Our favorite ways to eat bluegill.

[Bruce Condello]

I like to filet my bluegill, although I have fond memories of eating bluegill with the skin on as a kid. They were delicious, but took forever to clean.
I take the filet and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Then I dip it in eggs that have been lightly beaten.

Now I dip the filet in a little flour or cornmeal.

Filets are ready to go in the pan.

Take a cast iron skilet and put it on high heat (8 on the knob), then take real butter and smear it in base of pan.

Then take anchovy paste and mix it with the butter until it browns (this won't take long).

Turn the heat down to 4 or 5 and drop filets on butter/anchovy mixture.

Cook fairly slowly--this keeps the filets from getting too hard.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Right before filets are done, run the heat back up to 10 for about one minute to sear the coating.

Oops, I forgot to add that you should call Jeremy R. Mayo first so you've got plenty of filets!

Please add your own methods to this discussion. Doesn't matter how simple or complicated. The beauty of bluegill is that it tastes great in many different ways.

[Jeremy R. Mayo]

Crispy Fins!

8 to 10 whole bream (scaled deheaded and gutted...leave on the tail and fins)
2 eggs
2 can coors light
2 cups lemon juice
3 table spoons butter
box of zaterans fish fry.(pay no attention to the part that says do not add seasoning on the box)
1/2 gallon of penut oil.
salt
pepper
paprika
Tonys cajun season
LEMON PEPPER
tabasco

mix eggs, 1 beer, melted butter and lemon juice in large bowl and put it in the freezer. While that starts to chill you need to take your whole bream and cut him from top to bottom 3 times to the bone on both sides.(let him cook all the way through and there easier to get off the bone for kids.) When your done set em in the mixture and chill em for about 20min. When it starts gettn ice chips its ready.

Turn on grease to 325

Throw them suckers in the batter then back in the wet and back in the batter for extra good coverage and then your ready for the fry daddy.

I like to let mine cook 1 1/2 min after they float.
season with salt, pepper, paprika, tonys cajun season, and lemon pepper. LOTS OF LEMON PEPPER.

The last beer is for when your samplin cause boy them thangs are hot when your pullin em off!

[Bruce Condello]

I'm going out to buy the ingredients right now. Looks like I'll have to go catch some more bluegill.

[Jeremy R. Mayo]

Take some fillets, poke em good with a fork and marinate them in lemon juice, butter, and beer for about an hour. Season with lots of lemon pepper, salt, Pepper, Garlic, paprika and tabasco to your tolerance.
Grillem and when you pull em off throw em in a bowl and flake em up in to real small flakes. Mix in some high quality alfreado sauce and serve with wheat thins. Add some ground parsley for garnish. AMAZING APPETIZER!

[shooter]

one of my wife's aunts gave me this, she lives alone and is an avid brim fisher it is to much trouble for her to fry just for one person,and she said the doctor told her not to eat to much fried food(she is 80 yrs young).
take two bream season with a little pepper ,put them in a sip lock bag with Italian dressing .leave the bag open,place the bag with fish in a bowl laying on their sides (the bowl will hold the fish in the dressing ) microwave for five minutes,or per your microwave's directions.

[Bruce Condello]

That's interesting. I'm definitely going to try this. I've got some bluegill that I caught a few weeks ago that were 7-8 inches that I think would be perfect for this.