Fresh Smallmouth Bass

Bob has been fishing the Quabbin Reservoir for most of his life and has become so familiar with the 25,000-acre body of water, that it seems he can navigate it blindfolded. When I have had the pleasure to go out fishing on the glassy waters with him, we have motored from one favorite spot to the next in a quest for Smallmouth Bass or Salmon. The Salmon have been stocked about 6 to 8 years and can run from 7 to 10 pounds. The Smallmouth Bass are famous for their hard fighting style, and often jump and leap out of the water during the fight. Always an exciting catch.

Of course we haven’t had much luck on our few outings. It may be due to the fact that every time I cast my line, my pole flies out of my hand and into the water and Bob has to pull it out and re-bait it. Or maybe I need to concentrate a bit more on the pole instead of my drink and the scenery. What ever it is, I guess I’ll leave it up to Bob to catch the fish, and I’ll do my best in helping eat the “Slow Simmered Spicy Fillets”.


This is a recipe Bob has had for quit some time and it is constantly requested from him, so to get folks off his back, here it is. I have had the hottest of versions and some milder renditions that he has made to accommodate the sissies in the crowd. Whatever your preference is on the HOT scale is beside the point. You can adjust it to your liking and you will love the end result every time. Striper, Cod and Bass work well, but most any fresh fish fillet should have glorious results.

Slow Simmered Spicy Fillets
Ingredients:

• Serves Four to Six
• 2-3 pounds Smallmouth Bass fillets, or desired fish fillets
• 1-_ cups cooking sherry
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup olive oil
• _ cup soy sauce
• _ cup honey
• 5-6 red hot chilly peppers, dried or fresh, diced
• 3 tomatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups breadcrumbs, for coating

Method:
1. Place 2 eggs along with 1 cup of milk in bowl. Stir. Add fillets to mixture. Marinade 3 to 6 hours to dissolve any bone that may remain in fillets.

2. Coat the fillets with breadcrumbs. Put 1 cup olive oil in fry pan on high until oil comes to a high heat. Pan fry fillets for approximately 1 minute on each side in hot oil. Fillets do not need to be fully cooked. Only brown the breadcrumbs. Drain fillets of excess oil on paper towels.

3. Using an electric fry pan with cover, add the 1-_ cups cooking sherry, _ cup soy sauce, _ cup honey, 5 to 6 diced chilly peppers, 3 diced tomatoes, 1 cubed onion, and 1 diced clove of garlic.

4. Cook on low heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Pull ingredients to one side to make room for fillets. Add fillets to mixture. Cover fillets with vegetables.

6. Ladle juices over fillets every half-hour. Total cooking time is 2 to 3 hours on low heat. Remove and serve. The longer they cook, the juicier they become.

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