Bluegill is an amazing, sustainable, and underrated fish! There are many ways to cook it but my favorite is simply frying it in butter the old-fashioned way.
Looking for something a bit extra? Best Fresh Caught Bream Recipe is something that will not disappoint. This beautiful fresh fish is served atop a bed of Lambsquarters Fried In Butter!
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Table of Contents
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INGREDIENTS TO MAKE BLUEGILL FRIED IN BUTTER
- Bluegill – Whole or fillets
- Butter
- Salt (optional)
- Pepper (optional)
HOW TO MAKE BLUEGILL FRIED IN BUTTER
- Wash the fish thoroughly too get any dirt or grime off of it.
- Fillet the fish. You should get 2 nice sides out of it. Season each side with salt and pepper if desired!
- It can be tricky to fillet a fish with a small frame like bluegill. Keep at it and you will get better at it.
- An electric fillet knife can be a huge help in filleting bluegill.
Heat up a skillet (pan) and add a knob of butter.
- Be sure to heat up the pan enough to give the bluegill a good sear but not enough to burn the butter.
- Butter can have an undesirable taste when burned so avoid doing this at all costs.
- Place the fillet on the pan and listen to it sizzle! More than likely your bluegill fillets will be small. So cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on one side.
- You are looking for a brown color on the outside of the bluegill.
- When it comes to frying and pan searing, brown means flavor.
- Flip the fillets and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on the second side.
- Avoid moving the fish around too much at this point. Once its cooked, the flaky fish could begin to fall apart so just one flip to the second side, and one flip onto the plate will be good.
- It is done when the fish is brown on both sides and reads 145°F with a meat thermometer. You can also tell if its cooked by inserting a fork into the thickest part of the fish and twisting the fork. It should reveal a flaky, perfectly cooked fish that is not translucent in the middle.
- Serve with steamed rice, fried lambsquarters, or just by itself!
- This fish is flavorful, light, tender, and buttery.
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Yield: 1 SERVING
AMAZING BLUEGILL FRIED IN BUTTER
Bluegill is an amazing, sustainable, and underrated fish! There are many ways to cook it but my favorite is simply frying it in butter the old fashioned way.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
- Bluegill - Whole or fillets
- Butter - Salted or unsalted
- Salt (optional)
- Pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the bluegill to get any dirt of grime off of it.
- Fillet the fish to get 2 nice sides off of it.
- Warm a skillet and add butter. Careful not to burn the butter, but hot enough to sear the fish.
- Place the fish in the hot pan. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on side one. You are looking to get a nice brown color on the sides of the fillets. Remember, brown equals flavor.
- Flip the fillets to side two. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on side two.
- Flip the fillets onto your plate and enjoy the delightful and delicate flavor of this most delicious fish.
Notes
Take care not to burn the butter. Butter has milk solids in it and burnt butter is quite undesirable.
Brown the fish on both sides. This will ensure you are getting the most delicious flavor out of your fish.
If you undercook the fish slightly, place the fillets on a plate, cover with foil, and let rest for a few minutes to bring up the internal temperature.
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Hello everyone, welcome to my neck of the woods! My name is Eligh, I was born in Portland, Oregon, and I love to forage! From when I was very young, my father took me out picking mushrooms, fishing, and camping. He loved to forage for mushrooms, and so naturally, I developed a keen eye for mushroom identification. After meeting my lovely wife on the Oregon coast, I started spending all of my free time out in the woods with plant, mushroom, and tree identification books. After some time I was able to identify every tree, plant, and mushroom that I came across. I learned their uses, both by native Americans and settlers alike. At this time, I also began fishing for salmon, trout, and different species of coastal rockfish. I always felt a strong sense of pride to be able to harvest a wide variety of wild edibles to suit my palate, and then harvest some natural bait and catch a fish, even how to make hooks and line using plants and trees that grow on the river bank.
I started cooking at a very young age. In middle school, my friends and their parents would ask me to cook food for them because I could make something out of nothing. I love to cook up new concoctions and see what everyone likes. When I became of working age, I started as a buss boy at a barbecue restaurant, and then moved on to work all positions of the restaurant industry. From head chef of a Jamaican restaurant in Tulsa, OK, to sous chef at a highly accredited bistro on the Oregon coast, all before I turned 21.
I Inherited land in southeast Oklahoma and now spend my days working a Fedex delivery route and working with my wife and 3 young boys on our rural homestead. We raise many different kinds of animals and some vegetable gardens. I hunt all manor of large and small game, and butcher all of my own meat. We harvest wild edibles of all kinds and enjoy to cook with them and eat them.
I am grateful that you stopped by to see how we are doing and hope to see you again very soon. We would love to be friends and hope you enjoy all of the recipes and information that I can manage to put out.
Thank you, and much love!
-Eligh
I may receive a small commission for items purchased through affiliate links in this post at no additional cost to you.
I started cooking at a very young age. In middle school, my friends and their parents would ask me to cook food for them because I could make something out of nothing. I love to cook up new concoctions and see what everyone likes. When I became of working age, I started as a buss boy at a barbecue restaurant, and then moved on to work all positions of the restaurant industry. From head chef of a Jamaican restaurant in Tulsa, OK, to sous chef at a highly accredited bistro on the Oregon coast, all before I turned 21.
I Inherited land in southeast Oklahoma and now spend my days working a Fedex delivery route and working with my wife and 3 young boys on our rural homestead. We raise many different kinds of animals and some vegetable gardens. I hunt all manor of large and small game, and butcher all of my own meat. We harvest wild edibles of all kinds and enjoy to cook with them and eat them.
I am grateful that you stopped by to see how we are doing and hope to see you again very soon. We would love to be friends and hope you enjoy all of the recipes and information that I can manage to put out.
Thank you, and much love!
-Eligh
I may receive a small commission for items purchased through affiliate links in this post at no additional cost to you.
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