Winnipeg Goldeye

I just got this seasons shipment of Winnipeg Goldeye. The scientific shad-like toothed hyoid from the mooneye family is also called Winnipeg goldeye, western goldeye, yellow herring, toothed herring, shad mooneye, la Queche, weepicheesis.

The very feisty aggressive goldeye is considered a good fly-fishing fish, but not popular with most anglers because of its small size of usually just one pound.

It is one of 122 new natural Canadian species of animals, birds, fish documented by the Corps of Discovery. Commercial fishing of this species was reported as early as 1876.

Its fresh flesh is soft and unappealing, so it was only taken randomly in gillnets and (in the past) sold for pet food. They are now sought after by many gourmand consumers around the world consumed as a premium smoked fish especially in Kosher Deli’s in New York and Chicago.

Many commercial fishermen sell them smoked in the far north James Bay Rivers. It became a most sought after fashionable gourmet dish after 1911 with Woodrow Wilson and the Prince of Wales counted amongst its fans of this Aboriginal Indian Smoked delight. In 1926–29 the annual catch exceeded a million pounds, but stocks declined from 1931 and little was fished from Lake Winnipeg after 1938.

The stocks have slowly built up and a small amount of the commercial harvest is shipped to waiting gourmands worldwide, but most is consumed in Canada. Although Lake Winnipeg was once the main commercial source, it now comes from elsewhere, especially in Saskatchewan and Alberta northern most regions rivers and lakes, and the culinary name Winnipeg goldeye has come to be associated with the city where it is usually smoked and  processed.

Plated with some rye bread and pickled onions, splash of lemon and a nice cold beer makes a great tasting treat!

Thekitchenman.ca