Prior to yesterday, I have only ever kept one wiper for the dinner table. I did not much care for the flavor, so since that time, I have always released any that I’ve caught.
Had a fun little day at Willard yesterday and caught a few crappie, half a dozen wipers and one decent walleye. Having read a few posts on here about some of you fellas who like to eat wipers, I thought I’d give it another shot.
For dinner I had fillets from 3 different species side by side on my plate for comparison.
Conclusion:
Walleye = delicious
Crappie = mighty tasty
Wiper = yuck
I’ve not met many fish that I don’t like, so perhaps I’m preparing them incorrectly or perhaps it’s just my personal preference. Do you guys prepare your wipers any differently than you do your walleye?
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Personally I'll take wiper any day over walleye. I have tried walleye on several occasions and it ALWAYS has a strong metallic after taste. Wiper are one of the few fish that I will eat. Trim off all the red stuff from your filets. Coat with seasoned flour, dip in egg, roll in panko crumbs, fry in oil. It's always been good for me.
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In my book, the only fish that beats wiper when battered and deep fried is catfish! Walleye is awesome baked, pan fried or on the grill, but like crappie it is too moist for the deep fryer and gets mushy. Make some wiper deep fried fish and chips or a deep fried fish fillet sandwich with cheese, lettuce and tarter sauce, and I guarantee you will change your mind about wiper!
I really shouldn't be telling people this, please keep throwing them back so I can cook up more for my family lol!
and +1 on [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/community/community.cgi?do=user_page;pg=user_profile_view.html;username=CVfisher"]CVfisher[/url]...I'll trade you my walleye for your wiper any day!
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Wipers and Stripers - very tasty if prepped right.
I bleed the fish for 10 minutes. I cut the gills and throw them in the water. I have a live well so it's pretty easy. A stringer would work also. After 10 minutes, I put the fish on ice. Doing so keeps the meat fresh and firm. When filleting, I ALWAYS remove the dark red layer next to the skin. It's NASTY. Favorite way to cook them is in Tempura batter. Give it a try! It really helps!
Steve
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I was with you until this weekend. Had a wiper/walleye in beer batter fry. The walleye was fabulous as always (particularly the cheeks) and the wiper was also fantastic this time. I could still detect a slight hint of that distinct wiper flavor but it was so slight that it did not matter. What did I do different? The day I caught/filleted the fish I rinsed them then soaked them in a kosher salt brine and then without rinsing the brine off put them in a ziplock. They were in the fridge for a couple days before we cooked them. Nom nom nom.
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That's the most important thing. Remove that nasty blood. Once you figure out how to fillet the fillet it's a piece of cake.
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Below is a pic from our family wiper fry this last Sunday. Deep fried wiper and onion rings! We fed 10 people and five of them were self confessed non-fish eaters... Everyone was asking for more wiper after it was gone!
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I appreciate the good feedback, fellas! I've not yet tried them battered and deep fried. I usually either grill or pan fry crappie and walleye and have always loved them prepared that way.
I'll give the wipers one more try with some type of batter and deep fried. If that doesn't agree with my palate, then I won't have any impact on the future Willard wiper population. (Truth be told, I'm not a good enough fisherman to have much of an impact anyway).
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I'm with you on eating wipers but that being said, I'll agree with everyone that how you cook it makes the difference. The issue for me is that I don't pan fry or deep fry any meat, it's either baked or grilled. I've tried every method mentioned on this thread to prep wipers but when you bake them, they just do not taste the same to me. I have had wiper deep fried and it was good but baking, just does not do it for me, so long ago I decided to just release them, to fight another day.
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Dang it, I forgot to attach the pic! it really is worth sharing! lol
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[quote HambonesF2]When filleting, I ALWAYS remove the dark red layer next to the skin. It's NASTY.
Steve[/quote]
If you aren't doing this, then you are doing it wrong!
Smaller wipers (and stripers) don't have as much of this red strip in the middle of the filet as larger fish do. Just take your filet knife and make a "v" notch down the center and peel that red strip out.
Now you've got a nice filet.
(Just not as nice as crappie or walleye!)
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Enjoyed your deep fried wiper at the Willard Floatilla last year - it's really tasty. We recently made TubeDude's Fish Chowder recipe and its great using wiper fillets as well.
If you cut down the lateral line and divide the upper portion of the fillet from the lower, it's easier to cleanly remove that dark muscle. Once that's done, wiper is excellent. It's even very good sashimi with wasabi and soy. Add some ginger and it's fantastic. Most white fleshed fish are very mild, well-trimmed wiper is no exception. It's up there with walleye and perch, and firmer than crappie.
