Lake Trout, Walleye, Northern Recipe help

I just signed on for a trip to Canada for some fishing. I grew up fishing here in Virginia but this will be all new to me. We will be fishing for Lake Trout, Walleye and Northerns. Im looking for some recipes using these fish since Ive never cooked them before. I wont be the main cook on this trip but I would like to cook some. Maybe some appetizers or lunches. I was thinking about maybe trying to rig up some sort of smoker for the grill top.

Ivan try planking filets on the grill.Throw a couple of cedar planks in your bag. In my opinion you can't beat walleye cooked over a fire in a cast iron pan with plain old butter,bit of pepper, bit of garlic and a chopped up onion or shallots or just a simple breading and fried in butter,take a box of shake'n'bake with you. Don't know if you've had pike before but it is a trick to debone because of the wishbone like bones it has. If you have a guide he can probably do it for you and it tastes great. Where in Canada are you going?

DOOOD! Now, you're speaking my language!:

WALLEYE:
This is a very mild, delicate, non-oily fish that gets good meat texture when it is cooked. If you do anything too fancy with it - you'll just wreck it.
I like to beat an egg and some half-and-half, flop the fish into this, then into Ritz cracker crumbs, corn meal, panko, or a mix of all three, and pan-fry in (preferrably, lard or oil with a little bacon grease) until golden brown. Salt & pepper to taste.

Fresh Walleye from cold water is a real treat. Serve with a little tarter sauce.

Serve with fried potatos (get some baby yukons or russets, boil them the night before), then slice and fry with a little onion & butter.

I like pan-fried Walleye with some eggs & toast for breakfast, when I get the chance!

NORTHERNS:
If they're largish, fillet them and remove the ridge of "Y-bones" that run along the lateral line of the fish. (You end-up with two fillets per side - any experienced Northerner / guide should be able to show you how to do this.) Then, fry in the same manner as Walleye.

For smaller ones - look for a recipe to "pickle" them. In this case, you can leave the Y-bones in, since the vinegar will dissolve / soften them.

LAKE TROUT:
This fish is very fatty. We like then two ways:

baked - gut & gill a medium-size fish (up to 5 lbs), then score the skin, salt & pepper inside & out, stuff the body cavity with peeled small onions & stitch-up. Brush with a light coat of oil & bake at about 350°F.
(I would use a roaster-rack, so that the fat can drip-off and collect.) Warning - this method can make a kitchen stinky!

Boiled - Lake Trout makes EXCELLENT fish-boil:
-Put a big kettle nearly full of water, with an inner basket outdoors, on top of an open wood fire or gas (turkey-fryer).
-Get the water to a rolling boil.
-Add quartered potatos, chunks of big roaster carrots, and halved onions to the water, with salt and pepper.
-Give it about half an hour at a moderate boul before adding the fish
-Steak the fish and add it to the boiling mixture. Give it about 20 minutes at a gentle boil.
-Either skim the fat / oil off the top, or toss some gasoline on the fire to cause a flash-boil, that will cause the kettle to boil-over, taking most of the fat/oil with it.
-Enjoy
(For dessert - some nice tart cherry pie works perfect)

Lake Trout can also be slow-cooked, indirectly, so that a lot of the oil will cook out of them.

In my opinion, when cold-smoked, they get too soft and oily (although the Canadian ones are supposedly less-so than the ones that we catch out of Lake Michigan.)


NOTE - IDENTIFICATION:
If you are using a guide / resort-keeper, they should be able to inform you about the limits on what you can transport home. For fish that you plan to take home, you'll usually need to leave a tag of skin / scales still attached, for identification by border security.

Hope you enjoy your trip - I for one am jealous.

Thanks Bob and Ron. We are going to Route Lake near Dryden, Ontario. I signed on with a group of guys that have done this trip for the last several years. Its 12 of us total I think. I dont have all the details as of yet. The thing is they hire a cook for the week. He makes all the meals. Im planning to make alot of jerky, summer sausage, etc to take with us. I was just hoping to maybe make lunch or some snacks for us a couple times. I get itchy to cook when Im away from the kitchen more than a few days. I dont know of a menu yet we are going in early July.

For a bunch of guys on a trip, I suggest taking some pre-cooked, frozen, pulled pork (it's ALWAYS a hit, and easy to re-heat).

Maybe take fixin's for some of Mr. Wolfe's Orange Marmalade Sriracha wings - goes down good with a few cold ones after a nice day of fishing.

Some good bacon or Canadian bacon to cook-up with flapjacks and/or eggs for breakfast is always good and travels well.

Brats, burgers, or a big pan of good lasagne is always good traveling food - take stuff that's easy to prepair. After a day's fishing, you're probably going to end-up sort of pooped-out, and not going to want to spend too much time cooking anything "fussy".

Also, depending on the time of year - be sure to find out what's recommended for bugs. At certain times of the year, the fishing can be good, but black flies and no-see-ums can be terrible. It's hard to have fun if you're getting bit-up - go prepared.

Hint about Black Flies and Mosquitos near Dryden. They both come out in the spring and stay till the fall. Black flies taper off in the summer but they are always around. Take lots of DEET. Great fishing area.