Try eating your bluegills this way

Recently was out with the team fishing for big bluegills, but we wanted to switch it up for the cooking process…We brainstormed a few ideas but settled on trying Ceviche with Bluegill meat. It came out AMAZING and very happy to have experimented with that! If you like fresh salsa or ceviche, you won’t be sorry if you try this!

FISHING REPORT: We filmed this before the weekend before the Coldsnap hit so the water was warm and nothing big for temp flucuations yet for the area I was fishing. The bluegill bite was active and so was the trout bite haha. We used small 2-3″ senkos or swimbaits and it did very well…Caught a 2.5# LMB and a few good size rainbows, one being near 20″. We also did some fly fishing but only could manage small ones doing that.

Hope you guys enjoy the video! I have a full ingredient and cooking process in the description of the video itself too. Pics as always! Tight lines everyone🎣🎣🎣

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I love Ceviche. By far the best I’ve ever eaten is Conch Ceviche in the Bahamas. I’ve made it several times with Shrimp, scallops, and various whitefish. I may have to give the Bluegill Ceviche a try. I’m heading up to Leech lake on thurday and we plan to chase Sunfish for at least part of the trip. I bet Perch would work even better as it is a firmer and sweeter flavored meat.

Isn’t it risky using freshwater fish, especially if not frozen properly to kill the parasites? That’s what I’ve always heard and currently read online. Not bashing, just throwing it out there. I’m always open to different pan fish recipes.

Tyler
Watched your vid we too make fresh water ceviche. Never with BG thou. Looking at your piece size and chunk color when are mixing them seems to large pieces and maybe not brined long enough. Be careful. We have used striped bass and small mouth for decades and have not gotten any Unwanted internal Travelers. We cut our pieces 1/2×1/2 at the most and by time as long as 30 – 45 mins great table fair I have caught a lot of BGs and perch with parasites not sure if I would go that rout but they eat well fried.
Good fishing
Glad to See you guys have picked up fly fishing you are in CO. PM me when you want to try to set up a float. Gunny too low CO ok

suzuki wrote:

Isn’t it risky using freshwater fish, especially if not frozen properly to kill the parasites? That’s what I’ve always heard and currently read online. Not bashing, just throwing it out there. I’m always open to different pan fish recipes.

Yes, it is. Ceviche is generally composed of some kind of raw fish and any kind of raw seafood (fresh or salt water) has a risk. You need a kill step like freezing or cooking for a specific amount of time to ensure the removal of parasites.

I work for a regulatory agency and I will tell you that raw seafood is one of the riskiest items you can consume. When I was in Peru, every restaurant tried to get me to eat their Ceviche because it’s their national dish. I declined it every time because it all contained raw fish (of an unknown source).

This is the advisory you will see at every seafood market or on any menu that serves seafood:

Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food borne illness.

fishthumper wrote:

I love Ceviche. By far the best I’ve ever eaten is Conch Ceviche in the Bahamas. I’ve made it several times with Shrimp, scallops, and various whitefish. I may have to give the <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Bluegill Ceviche a try. I’m heading up to Leech lake on thurday and we plan to chase Sunfish for at least part of the trip. I bet Perch would work even better as it is a firmer and sweeter flavored meat.

Never had conch ceviche, sounds delicious! Good luck on your sunfish, I haven’t had fried sunfish since I lived in Minnesota decades ago! Sounds yummy and makes me nostalgic🤤 We were thinking that too, will have to try that during ice season…Best time to get perch in my area without a boat.

suzuki wrote:

Isn’t it risky using freshwater fish, especially if not frozen properly to kill the parasites? That’s what I’ve always heard and currently read online. Not bashing, just throwing it out there. I’m always open to different pan fish recipes.

No worries man! I appreciate the concern and yes it is a possibility. It’s just something that I’m not too worried about with the high elevation lake I pulled them out of. TBH I eat a lot of raw food in the form of sashimi, sushi, etc. So it isn’t something that concerns me much period.

mann4ducks wrote:

Tyler
Watched your vid we too make fresh water ceviche. Never with BG thou. Looking at your piece size and chunk color when are mixing them seems to large pieces and maybe not brined long enough. Be careful. We have used striped bass and small mouth for decades and have not gotten any Unwanted internal Travelers. We cut our pieces 1/2×1/2 at the most and by time as long as 30 – 45 mins great table fair I have caught a lot of BGs and <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>perch with parasites not sure if I would go that rout but they eat well fried.
Good fishing
Glad to See you guys have picked up fly fishing you are in CO. PM me when you want to try to set up a float. Gunny too low CO ok

Good to know, I thought that myself that some of the chunks were a little big. I’ll have to be certain to cut them up smaller next time we do that…Never tried with bass though, sounds like a plan sometime. We love fried bluegill and perch but just wanted to switch it up and try something different😀

Fly fishing has been a blast and I’m glad I finally decided to pick up a fly rod after all these years. I still need to get some fly fishing in on the river before I attempt a float haha. Planning on focusing on that soon.

Enjoy the diarrhea

You need to get that poor girl a panfish rod. The ugly stick is hard to watch while throwing micro minnows

Tyler Thimsen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
Isn’t it risky using freshwater fish, especially if not frozen properly to kill the parasites? That’s what I’ve always heard and currently read online. Not bashing, just throwing it out there. I’m always open to different pan fish recipes.

No worries man! I appreciate the concern and yes it is a possibility. It’s just something that I’m not too worried about with the high elevation lake I pulled them out of. TBH I eat a lot of raw food in the form of sashimi, sushi, etc. So it isn’t something that concerns me much period.