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My feelings exactly, but I do put perch, bluegill, & catfish ahead of crappie for eating. I don't roll the fillets in any special seasoning and I like them fried in olive oil or butter with a little salt sprinkled on top. I enjoy the flavor of the fish not all the other stuff that people coat the fillets with.
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So many good answers here. I learned to love wiper after I started bleeding them and removing the "red meat" under the skin then I have one more step that removed the last hint of wiper fishiness; rub each fillet with a small amount of plain French's mustard then bake, grill or fry.
After the mustard rub, I prefer rolling the fillets in flour seasoned with Old Bay and Tony Chachere's, dip in egg wash then into Panko and frying until golden brown.
I have yet to have anyone complain that wiper is too fishy and there are rarely any leftovers.
I'm not sure why the mustard thing works but it does.
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[quote retch_sweeney] I have one more step that removed the last hint of wiper fishiness; rub each fillet with a
small amount of plain French's mustard then bake, grill or fry.
I'm not sure why the mustard thing works but it does.[/quote]
I've removed that red line and its never made a difference to me but that mustard trick is something I've never done before, maybe I'll give it one last try.
Thanks again Jim, for the help shredding that wood yesterday, now if I can just separate it from the bark[
].
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[#0000FF]I have fished a lot of waters...for a lot of species. Not unusual to find some species from some waters that absorb or develop "off tastes" due either to diet or water quality. Even trout and bass can taste funky if they come out of warm, weedy or stagnant waters.
The wipers from Willard live primarily on Gizzard shad. Anybody who has gotten "up close and personal" with a gizzard shad knows that they don't smell like roses. Some members of the shad and herring family are good eating and don't smell bad. But Gizzard shad often feed on "detritus" from the bottom of the lake...and can take on the odor of "swamp gas".
Utah anglers with a sensitive nose can even detect some of that residual "perfume" in a few of the walleyes. But fortunately it seems to remain in the discarded innards and not affect the delicate white flesh so much. Wipers, on the other hand, often develop enough "shad sweetness" that they are not as enjoyable on the table...especially to someone with an educated palate or sensitive olfactories.
Over the years I have been exposed to many different recipes for reducing objectionable tastes in finny fare. One of the simplest is soaking in mild salt water solution. Originally developed for catfish and bullheads but works fine for "mossy" trout and for funky bass and even shaddy wipers. In fact, I often mix some salt into the ice water I use to quick chill my fillets as I remove them from my fish. The salt both helps remove remaining blood from the fillets but "lightens" heavy flavors as well.
Another popular "rinse/soak" for strong tasting fish is a mild solution with baking soda. That stuff works miracles in odoriferous refrigerators in in foul smelling laundry. It also helps mellow out the "fishy" taste in fish. Some only leave the fish in for a short time. Others leave it overnight in the refrigerator.
The reason the mustard helps to "sweeten" wiper fillets is likely because of the vinegar content. Vinegar is like baking soda...a universal magical product with a bazillion uses. One of them is to wipe away dirt, grime and odors. I wouldn't recommend soaking fresh fillets in strong vinegar solution...unless you are trying to pickle them. But a quick rinse in a mild solution might help.
So far, my system of rinsing wipers in a salted ice water bath after filleting has been adequate to eliminate any shad stink leftovers. That, and slicing out the red sensory tissue along the lateral line, has resulted in many a great-tasting meal of wiper.
And if you prefer grilling or baking to frying, should be no problem. Got another recipe for anybody who wants to bake larger or thicker white-fleshed fillets from wipers or walleye: SOUP BAKING.
Put your fillets in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with your choice of seasonings. Mix up one or more cans of cream soups...mushroom, onion, celery, etc. A mix of two or more is great. Add enough milk to make a semi thick soup. Pour it over the fillets. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes...until fillets flake easily. Serve with cornbread or fresh hot french bread.
Optional is to put fish and soup over rice or noodles. And if you wanna get crazy you can bake in some of the stuff I use in chowders...shrimp, crisp bacon pieces, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, celery, carrots, etc.
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Glad if you like them wipers and stripers. I'll take walleye, perch and bluegill over them any and all days.
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[quote smokepoles]Glad if you like them wipers and stripers. I'll take walleye, perch and bluegill over them any and all days.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Me too. But I don't always fish where they are available...or don't always catch only what I go after. And I like most fish so I don't only keep my faves.
When you can't eat the fish you love, love the fish you eat.
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As with all fish like Wipers or Stripers if you have a problem with the taste- soak in buttermilk in the fridge over night = then do your batter etc and fry.
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