Grilling fish question

wrote:
OK, here is the deal. I live on a lake and feed the bream off of my
pier, mostly coppernose and blue gill. snip

Why would you ask a culinary question concerning bluegill in
a Usenet newsgroup devoted to bass fishing ?

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Sep 27, 9:58 am, wrote:
OK, here is the deal. I live on a lake and feed the bream off of my
pier, mostly coppernose and blue gill. They are really nice size and
I would like to get in the habit of catching a few for supper each
day, but need to find a simple way to cook them.

I have tried filleting them with both an electric and conventional
fillet knife, then pan frying them in olive oil. This is my preferred
method for taste. The problem with filleting them is that it yields a
pretty small fillet.

I am thinking that I would like to scale them, cut the heads off, gut
them and throw them on the grill. Has anybody tried this with any
fish about the size of a bream? If so, I would like some suggestions
on flame settings and approximate cook times. Also, any spices you
might add for flavor.

Thanks

To answer your original quesstion - I grill bass and bluegill. I use
charcole, never used gas. Have a kettle style grill.

I filet them but leave skin on. Soak a oak or cedar plank in water
all day, place it on grill away from coals, not on direct heat.
Brush meat side of filet with olive oil, lay filet on board when board
starts smoking a little. Cover grill. For a one inch thick filet takes
about 10 minutes of indirect heat. In a gas grill I would keep heat
fairly high until board smokes, then turn it way down. Meat will
slide off skin when done - you don't even need to scale the fish
before fileting. Don't place over direct heat. The cedar plank gives
it a good flavor, oak is different flavor. This is a great way to do
salmon filets, too.

You can also place skinless filets in a grilling basket made for fish,
put them over coals for a minute, turn for another minute or so, done
when flakes easily.

I have a one acre pond where I feed the bluegill - took over 100
bluegill in 12 to 14 ounce range out of it last year and can't tell
any are missing. I can get all the fish that size I want either on
hook and line or in a net.

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

When I was a kid that's the way mom fried them. (living in Pa. sunnies,
bluegills, suckers (bony but sweet) & catfish found their way into her
frying pan. Olive Oil gives them a great taste. Lemon juice isn't
exactly an herb, but improves the flavor (I didn't discover Bass until
an elderly neighbor fisherman whom I loved to talk fishing with gav me a
frog colored flatfish lure & I caught some Bass in the Conestoga River.
I'd caught trout, but Smallies... WOW!!!

Well, maybe because bass and bluegill are kin and maybe, just maybe some
here may actually eat fish they catch. I know it may be thought of as wrong
to eat what you catch, especially from bass fishermen these days, but there
are still some that do.
Have no idea about grilling em cause I always just scale em, gut em, cut
heads off and throw em in the deep fryer. Some people really like to cut the
tails off and fry them up seperate and eat em like tater chips while cooking
the rest.

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
...
wrote:
OK, here is the deal. I live on a lake and feed the bream off of my
pier, mostly coppernose and blue gill. snip

Why would you ask a culinary question concerning bluegill in
a Usenet newsgroup devoted to bass fishing ?

--
Ken Fortenberry