Your group looks like they are having fun! Dont be surprised if you catch a 13 inch tape worm in your toilet in a few years. LOL Kidding, kinda…..

Edit: thanks BK. I do see that citric acid will not kill paracits evem though the fish looks and tastes cooked! Thanks for the correction! It does taste great though😁

The citric acid from the limes will cook the fish… but the pieces in the video are WAY too big.

I’ve made freshwater ceviche a number of times. The fish was “cooked” all the way through though. The fish will actually flake and fall apart just like fish cooked over heat if done properly.

If anyone would like to try this safely just cut the pieces very small and let it sit in the lime juice until the meat is nice and white all the way through.

Bearcat89 wrote:

You need to get that poor girl a panfish rod. The ugly stick is hard to watch while throwing micro minnows

LOL We have several, she likes that one.

walleyevision wrote:

Enjoy the diarrhea

None here…Been several weeks since actually recording/fishing/eating for this episode, no problems so far.

I would eat it, probably wouldn’t serve it to others for the reasons mentioned above. Looks great though!

There was a very interesting episode of chopped where one the the chefs utilized Zander to make ceviche and the judges, while impressed by the excellent plating and appearance, refused to dine due to parasite concerns. I believe she was chopped for this, since they considered it to be a basic rule in the kitchen to not serve raw freshwater fish.

Man, some of you need to get out and live a little. Ceviche is great.

Tyler Thimsen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>walleyevision wrote:</div>
Enjoy the diarrhea

None here…Been several weeks since actually recording/fishing/eating for this episode, no problems so far.

You are doing good. I enjoy your videos. Keep them coming

Tyler, I love Ceviche…but with shrimp.

When it comes to BG’s, I think my Dad said it best when Mom oven baked our catch….”G Damn it! Do you have to try and change everything!?”
Dad was a bit more cantankerous than I.

Never had BG another way but fried since.

Does lime juice kill worms?
Untrue, according to parasitologists. The lime juice will not kill any type of parasites in fish; if at most, the juice will make the worms taste better.

City of Houstonwww.houstontx.gov › health › Food › Seafood

suzuki wrote:

Dont be surprised if you catch a 13 inch tape worm in your toilet in a few years. LOL Kidding, kinda…..

A 13″ tape worm would be just a baby.

But yes, this can be the worry. You may have 9 times without issue but maybe the 10th time is the charm.

I do know there’s a significant difference between salt water and fresh water fish, fresh water being much greater likelihood of infestations. And it’s not just the actual parasites themselves but the eggs which days later hatch in your intestines.

You might not know for weeks. I remember a horror story from years ago when a guy had a tapeworm well over 20 feet living inside him.

It came from a northern pike improperly cooked on a campstove. Looked done on the outside, not cooked well enough in the middle.

If I recall correctly, pike were the most likely to carry tapeworms and then more often the closer they came from the great lakes.

I know nothing of bluegill though.

Tapeworm or not, I’m not a raw fish kinda guy…and I like my steak MW to Well.
That’s just me.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

If I recall correctly, pike were the most likely to carry tapeworms.

Perhaps because pike eat a lot of raw bluegill?

Any raw fish that is consumed should be frozen before eating. The sushi you eat at restaurants has been frozen. Pelagic saltwater fish like tuna are at much less risk for parasites than freshwater fish of any type. Cooking or freezing are your only safe options.

Tried to add a link, i failed

Tape worms aren’t a death sentence. Every year there are stories down here of someone dying from eating oysters. That isn’t going to stop me from eating oysters. People die from flesh eating disease too, that isn’t going to stop me from fishing.

I think some of you need a little perspective. Life is full of risks and of you enjoy ceviche or sushi, then enjoy it.

mplspug wrote:

Tape worms aren’t a death sentence. Every year there are stories down here of someone dying from eating oysters. That isn’t going to stop me from eating oysters. People die from flesh eating disease too, that isn’t going to stop me from fishing.

I think some of you need a little perspective. Life is full of risks and of you enjoy ceviche or sushi, then enjoy it.

No, tape worms aren’t a death sentence but I’d rather avoid hosting one nonetheless.

The matter of risk here is pointed more at raw freshwater fish which is well known as “avoid” eating raw.

Saltwater…?

One is welcome to enjoy ceviche, sushi, raw oysters, whatever.

Roulette is a game of chances.

Eat at your own risk. No one can stop you from consuming raw or under cooked fish other than yourself.

My butt itches.

It looks delicious… but yeah I’m definitely in the freeze it first for a minimum of 48 hours and then go to town camp. I used to work in a parasitology lab so I have seen the results firsthand. I am still able to eat sushi and sashimi though too!

The tapeworm fish carry is called D. latum. The life cycle is a bit interesting. If you want more information this is a good summary.

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/diphyllobothrium/biology.html

Brian Klawitter wrote:

My butt itches.

All out of toilet paper?

Or if by chance you’re “wormy” too, you can use an empty TP roll to wrap your worm around.

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Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

No, tape worms aren’t a death sentence but I’d rather avoid hosting one nonetheless.

The matter of risk here is pointed more at raw freshwater fish which is well known as “avoid” eating raw.

Saltwater…?

One is welcome to enjoy ceviche, sushi, raw oysters, whatever.

Roulette is a game of chances.

True, I would probably avoid freshwater ceviche. Some saltwater game fish species down here have a risk of giving you Ciguatera. The risk in saltwater is not parasites but toxins.