Hey, friends! Below are a few recipes inspired by Chef’s travels to Madison, Wisconsin. Some of these dishes have been featured on Mabel Gray menus, some are more mainstays of Chef’s pantry arsenal. As someone who cooks at home a lot, and has recreated Chef’s written recipes in the past: he is like the prototypical Italian ‘nonna’ who does everything by feel and memory, never writing anything down. These recipes are meant to be adjusted based on your personal preferences. Use your gut and your senses, taste as you go, and most importantly - read the recipe all the way through before you grocery shop. We believe in you! ~ Paulina
Blackened Walleye with Remoulade, Charred Onion, Pickled Slaw & Dill
You will need
1 lb of walleye fillet** (see note below)
1/4 cup of Cajun spice or blackening spice. (There’s quite a few varieties out there. I absolutely hate to say this but Sysco’s proprietary blend is a great Cajun spice. Balanced spice. Doesn’t burn easily. Not too salty. Whoever designed that original recipe knew what they were doing. But it pains me to give Sysco any flowers lol. Paul Prudhomme brand is also good- but second place in my opinion.)
1 large Spanish onion cut into 1/2-inch rings.
Olive oil.
Butter.
Fresh picked dill.
Remoulade (recipe to follow)
Pickled Slaw (recipe to follow)
Method:
On a plate or small seasoning tray, you’ll dredge your walleye fillets completely in the cajun spice. Allow your cast iron pan to get very hot. Almost to the point of smoking. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the fish immediately after. Let sear on each side until cooked through (if it’s a thicker fillet you may want to flip a couple times). Remove the fish and add the onion rings. Let them sear hard, until charred on at least one side. I like the onions to be cooked but with a slight crisp bite. Not mushy. Plate similarly to the photo you see at the top. Remoulade on the plate first. Fish, then onions, pinches of pickled slaw tucked in a few different places and fresh dill as the last garnish. Voila! A Midwest entree for the summer!
**A note on walleye**
It’s rather difficult to pinbone walleye, so most people will gently “v cut” the bone portion out of the fillet. You should be able to ask your fish butcher at the market to do this for you. If you’re into catching your own walleye you probably already know how filler it. If not, there’s plenty of techniques and demonstrations on YouTube. A lot of anglers do the “zipper” method which is a little rough for us chefs but gets the job done!
Remoulade:
You will need:
4 egg yolks
2 cups vegetable oil or olive oil blend
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 lemon (zest and juice)
3 raw garlic cloves
A few dashes of Tabasco
A dash of Worcestershire
Pickles of your choosing, chopped (I like McClure’s or cornichon)
Pickled peppers of your choosing, chopped (I like pickled jalapeños)
Fresh chopped herbs. Chive, parsley, dill, scallion. Any or a combination of.
Pinch of salt
Make the remoulade:
In a food processor, purée everything together except the oil. Once puréed, slowly add the oil emulsifying it into a mayonnaise. Once added, spatula scrape everything into a mixing bowl. Then add:
1/4 cup chopped pickles
1/4 cup chopped pickled peppers. A little splash of the pickling liquid is nice too.
Fresh chopped herbs.
Taste for salt, acid, spice. Adjust if necessary.
Pickled Slaw:
You will need:
A combination of thinly shaved cabbage, carrot and red or white onion. If you have other hard veggies you like, feel free to add. Celery, fennel, turnips, radish would all work great.
For the brine…
White distilled vinegar.
Granulated sugar.
High quality cider or champagne vinegar.
Diamond Crystal Kosher salt.
Aromatics: mustard seed, chili flake, cracked pepper, garlic cloves and a few bay leaves are all great.
Method:
Put the vegetable blend into a vessel large enough to hold everything. You’ll measure about 2/3 of the volume of that vessel for the pickling liquid. Just eyeball it. It’s not a perfect science.
We’re going to heat a pickling liquid to pour over the vegetables. I recommend using a high quality cider or champagne vinegar. You can also blend vinegars. I often use a majority white distilled and then cut it with a really nice cider or champagne vinegar. Combine vinegars in a medium sauce pot. To the vinegar, add a pinch of mustard seed, chili flake, cracked pepper, a few garlic cloves and a few bay leaves. The most important part will be the salt and sugar. If you’re heating 3 cups of vinegar I would start with 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Heat the vinegar until boiling with all the aromatics. Dip a spoon in quickly and taste a small portion of the liquid. Is it balanced? Does it taste like a pickle? Then perfect! If not, adjust accordingly. It’ll taste strong as hell. But that’s the point. Pour the hot liquid over the veg and let it cool. Then you have a partially cooked but still crunchy pickled slaw. Yum!
I like spice, acid, salt and heat. If you’re sensitive to any of those feel free to adjust the recipes to your taste. Pickled slaw will hold for a couple weeks in the fridge and is delicious in a number of recipes or on a sandwich.