Door County Fish Boil
Door County is located in the northeastern part of Wisconsin. Fish boils are a tradition in the area dating over a hundred years. Most fish boils are made with the Whitefish native to the area. The Whitefish are caught commercially from many of the ports located in Door County.
The fish are brought fresh each day to the many area restaurants that specialize in nightly Fish Boils. Variations in recipes vary slightly from restaurant to restaurant. Some include whole Onions and some do not in their Fish Boil recipes. These photographs were taken at the
White Gull Inn, located in Fish Creek, Wisconsin.
To start a fish boil a large kettle filled with water is placed on a wood fire. Salt is added. Then potatoes and other vegetables are added.
After several minutes of cooking the vegetables, Whitefish steaks are added to the kettle.
The Whitefish, Potatoes, Carrots and Onions continue to boil in the kettle.
Wire baskets keep the mixture submerged in the boiling water.
When the Whitefish and Vegetables are finished cooking, Kerosene is thrown on the wooden fire to force a boil over that removes all the oils from the cooking fish from the kettle.
The wire baskets containing the Whitefish and vegetables are removed from the kettle and brought into the restaurant.
A line is formed to serve the Whitefish and vegetables.
The finished "Door County Fish Boil", dessert is always Cherry Pie, another Door County Tradition.