Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas (Aug 10)

Next week, Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Tim Spice takes viewers from pole to platter, when he cooks up crappie filets outdoors on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series.

After cleaning, deboning, skinning and drying the fish…

11- We’re going to lightly prep it with a little bit of salt and a little bit of fresh pepper [grinding pepper]. Just a little bit of pepper, though, because crappies are really nice delicate fish, and you don’t want to overpower it.

Next, he dredges the fish in plain cornmeal.

05- I was raised with simple cornmeal; and you’ll get a great fish flavor just this way.

Buttermilk added to the cornmeal makes a thick batter, but if you want to taste the fish, Spice says: less is more. A camp stove supports a cast iron skillet with hot oil.

15- Alright. We’ve got that temperature right where we like it– about 275. Now, we’re just going to take our fish and put ’em right in the oil. Watch your fingers so you don’t splatter that hot grease. We want to cook the crappie for about two minutes on each side. Nice light brown; that keeps it nice, moist, and tender on the inside.

The filets are done and ready to serve in no time.

08– You want to know how your fish are done? Here’s a simple test: take a fork, and if you can break apart the flakes–that means your fish is done.

For an even lighter dish, Tim Spice demonstrates a pan seared, herb rubbed fish recipe the week of Aug. 17 on the TPW PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.