Is Walleye Good to Eat? Benefits, Risks, and 3 Tasty Recipes To Try

Walleye is a delicious freshwater fish that is a favorite of many anglers whether they enjoy their vicious fight in the water or not. It is a great choice for people who are fond of eating fish and discovering more unique tastes. But is walleye taste the only good thing about it?

Is walleye good to eat? Yes, walleye is good to eat. It tastes good with a subtle sweet taste with mild fishiness, and it has lots of nutrients that help the body to maintain its healthy condition and cure diseases like anemia, digestive system conditions, and skin conditions.

Keep reading to know all about how to prepare your next walleye tasty meal and how your body can benefit from it in the long run.

Table of Contents

The Benefits and Risks of Eating Walleyes

Benefits

Walleye is a golden source of omega-3 fatty acids. They can fight anxiety and depression, improve eye health, promote brain health and development in infants, reduce heart risks, enhance skin condition, fight inflammation, reduce fat in your liver and it also proved effective in fighting age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Walleye is also a reliable source of protein that your body uses to build and repair itself. It’s rich in vitamin D as well that your body gets from the sun. On days when you’re not exposed to sunlight, it’s important to eat meals that have vitamin D to maintain a healthy level of it in your body.

Walleye also has selenium that benefits your immune system and helps lower oxidative stress in your body, which enhances immunity and reduces inflammation. In addition to Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, that your body uses to turn food into the energy essential for your daily activities. It also helps keep your nervous system, digestive system, and skin in a good condition.

Not just that, walleye has other nutrients such as Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A that your body need to function healthily and cure various disease like digestive system issues, Immunity dysfunctions, and skin conditions like dandruff, eczema, acne, dry skin, psoriasis, melanoma, and hair loss.

So, yes, Walleye is a very good fish to eat, and it’s even better when you’re the one that caught it. If you want the best chances of doing that, make sure to check out my recommended baitcasting reels for less than $100 here. They’re affordable and they get the job done more than well enough, so make sure to check them out, you will be more quite glad you did when you start using them on your next fishing trip.

Risks

Walleye has no risks except possible mercury contamination that results from excessive consumption and improper cleaning of the fish.

Like any predator fish that feeds on other aquatic organisms, including fish, insects, crayfish, snails, and salamanders, walleye bodies contain mercury. Bigger walleyes have more mercury in their bodies than smaller ones due to a process called bioaccumulation. However, the overall concentration in walleye fillets ranged from 0.11 to 0.44 parts per million (ppm). These concentrations do not exceed the current Federal standard (1.0 ppm of mercury).

The best way to avoid the risks of high mercury consumption is to go for smaller walleye (15-to-18 in/38-to-45 cm), make sure to clean it right and remove its skin and bones and lower your consumption to a maximum of 2 meals per week.

Warning: the maximum number of walleye meals is just one meal per month for special populations like kids under 15 years old, pregnant and nursing women, and women who are trying to get pregnant.

What Do Walleye Fish Taste Like?

So, what do walleye fish taste like? Walleye fish taste good with a subtle, sweet flavor with mild levels of fishiness. Its flaky white flesh can be compared to what perch tastes like. All in all, walleye can be cooked in different ways that appeal to your tasting.

The taste of walleye comes from the low oil content of a flesh that is firm yet delicate and moist. It makes a perfect choice for someone who wants to try fish that has a unique taste that can be enhanced with different seasonings.

Make sure to completely remove the walleye skin to get rid of mercury that doesn’t only affect your health when heavily consumed but also can leave a metallic taste in your fish if it’s at high levels.

How to Properly Clean Walleye

To properly clean walleye, you need to:

Place your knife under the walleye fin and cut till you reach the backbone. Make sure your knife is sharp and of good quality, You can get a special filleting kit on Amazon that can enhance your experience.
Move your knife parallel to the backbone to get your first fillet piece.
Put your knife at the edge of the rib cage and slice along the rib cage and keep the edge of the knife close to it.
Carefully grab the ribcage and rip it out.
Pin the tail with your finger and slice along the skin to remove it. Keep your knife close like you’re scraping it off not to waste any flesh.
Make sure to remove any trace of bones, even the delicate ones using tweezers to avoid the unwanted taste of fishiness and mercury.
Wash the fillet pieces with clean water.

You’re now ready to cook your well-cleaned walleye fillets and enjoy their taste using your favorite recipe!

3 Delicious Recipes for Walleye

Oven-Baked Walleye

Ingredients

6 fillets of walleye fish
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
⅓ cup dry bread crumbs
⅓ cup instant potato flakes
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C)
Grease the bottom of a baking sheet with oil or melted butter.
Beat the eggs and water in a medium-size bowl until smooth.
Combine the bread crumbs, potato flakes, parmesan cheese, and seasoned salt on a large plate, and stir to combine.
Dip the fish filets into the beaten eggs and then drag in the crumb mixture to coat evenly on both sides.
Place the coated filet on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until fish is flaky.
Serve immediately after you take it out from the oven.

Pan-Fried Walleye

Ingredients

2 lb. (about 1 kg) walleye fillets
Oil for frying
1 and ½ cups round buttery cracker crumbs (40 crackers)
⅓ cup sliced almonds
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

How to cook

Heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.
Combine cracker crumbs and almonds; mix well in the pie pan.
Beat eggs and water in another pie pan.
Place flour in a third pie pan.
Sprinkle fish fillets with salt and pepper.
Dip in flour, then in the egg mixture.
Coat with cracker crumb mixture.
Place fillets, a few at a time, in hot oil.
Cook for 3 to 5 minutes turning it 3 or 4 times or until golden brown.
Drain on several layers of paper towels to absorb oil.

Grilled Montana Walleye with fresh herbs and ghee

Ingredients

2 or 3 Walleye fillets about 4 ounces (about 113 g) each
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ cup fresh minced herbs parsley, basil, oregano
1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil, or melted butter or ghee.

How to cook

Sprinkle both sides with sea salt and black pepper.
Combine the smoked paprika, minced herbs, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl.
Brush herb mixture into both sides of each fillet.
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
Allow herb mixture to sit on the fillet while the grill preheats.
Gently place fish fillets on the grill and cook for 5-to-7 minutes per side.
Remove onto a clean plate once the fish turns brown and becomes easy to cut with a knife, then add your favorite additional seasoning or sauces.

Is Walleye Good to Eat? Benefits, Risks, and 3 Tasty Recipes To Try