We posted an extended exploration of campfire cooking a while back which you can view here and we recently enjoyed a late autumn treat of walleye over the fire. We have explored a couple of our favorite approaches to this native fish in this post a few years ago and in this post we will keep our approach really simple. Walleye caught the same day, filleted and soaked in ice water to firm up the flesh. Then simply seasoned with butter and salt on a bed of late autumn herbs, placed over a hardwood fire.

Our accompaniment for this walleye is a butternut squash prepared using the over-night ember-roasting technique we detailed in this post. After an extensive roast on the embers, we scrape the squash flesh out and season with just salt and maple syrup (amount depends on the sweetness of your squash).

Then we added a variation on a shredded brussels sprouts recipe we have been enjoying of late. The original recipe is available from Crowded Kitchen at this post and it is delicious. We were looking to adapt it from the Mediterranean lean of the recipe (with Parmesan, lemon, and pine nuts). Go to the post for the full recipe, but here are our adaptations:

• Corn oil substituted for olive oil
• Omitted the lemon (could substitute malt vinegar)
• Sunflower seeds (toasted) substituted for pine nuts
• Pumpkin seed (roasted and salted) substituted for Parmesan

Brussels sprouts are part of the cabbage family and we’ve done many variations of cabbage including sauerkraut, rotkohl, and savoy cabbage. The cabbage family is very central to the Germanic traditions we have often explored. Our substitutions are all pretty straight forward with the possible exception of the pumpkin seeds for the Parmesan, but you will have to trust us that it works.

We recommend serving it lakeside with an ice cold Pick Axe Blonde Ale from Keeweenaw Brewing.

And then enjoy the sun setting over the lake as the fire crackles away beside you.