down. Add oregano leaves. Place bowl in the refrigerator to chill.
  5. Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C)
  6. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread some bacon butter in the middle of the foil. Lay the fish on top. Season the cavity.
  7. Combine bacon butter and chilled stuffing. Stuff the fish and . Add a layer of remaining bacon butter to the top of the fish. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap foil around the fish. Place baking sheet in the oven until fish flakes easily when tested, and stuffing is moist with crusty edges, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes before unwrapping (to help prevent skin from sticking).
  8. Unwrap cooked fish and garnish with lemon wedges and oregano.