Common Question Asked: What are the black spots on fish?

Minnesota Lakes Association-July-August 2000

What About Those Fish With Black Spots?
Are fish with worms and black spots safe to eat, and if so, do they affect the taste?

All fish have internal parasites. Some you can see; some you can’t. The black spots commonly found on sunfish, bass and perch are larval flatworms or flukes. The complex life cycles of these parasites involve living in the skin of the fish. The yellow spots, often seen under the skin of perch, are parasitic grubs. All these parasites die when their host is cooked. They don’t affect the fillet’s taste, and they are harmless to humans. Parasites are usually harmless even to the fish themselves, which have evolved with these creatures for thousands of years. Only when it is heavily infested with parasites will a fish weaken or die. This usually occurs when fish are stressed from high water temperatures, low oxygen levels or spawning.

Reprinted for the DNR’s Fish & Wildlife Today

Recipes

Northern Fish Cocktail

Make a brine by mixing and boiling the following ingredients until onion and celery are tender.

4 cups water
2 cups vinegar
1 medium onion cut up
1 stalk of celery cut up
1 bay leaf

Remove bay leaf. Add pieces of fish and boil 8 minutes (not a hard boil). Remove fish and cool on a paper towel. Break into small pieces, removing all bones. Add sauce and fish in layers; a margarine container works well. Suggest doubling the sauce recipe to have enough to thoroughly cover the fish. Serve on crackers or on lettuce. Freezes well.

Sauce:

1/2 cup chili sauce
3 T horseradish
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup catsup

A Minnesota Shrimp Cocktail–From Bette Wilhelmi, Duluth, Mn
Minnesota Lakes Association-New Ways To Serve Northern-January/February 2000

Pickled Northern

Cut northern fish in small pieces, cover with salt for 48 hours.
Drain and rinse several times, cover with white vinegar for 48 hours.
Drain.
Boil 4 cups white vinegar, 1 cup water, and 3 cups sugar.
Combine 1 tablespoon whole cloves, 1 tablespoon whole allspice, 3 whole bay leaves, 1 tablespoon mustard seed; tie in bag or cheese cloth and add to boiling mixture.
Cool mixture, then add 1 cup white port wine.
Put fish in gallon jar with onion; pour juice over.

Makes one gallon.

From Cliff and Gloria Hansen, Lake Benton, Minnesota
Life (Lake Improvement For Everyone) Lake Association

Kavanaugh’s Fish Batter & Beer Battered Walleye

Ingredients:

Hungry Jack Pancake mix
Water

Directions:

Mix Hungry Jack pancake mix with water to desired consistency

Preparation:

6 Filets of Walleye or your favorite fish.
2 cups beer
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup vegetable oil
1 quartered lemon
Clean and pat dry fish filets
Mix beer, flour, salt, and pepper into a bowl making a nice thick batter.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium hot flame.
You want the fish to sizzle when it hits the hot oil.
Dip fish into batter then place in the hot oil.
Cook 3 minutes per side or until golden brown.
Squeeze lemon onto fish and serve.

Prep Time: 1/2 hour

Servings: 4

Almond Crusted Walleye-Ivan’s On the Bay

For each individual serving:

Remove the pin-bones from a 6- to 8-ounce fillet by cutting just above where the rib bones were. You can feel this line of tiny bones with your finger.
Season the fillet with salt, then dust with flour. Shake off excess flour.
Dip the fillet in whipped eggs and then into medium-coarse processed breadcrumbs and almonds–equal parts.
Sauté over medium-high heat until each side is a golden brown, then place the fillet in a 375F oven for approximately 5 minutes.
To finish . . . place the fillet over rice pilaf and top with Golden Raisin Sage Beurre Noisette (Beurre Noisette is French for brown butter).

For the Golden Raisin Sage Beurre Noisette:

In a hot pan, add 1 tbsp. butter.
As soon as the butter melts, add 1/4 cup golden raisins and a few fresh sage leaves.
The butter browns quickly as the sage leaves crisp up and the raisins plump up.
When the butter reaches a hazelnut brown color and is starting to foam, squeeze 1/2 of a lemon (carefully) in the mixture to stop the browning and finish the sauce.

This beautiful preparation is a favorite during select seasons, at Ivan’s On The Bay, in the heart of the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota, home base for In-Fisherman.

Sauteed Walleye with Sour Cream and Dill

To serve two:

2 walleye fillets
1/4-c. flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. cornmeal
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. olive oil

The sauce:

1/2 c. white wine
6 tbsp. sour cream
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped (2 tsp. dry)
1 tbsp. fresh parsley or chives, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon, chopped

In a large skillet, melt the olive oil and butter until the foam subsides. Meanwhile, rinse the fillets and pat dry. Combine the flour, salt and pepper, and corn meal, and dredge the fillets, shaking them lightly to remove excess flour.
Sauté the fillets over medium heat until golden. Turn fish and continue to cook until done. Remove to two warm plates.
With a paper towel, wipe any crumbs or bits from the skillet and return to medium-high flame. Add wine and cook for 5-8 minutes or until reduced by half.
Whisk in the sour cream until smooth, remove from heat, and add herbs and lemon. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over fish and serve immediately.

Courtesy of Chef Lucia Watson: This recipe is as simple as it is sublime. In Minnesota, walleye usually is the fish of choice with a recipe like this. But it works just as well with panfish like crappies, perch, or bluegill — really, any white-fleshed fish.

Simon and Seafort’s Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

1 C. chopped dill pickles
3/4 C. chopped onion
3 chopped pitted green olives
2 C. real Mayonnaise (Do not use Miracle Whip)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
dash white pepper

Preparation:
Mix together the pickles, onion, olives, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and white pepper until blended. Allow this to set for at least two hours for best flavor.

Notes: This tastes so much better than the stuff in the jar.

Upper Hay Lake Association

Tasty Fishing!