| Level: | Advanced |
| Total: | 5 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 sandwiches |
Ingredients
- Neutral oil, for frying
- 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons (9 grams) crab boil seasoning, such as Old Bay
- 2 skinless walleye fillets (about 4 ounces/113 grams each), halved crosswise
- 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (144 grams) fine yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup (56 grams) cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 4 store-bought or Homemade Potato Buns, recipe follows, split
- Tartar Sauce, recipe follows (or feel free to use store-bought)
- Lemon wedges, shredded iceberg lettuce and spicy bread-and-butter pickles, for serving
- 1 large russet potato (about 12 ounces/340 grams), peeled
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (42 grams) honey
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- One 2 1/4-teaspoon packet instant yeast
- 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- Neutral oil, for oiling the bowl and plastic wrap
- Poppy seeds, for sprinkling
- 3/4 cup (172 grams) mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) chopped spicy bread-and-butter pickles plus 1 tablespoon pickle brine
- 1 tablespoon (2 grams) chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon (2 grams) chopped fresh tarragon
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 inches oil in a Dutch oven to 365 degrees F.
- Whisk 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and 1 tablespoon crab boil seasoning in a nonreactive baking dish just large enough to hold the walleye. Add the walleye and turn to coat, then let sit while the oil heats, about 10 minutes.
- Stir together the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and remaining 2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning in a shallow bowl or container. Drizzle in the remaining 3 tablespoons buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, and toss to make small clumps.
- When the oil reaches 365 degrees F, remove the fillets from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour. Return the dredged filets to the buttermilk mixture, then do a final dredge in the flour mixture. Add two fillets to the oil, one at a time, and fry in batches of two, turning once or twice, until very crisp and deep golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to the rack and season with salt.
- To assemble, spread the bottoms of the Buns with some of the Tartar Sauce. Top each with a piece of fried walleye, squeeze of lemon, a dollop more of Tartar Sauce, lettuce and pickles. Serve immediately.
- Put the potato in a medium saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 18 minutes. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup potato cooking water. Let the water cool until lukewarm (90 to 100 degrees F).
- Use a ricer or food mill to puree the warm potato into the bowl of a stand mixer. (You can also mash with a masher; just make sure to get the potatoes very smooth.) Add the butter, honey and salt to the warm potatoes and stir until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add 1 egg, the yeast and the lukewarm cooking water. Mix with the dough hook on low speed to combine.
- Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour and mix on low to combine. Knead on medium-high speed, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour, if needed, to make a smooth, slightly sticky dough that forms a loose ball on the dough hook, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the dough onto a floured countertop and knead a few times to make a smooth ball. Oil a large bowl, add the ball and turn to coat. Cover loosely and let rise until doubled in size, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Punch the dough down. Dust a clean, flat work surface with flour. Turn out the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, pinch the dough under itself to form a ball. With the pinched side down, cup your hands under the dough and rotate on the counter to form a smooth ball. Use one hand to roll the ball into a 4-inch-long oval roll. Place on a lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining balls of dough. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise until light and airy looking, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Place an oven rack in the lower and upper third positions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- When the dough has completed the second rise, beat the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl and gently brush the rolls with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds. Bake, rotating from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Rolls can be made a day ahead. For longer storage, wrap and freeze.
- Combine the mayonnaise, pickles, brine, parsley, tarragon and garlic powder in a small bowl. Season to taste, if needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 28 servings |
| Calories | 356 |
| Total Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 34 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 28 mg |
| Sodium | 252 mg |
Reviews
I’m a big fan of Molly, but not this recipe. Instead of being nice and crispy, the ‘breading’ is hard and crunchy. I only did one dip in the ‘breading’, not two. I’m not sure what the buttermilk’s purpose was. I think I’ll try this again, but not put any buttermilk in the flour mixture and nix the corn meal.
DELICIOUS! I followed the fish and sandwich recipe to a tee, using grouper and Alaskan cod (no Walleye at our store). I prepared the grouper for a sandwich life the review calls for, but i cut the cod into strips, to make fish sticks. I bought the potato buns (Martin’s brand, slider potato buns) but made the rest from scratch. All of it was amazing! The only revisions I’ll make in the future (for our taste), and I WILL make this again, is no salt after frying and I won’t double dredge in the future. It was really crunchy and tasty but a little too thick a coating for our tastes, we prefer the outer shell a little thinner. My first Yeh recipe…Yay! I’m hooked.