Duration
30 minutes
Serves
4
This recipe was inspired by a game dinner I attended last fall. The historic Cottonwood Hotel in Omaha put on an impressive seven-course meal of game meat and fish, and my favorite bite of the night was their pumpkin-seed crusted fried sturgeon with juniper aioli, which was cleverly infused with the essence of eastern red cedar. These elements honored the delicate flavor and texture of freshwater fish well.
This recipe is my simplified version. Walleye, bluegill, catfish…any white-fleshed panfish would work here. You won’t have any issues with panfish, but note that pumpkin seeds do brown quickly, so stick to frying thinner fillets in case you’re thinking of trying this with bigger fish. Also, old juniper berries that have been sitting in the back of your spice cupboard will lack flavor—buy or forage fresh berries for the sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless fish fillets
- Deep frying oil, such as peanut oil
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- ¼ tsp. celery seed
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Tartar Sauce
- 1 tsp. juniper berries (about 12 berries)
- ⅓ cup Kewpie mayonnaise
- ½ tsp. coarse ground Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. capers, drained and minced
Also works with
Preparation
-
Grind juniper berries as finely as possible with a mortar and pestle. Next, combine ground juniper with the remaining tartar sauce ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to eat.
-
In a food processor, pulse pumpkin seeds into a coarse grind. Pour out the ground pumpkin seed in a wide, shallow bowl and combine with cornmeal, flour, seasoned salt, celery seed, and cayenne pepper. Then submerge fish filets in a bowl with water; the fish needs to be wet so the coating can stick.
-
In a frying pan, heat about an inch of oil to 325° to 350°F, and watch the oil temperature carefully so it doesn’t get too hot. Before oil approaches the target temperature, take a piece of fish out of the water and coat it well in the pumpkin-seed coating. Carefully add fish to the hot oil and repeat with remaining fillets; do not crowd the pan, and fry in batches. Fry fish until golden on both sides, adjusting the heat as needed. Serve fish immediately with juniper tartar sauce on the side.
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This recipe was inspired by a game dinner I attended last fall. The historic Cottonwood Hotel in Omaha put on an impressive seven-course meal of game meat and fish, and my favorite bite of the night was their pumpkin-seed crusted fried sturgeon with juniper aioli, which was cleverly infused with the essence of eastern red cedar. These elements honored the delicate flavor and texture of freshwater fish well.
This recipe is my simplified version. Walleye, bluegill, catfish…any white-fleshed panfish would work here. You won’t have any issues with panfish, but note that pumpkin seeds do brown quickly, so stick to frying thinner fillets in case you’re thinking of trying this with bigger fish. Also, old juniper berries that have been sitting in the back of your spice cupboard will lack flavor—buy or forage fresh berries for the sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless fish fillets
- Deep frying oil, such as peanut oil
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- ¼ tsp. celery seed
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Tartar Sauce
- 1 tsp. juniper berries (about 12 berries)
- ⅓ cup Kewpie mayonnaise
- ½ tsp. coarse ground Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. capers, drained and minced
Also works with
Preparation
-
Grind juniper berries as finely as possible with a mortar and pestle. Next, combine ground juniper with the remaining tartar sauce ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to eat.
-
In a food processor, pulse pumpkin seeds into a coarse grind. Pour out the ground pumpkin seed in a wide, shallow bowl and combine with cornmeal, flour, seasoned salt, celery seed, and cayenne pepper. Then submerge fish filets in a bowl with water; the fish needs to be wet so the coating can stick.
-
In a frying pan, heat about an inch of oil to 325° to 350°F, and watch the oil temperature carefully so it doesn’t get too hot. Before oil approaches the target temperature, take a piece of fish out of the water and coat it well in the pumpkin-seed coating. Carefully add fish to the hot oil and repeat with remaining fillets; do not crowd the pan, and fry in batches. Fry fish until golden on both sides, adjusting the heat as needed. Serve fish immediately with juniper tartar sauce on the side.