Removing Walleye Cheeks

[grumpymoe]

Nothing tastier than a batch of walleye cheeks....i see alot of anglers that dont bother removing them...too much work...here's a great little tip for quickly and easily removing the tasty morsels.....take an ordinary teaspoon, roll the handle over until it feels comfortable in between your thumb and first 2 fingers....now sharpen the edge of the spoon until it has a reasonable edge....now you can quickly remove the cheeks and slide off the skin in several seconds....i bet you wont waste many now....BTW...this is an old icelandic fisherman trick from the Lake Winnipeg areas....Grump

[grumpymoe]

slipbob......you have never tried walleye cheeks??...you must now.....Grump

[grumpymoe]

slipbob.....never got fish roe even close to my lips, let alone ever thinking about eating them...to each his own...takes alot of walleye to get enough cheeks for a decent sit down, but i just cant leave em behind..i look at it like a tiny forkfull of pure delight...enjoy bud...Grump

[Skiff]

I like to think that the cheeks are the cook's treat.  Since they fry up fast, they can be sampled well before any of the fillets are done.  Yummy!   As for perch roe - I used to eat it a lot when I was smaller, because the old man insisted that we all share it.  Never really cared for it.  I eat them once in a while now, not because I have to, but to bring back the good memories.

To remove walleye cheeks, I go around the back of the cheek with a small knife, then roll the cheek forward over the skin with my thumb.  I think the spoon would be faster, so I'll try it next time.

[Tombo]

Grump-I've been using a sharpened spoon for years and I'm always amazed at how many people don't eat the cheeks(many have never even heard of it). After I've gotten everyone else eating fillets,I throw the cheeks in the pan with my fillet and usually no one is any the wiser  Definitely a delicasy for me

[trapperdirk]

Dang,,, not eating these nice little morsels of the finest is sinful . Slipbob you need a boot in arse . I just use the tip of my filleting knife and remove them no prob . I eat them skin and all . My daughter just hollers for the cheeks of walleye and has done since she was a wee tiny kid . Funny in those days she used to try and get me to remove them out of any fish that came into the house .

                   TD

[TroutFishingBear]

I have never even heard of anybody removing the cheeks... I might try it next time I catch walleyes though!

[swantucky]

   We have always taken the cheeks out since I was a kid, my buddies dad who always took us said if you left the cheeks he would'nt take you the next time that was incentive enough for me !   The cheeks have always been the cooks treat as the above poster said they cook quick and are bite sized.  I have seen guys coming off the ice picking through where others have cleaned their fish and cutting out any left over cheeks,  thats a bit extreme but why waste any meat??

[grumpymoe]

slipbob  ....5 nice eaters like last night= 10 tasty morsels.....get that spoon i mentioned going.....and start enjoying the cooks joys....Grump

[OTIS]

I cooked up some fresh walleyes last night including the cheeks and the cheeks were awesome for keeping the kids at bay while I finished cooking the rest, they cook so quick and boy do my kids love fresh fish!  I find just using my fillet knife if I make 1 semi-circle cut around the front of the cheek and flip it back the meat peels easily off the skin with your thumb, quick and easy.

I agree JW, with very little practice it's a snap.

[icefizzlemachizzle]

The spoon trick definitely works ..another way to remove the cheeks and cook the meat at the same time is to just bake the heads whole for 10 min at 350.  I do it with trout all the time and get the same effect. The cheeks pull right out with a fork and are ready for dipping in some butter.

[grumpymoe]

Thanks for the "heads up".....think i will stick to the spoon....pretty sure Mountainmama wouldnt care too much to see a bunch of heads roasting in the oven.......chestnuts maybe.....Grump