Tom Neustrom’s No-fry Walleye Recipe: A Savory Ending to a Long Day on the Water

In my world, the cook is as good as the catch. Meaning, I enjoy eating fresh walleyes as much as I like hooking them. I asked my friend and professional fisherman, Tom Neustrom, how he prepares walleyes.

“I love deep fried walleyes and my customers love the sizzling of fillets of a shore supper at the end of the day. Many folks, for good reason, have been regulating their cholesterol by baking instead of frying. This is a great way to prepare your catch at home,” says the legendary guide from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. After a little arm twisting, he shared this recipe with me.

No-fry walleye ingredients

• Virgin olive oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 2 cups seasoned flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups panko flakes
• 1 and 1/2 cups ground corn flakes

Take a 1/2-inch deep cookie sheet and wet entire surface with virgin olive oil. Mix one egg and 3/4 cup of skim milk in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, add two cups of seasoned flour. In a separate bowl, mix approximately three cups and add 50/50 panko flakes and finely ground corn flake crumbs.

Dust fillets in seasoned flour and then submerge in egg/milk mixture. Cover each fillet with pre-combined breading and place each filet on olive oil-treated cookie sheet. Place in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. If you desire a crispy outer layer on top, turn oven to broil for approximately one minute at the end of baking time.

Dena Woerner

Dena Woerner is the president of Argia Media, LLC and a strategist for Traditions Media, LLC. She is the former Tourism Division Communications Director for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism where she was the editor of state tourism publications, blogs and web content. Dena is a published outdoor freelance writer and editor. She plans and organizes fishing industry writer's events and photo shoots. She has been published in the River Management Journal, Arkansas Wild, North American Fisherman, and in National Wildlife Federation publications, to name a few. She has appeared in Outdoor Life photo essays, Sporting Clays magazine, and has been a featured guest on episodes of Midwest Outdoors, Illinois Outdoors,Wisconsin Outdoors and local Arkansas television fishing segments. She is a former culinary and hospitality & tourism instructor. An avid cyclist, she competes in woman's crosscountry cycling events. Dena holds a B.A. in Marketing form the University of Arkansas, a M.A. in Professional Communication from Purdue University and is Certified in Tourism Crisis Communications from the University of Florida.