Largemouth bass are the most popular freshwater gamefish in the USA. Most people practice catch and release with largemouth bass. They are good to eat, however, and there’s nothing wrong with keeping a few for the table. In fact when fishing small waters like farm ponds keeping a couple of bass to eat may actually help the population grow.
Bass Fingers
1 lb largemouth bass fillets, cut into 1 inch strips
Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Ritz crackers, crushed
peanut oil
Melt butter and add Worcestershire sauce, sugar and garlic. Marinade fish strips in butter mixture for about an hour. Roll fish in crackers and fry quickly in hot peanut oil, a few minutes. Serves 3.
Bass and Wine
1 lb largemouth bass fillets
1/3 cup minced onion
1⁄2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon curry powder
1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
1⁄2 cup white wine
dash salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange fillets in a greased baking dish. Mix wine, onion, mushrooms, and seasonings together and pour over fish. Bake for 25 minutes or until fish is done. Serves 2. Great served with wild rice.
Oven Fried Bass
2 lbs bass fillets
1 cup milk
I cup dry bread crumbs
1⁄4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 tablespoon salt
shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Add oregano, garlic powder and salt to crumbs and mix well. Dip fillets in milk and roll in crumb mixture. Place in a well-greased pan, pad butter on top of each fillet. Bake for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Top fillets with shredded cheese (enough to cover each fillet) 1 minute before the fish is done so it melts over fillets. Serves 4-5.
