Lemon Pepper Salmon or Rockfish Sticks

By Capt. Andy Martin – Surprisingly easy to prepare, delicious for even the most picky eater, and great with salmon or rockfish, Lemon Pepper Salmon Sticks and Lemon Pepper Rockfish Sticks are a tasty way to enjoy the bounty of the Oregon Coast, and sure to become a favorite way to serve up the catch of the day from our charter boats.

Served with a delicious Old Bay Blue Cheese sauce, these homemade fish sticks taste great with fresh rockfish or salmon, or fillets from the freezer. I first made these Lemon Pepper Salmon Sticks when the grandkids were visiting. Insisting they didn’t like fish, the grandkids couldn’t get enough of the homemade salmon fish sticks once we served up a platter for them. Also excellent with rockfish, these fish sticks cook up quickly, and are a great alternative to traditional deep fried fish.

By slicing the fillets into smaller strips, the fish cooks quickly without a soggy, oily mess sometimes associated with fried fish. Just enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet is needed.

The Old Bay Blue Cheese sauce is a tasty alternative to tarter sauce, and may become your go-to topping for fried or baked fish. The sauce is a simple combination of crumbled blue cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice and black pepper.

The fish sticks are coated with a simple mixture of flour, lemon pepper and salt, similar to the traditional fried whole trout that was a staple for our grandparents. Egg wash is used to bind the lemon pepper flour to the fish.

Rockfish can flake apart easily when cut into smaller pieces, so it’s key to slice the fillets lengthwise, along the natural part that divides the side of a rockfish into four distinct portions.

Lemon Pepper Fish Sticks

1 lb. salmon or rockfish fillets, bones and skin removed

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbs lemon pepper seasoning

1 tsp salt

2-3 eggs, beaten

Peanut, cottonseed or canola oil

Old Bay Blue Cheese sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/4 tsp black pepper

Frying the fish

Cut the salmon or rockfish fillets into long, thin strips, similar to fish sticks.

Heat oil to medium high. Use enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet, but not more than an inch high.

In a large bowl or shallow baking dish, combine the lemon pepper, flour and salt.

Dip the rockfish strips or salmon strips, one at a time, into the beaten eggs, making sure all sides are coated.

Once the fish has been dipped in the egg wash, roll each stick in the lemon pepper and flour mixture.

Fry the fish sticks, in batches, for 2 minutes and then carefully flip and fry to 2 more minutes.

Allow the fish sticks to drain on a plate covered with a paper towel.

For the sauce, combine the mayonnaise, blue cheese, pepper and lemon juice. Add a little more Old Bay and blue cheese if you prefer a bolder sauce.

To catch a limit or rockfish or an ocean-bright king or coho salmon to enjoy this recipe, contact Brookings Fishing Charters at (541) 813-1082 or visit www.brookingsfishing.com.