Reply With QuoteWhen I dress and fry crappies whole I do it exactly like I do bluegills. I do prefer 9-10” fish to fry whole. I have done larger and they are good also but I tend to fillet anything larger than 10-11”.
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Eat the Skin?
I tend to panfry bluegill in a more whole form (tail on, head and fins off, gutted) and was curious if anyone has done this with crappie? Do you eat the skin and is it good like bluegill's?
I was also wondering if anyone has tried steaming it in a rice cooker or similar? I was thinking it would do really well with one of those light soy sauce-ginger deals and steamed.
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When I dress and fry crappies whole I do it exactly like I do bluegills. I do prefer 9-10” fish to fry whole. I have done larger and they are good also but I tend to fillet anything larger than 10-11”.
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Kind of hard to find a way to cook them that is bad. Deep frying will probably be the favorite, and is a good way to do whole fish. Make some slashes down each side. Lately been making fillets on a griddle. Steaming will work good. Smoked, blackened, grilled, it’s all good.
Maybe they will bite this one……
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Like Micanopy said score them on each side and fry. Here is a good video from SK Crappie Fishing Adventures showing this.
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Some folks prefer it. I have heard it gives almost an almond like flavor. I can not tell the difference. Really no bad way to eat them
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I used to eat them whole until I got married. It was worth the sacrifice.
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That used to be the only way I ate them, because that was the only way they were cleaned (by my Grandpa). Kept up that tradition for many years, regardless of what specie it was. Then I went to a fillet knife, and eventually to an elec. knife. Occasionally I may clean them the "old" way, but not for anyone else but me to eat.
Yes, leaving the skin on a Crappie does add a slight "nutty" taste .... but it's easily drowned out by added seasonings. I don't use anything but yellow corn meal most of the time, and especially when cooking them "skin on".
I never "score" my fish. They don't have to be cooked all that long to start with, and I believe the skin helps keep in a lot of the moisture of the meat.
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I only score bream and crappie if they are 5lbs or more. I don't score very many.
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I am coming to Virginia to fish. I want one of those 5 lbs crappie to photo for bragging rights down here. That would be a beastOriginally Posted by Barnacle Bill
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Who needs TV? Some of the best Entertainment exists right here.
I skin mine, our Wildlife Fisheries & Parks as well as Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries say; do not eat the skin of fish caught out of the Pearl River here due to PCB's. All the bad stuff is stored in the skin.
