Can you fillet perch? I can't (Helena), but luckily Peter is an ace at handling fish in the kitchen. Perch is a "Swedish precious" that many Swedes catch at the piers, and is one of our absolute favourites. Eating perch feels luxurious in many ways. It's relatively expensive, it takes a little extra time in the kitchen, and it's delicious. Today we are sharing Peter's best recipe for perch.
Table of contents
What do you need?
To fillet perch and make a delicious dinner, you need a cutting board and a sharp fish knife. For this recipe, you also need perch (of course!), potatoes, whipped cream, white wine, lemon, dill (can be frozen or dried) and salt and pepper. If you are lucky enough to get perch stuffed with roe, you may also need eggs and breadcrumbs.
When you fillet a perch, you get relatively small fillets, so we bought five fish for the two of us. Peter usually buys fish in the shop The world of food, which has fresh fish at a good price, and paid SEK 89 per kilo.
We start by skinning the perch
First, the perch must be skinned! Peter starts by cutting off the tail. He then makes a cut diagonally forward towards the head of the fish, and another cut along the spine of the fish. After this, it should be possible to pull off the skin on both sides! If the fish is really fresh, this is quite easy. If it's not quite as fresh, you may have to struggle a bit to get the skin off ...
When we get the skin off, the entrails go with it and (if we're lucky) the roe as well. Pull off the skin from behind and you get everything up to the neck and then break it off with the guts and all in one.
Now is the time to fillet Perch.
Now that we've removed the skin and entrails, it's time to make fine fillets. Peter starts by removing the dorsal fin. Then you have to cut the fillets from the backbone. From each fish you get two relatively thin (but super fine!) fillets.
Do this!
Run the knife along the backbone and feel the knife take up all the bones. Now take the knife and angle it slightly at an angle along the side bones to get the fillet out. Do this carefully and try to get as much out as possible.
Recipe for perch
So, how should you cook your perch fillet now? There are of course many different ways, but here's Peter's favourite recipe, as we ate it last night. Mix whipped cream, white wine with dill, lemon, salt and pepper and place in a baking dish with the fish fillets.
Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes (20 minutes may be needed for more people). Serve with boiled potatoes and boiled broccoli. I find it hard to get tired of this, but in the unlikely event that you do, there are even more recipes for perch. at ICA.
If you happen to get perch with roe: Crack two egg yolks into a bowl and add salt and pepper. Put the breadcrumbs on a plate. Roll the roe in the yolk and then the breadcrumbs and fry at medium temperature, about four minutes on each side. A fantastic and luxurious dinner!
Ruth in Virginia says:
Oh, that was hard to do. Fishing for perch with my
uncle in Gänsen. Remember that he fried it
whole in home-made butter. It was heavenly!
-"We've had storms here, even the government agencies have been strangling us.
the trains were not running and we were without electricity from 10 am until after 5 pm.
And the wind is still blowing.
03 March 2018 - 6:10
Helena says:
What wonderful food memories with perch and homemade butter! 🙂 And help, what a storm you seem to have! Here has also blown a lot actually.
03 March 2018 - 11:40
Across the board says:
Imagine standing in a quiet bay, on a summer evening and fishing. Getting some up perch and grilling them over an open fire. Mmmmm ....
03 March 2018 - 8:08
Helena says:
Great! 🙂
03 March 2018 - 11:40
Anette says:
Hmm, filleting is not my thing. Eating, however, I am good at.
Looks very tasty.
03 March 2018 - 8:32
Helena says:
As for me then. Peter files and I just eat 😉
03 March 2018 - 11:41
Christian says:
Sounds super tasty!
03 March 2018 - 8:47
Helena says:
I'm fine 🙂
03 March 2018 - 11:41
Kenneth Risberg says:
I'm not great at filleting fish (perch) but it might be worth trying after this lesson, thanks!
03 March 2018 - 9:12
Helena says:
It's a bit of work to fillet perch actually, but if you just do it step by step, it doesn't have to be too difficult 🙂.
03 March 2018 - 11:42
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Peter it was cheap 89 SEK per kilo I paid 190 SEK kg here at home. Now it is a while ago. Perch is a favourite since childhood Fishing opposite Sara Leander's Lönö as a child and in Sant Anna's archipelago.
03 March 2018 - 9:12
Helena says:
The food world often has good prices! Great to have fished perch as a child 🙂 .
