Many anglers say that walleye cheek meat is the most delicious part of a walleye.  Comments such as “if you’ve never had them, you don’t know what you’re missing” and “nothing better than cheek meat” are common when referring to preparing walleye cheek meat.  However, there are different ways to remove this particular meat, and many anglers have their own methods.  Here is one method to get this meat:

So, now that you know how to get this meat, you will want to try it.  Here is a recipe submitted by a walleye angler on Lake Erie who found a tasty way to prepare this meat, posted by danstefoutdoors.com–it’s called “Garlic Walleye “Turbo” Cheeks:

This is an appetizer that is incredibly easy to make, but won’t last very long. You need about a half a pound of walleye cheeks — the little medallion of meat located right under the fishes eye, otherwise known as the “cheek”. While on a recent trip to fish with Dunlap’s Charter Service on Lake Erie, I was served this awesome treat by Captain Gary “Turbo” Mol, owner and operator of Dunlap’s. So to pay homage to the man behind this treasure, I call this one Garlic Walleye “Turbo” Cheeks.

Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
– Half pound of walleye cheeks (or 12-18 fish)
– 1 stick of salted butter
– Half cup of fresh minced garlic
– Half cup of Italian bread crumbs
– Half cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, and sautee the cheeks for about 5 minutes on medium heat
2. Add the minced garlic and sautee and stir for another 5 minutes
3. Begin to add and stir in the bread crumbs until the ingredients thicken into a paste
4. Remove from heat and sprinkle fresh mozzarella cheese over everything
5. Serve on crackers and eat
6. Call Turbo and thank him by booking a walleye trip, ha ha!

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There you have it!  Maybe you already knew about the walleye cheek meat frenzy, or maybe this is something you may want to try.  Either way, it’s always good to have more recipes and learn new methods of preparing fish!   Good luck!

(feature photo via Brian Grossenbacher)