The Fish Boil
What is this Delicious TraditionThe Fish Boil is a unique Door County dining experience. Some insist it is a Door County culinary rite of passage. Make sure and try a boil at one of our recommended places. Over one hundred years ago this unique method of cooking fish was used to feed hungry Scandinavian logging teams and settlers working the Door Peninsula. now Fish Boils feed teams of hungry visitors. To this day the traditional ones remain nearly unchanged in preparation, seasoning, and taste. Fish Boils can be found from Sturgeon Bay to Washington Island.
What's in a Door County Fish Boil?Succulent steaks of freshly caught Lake Michigan White Fish cooked to perfection. Mounds of piping hot red potatoes done just right. Plenty of melted butter for both, fresh made bread on the side. All complimented by a glass of wine, from a Door County Winery of course. What about dessert? A generous slab of Door County Cherry Pie. We like ours with a glass of ice cold milk. Finish it all off with a cup of fresh brewed coffee . But the great food is only half the fun, or should we say the spectacle. The traditional Door County Boil is cooked outdoors over an open fire with all encouraged to watch and learn. Where is the Best Door County Fish Boil?While there are probably a dozen or more places doing fish boils we have a couple favorites we send friends to time and time again. The first place to try is the White Gull Inn located in Fish Creek Wisconsin. The White Gull puts on a Fish Boil that simply must be seen. The other it the Viking Grill in Ellison Bay, another classic and great Door Peninsula fish boil.
On with the cookingPurists hold true to adding only one seasoning to the huge boiling pot, salt. We couldn’t agree more. A sure sign of a great fish boil is the confidence the cook and host have in the quality and freshness of their food standing alone without a supporting cast of spices. Into the boiling cauldron goes: Fresh whitefish steaks, small red potatoes, and salt.
Traditionalists insist seventeen minutes is the perfect cooking time, not a minute more or less. During the cooking process fish oil is released from the white fish steaks and rises to the surface of the pot. By now the potatoes and fish are done just right and it’s time for the spectacular finish. The cook, known as the Boiler or Master Boiler approaches the boiling pot with a metal can containing a small amount of kerosene. He issues a quick warning “Okay stand back, get your camera’s ready” The kerosene is tossed into cooking fire and ignites in flaming sheets which envelope and superheat the pot causing a volcanic boil over of steam, water and flames.
The boil over flushes the fish oils out of the pot, leaving your perfectly cooked meal ready to eat.
Next time you are in Door County make sure to try this world famous culinary treat. Go to top of Door County Fish Boil ... Which one is Best page.
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