03 March 2018 - 11:44
Mr Steve says:
You could say that Peter is an expert at filleting perch. Super delicious meal.
Perch has deservedly risen through the ranks over the years. I remember it as a B-fish in my youth. Back then it was char, trout and salmon.
Being single-handed now, I don't even have to think about filleting fish.
03 March 2018 - 10:15
Helena says:
Haha, yes, you could say that! B-fish? Interesting! For our it is absolutely an A-fish 🙂 .
03 March 2018 - 11:45
Ama de casa says:
I remember the freshly caught and smoked perch of my childhood. Yummy! I didn't realise at the time what a luxury it was 🙂.
03 March 2018 - 10:48
Helena says:
Surely it is a luxury! 🙂
03 March 2018 - 11:45
Anja says:
That's what I call Friday cosiness! My God, it's so good! (You know that a perch can grow older than 40 years...)
03 March 2018 - 10:51
Helena says:
Is it true? I actually had no idea.
03 March 2018 - 11:46
Ama de casa says:
Oops! Just commented on a post that disappeared... Guess something went wrong with the actual button press for you there 😉.
Have a nice Saturday!
03 March 2018 - 10:52
Helena says:
Haha, you were quick! It was tomorrow's post, which was not even ready ... that Peter happened to publish. Do not think it was out for so many minutes ... 😉 Coming tomorrow - for real! 🙂
03 March 2018 - 11:47
Ama de casa says:
Been there done that... Sometimes your fingers are a bit unsteady 😉 .
03 March 2018 - 12:30
Ninny says:
Mmm, that looks delicious! I love fish in all forms...but I have never filleted whole fish. It looks difficult...!
03 March 2018 - 14:31
Helena says:
Perch is a bit tricky, but if you do it step by step it's fine! 🙂
03 March 2018 - 19:47
Birgitta in Umeå says:
The tastiest fish I ever ate was when my father threw a medium-sized perch from the boat onto the rocks on our island.
My little son and I went to the cottage and built a fire. I removed the entrails, salted the fish and wrapped it in aluminium foil. Then I put it on the fire
A while later we opened the parcel and together we ate the fish with our fingers.
It was good!
03 March 2018 - 14:48
Helena says:
What a wonderful memory! 🙂
03 March 2018 - 19:48
BP says:
Peter is really good! Praise! I myself let the guy at the fish counter at my local ICA do that job. Too much work for my taste. I really like perch, as long as you get rid of all the little bones in the fish;-)
03 March 2018 - 15:33
Helena says:
Perch is super tasty! Good that they can help with the filing in the counter! 🙂
03 March 2018 - 19:49
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
Like fish in most forms, have eaten perch with good appetite, but never actually cooked it myself. I've only eaten roe in a restaurant in Portugal, but it wasn't the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.
Filleting fish like the pros is a whole science, but getting it right isn't that hard as long as you have a good knife.
A big thank you to Peter for a great job in the kitchen.
03 March 2018 - 16:24
Helena says:
I actually ate the rum bags for the first time. I thought they were good, but the fish is even better in my opinion 😉.
03 March 2018 - 19:50
Matts Torebring says:
Perch was on the menu at Gyllene Uttern, but as I said, quite expensive. We chose herring instead. It was also delicious. At home we spend some time in the kitchen.
03 March 2018 - 17:03
Helena says:
Herring is also good, I agree!
03 March 2018 - 19:50
Ruth in Virginia says:
LOVE herring - in all forms!
Unfortunately not available here.
04 March 2018 - 5:21
Emma, sun like sun? says:
So I have access to so much good fish at such a good price! But so what? I am terrible at preparing fish - the whole family is behind me in this claim! 🙂 But the grilled langostinos I made on my birthday were soooo good!
03 March 2018 - 19:23
Helena says:
Langostinos? Now I'm curious 😉
03 March 2018 - 19:51
Elisabeth says:
The advantage of the fish counters in Gran Canaria is that you get the fish filleted just the way you want it, before you pay for it!
Peter's recipe and handling looked tasty/good!
03 March 2018 - 20:31
Christine - 29°. says:
So good! I'm going to try it this summer when I've caught some perch. So thanks for the tips! I usually smoke them, but love fish in all forms so fun with something new. 🙂
04 March 2018 - 1:49
Andreas A says:
Hello!
The roe is called "rom" in Sweden and not rum ! 🙂
01 April 2023 - 16:46