Fishing Season
The Amish enjoy fishing as a relaxing sport which will also provide sustenance for the skillful or lucky person casting a line into the water. It is also serves as a fantastic way to spend time with their families, especially the children. Many families will make a day out of it, traveling via horse and buggy to a favorite fishing spot and bringing a picnic lunch to enjoy in the outdoors.
One popular fish with anglers is the perch. The species most commonly caught in the USA is the yellow perch. Perch are considered good eating fish and are very amendable to a fish fry right on the shore. Here’s an excellent recipe courtesy the Amish on how to pan fry perch.
Ingredients:
4-6 freshly caught perch
1 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground pepper
¼ c. butter
1 lemon
The fish will need to be cleaned, but leave them intact. The eyes should be removed prior to frying. Rinse after cleaning. Lightly salt the inside of each fish. Place the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow pan or bowl. Drag each fish through the flour mixture, evenly coating all surfaces. Remove from the flour, tap lightly to dislodge loose flour and set aside. In a large heavy skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the fish and fry until golden brown (5-6 minutes per side) turning to cook each side. Remove the fish from the pan and serve with freshly squeezed lemon.
Of course, every fisherman or fisherwoman has those days when the fish just aren’t biting. In those instances, do as the Amish do and pack a back-up picnic lunch. A delicious picnic meat entrée is fried chicken, an Amish specialty and favorite. Here’s a good recipe for an oven fried chicken which can be prepared before your fishing expedition. You can prepare this recipe with the skin on or it can be removed prior to coating with oil and butter.
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. butter
1 c. flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. black pepper
10 meaty pieces of chicken (thighs, drumsticks, breasts)
Preheat oven to 375 °F. Place the oil and butter into a baking sheet with sides and place into the oven until the butter melts. Combine flour, salt, seasoning and pepper in a large bowl. Roll chicken pieces, one at a time, in the oil/butter then place in flour mixture and coat thoroughly. Shake excess flour from the chicken. Place chicken back in the pan and bake for 50 minutes, turning once about 10 minutes before done.
Of course, no picnic is complete without coleslaw. Here’s a special Amish recipe for coleslaw made without mayonnaise, a notorious ingredient to use due to its tendency to spoil if it is not kept sufficiently refrigerated.
1 medium cabbage
1 small onion
1 c. white sugar
1 c. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. mustard
¾ c. canola oil
Core cabbage and shred into a large bowl. Finely chop onion and add to cabbage. Add 1 c. sugar. Toss. Into a small, heavy saucepan place vinegar, salt, celery seed, 1 tsp. white sugar, mustard and the oil. Bring this to a boil and cook for three minutes. Cool the sauce completely, pour over the cabbage/onion mix and toss to coat completely. Refrigerate overnight to let all flavors to meld.
A final delicious accompaniment to any picnic are biscuits. Here’s an Amish recipe for buttermilk biscuits.
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
6 tbsp. shortening
¾ c. buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 °F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside. Place dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Cut the shortening into the dry mix until a crumbly texture forms. Add the milk and stir until just blended. Drop mix onto the baking sheet by spoonfuls. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
