It may also be called a yellow pickerel or just yellow pike. The walleye is a Perciform fish that lives in freshwater. Canada and North America are the homes of this wonderful water inhabitant. The European Zander is the relative of walleye fish.

This is one of the most popular game fish that are also commonly stocked. It is a beautiful large fish with a thin body structure that is colored in olive or golden shades. There are several black bands on the back and the wide mouth of walleye fish is filled with sharp teeth. Though, they do not bite or attack humans.

Around the globe, walleye fish has uncountable fans who claim that this one is the best tasting seafood from the freshwater. That is the reason behind every second restaurant offers several recipes for walleye under different cuisines.

Best Air Fryer Walleye Recipe (Quick and Simple)

The best part of the story is that the walleye fish has the lowest fishy flavor along with a slightly sweet taste. You get the finely flaked fillets from this delicate seafood option. The people who prefer the blander-tasting seafood with a less fishy aroma should try the walleye fish with the below-presented recipe.

 

How to cook the best air fryer walleye

The following air fryer walleye recipe will serve 4 people after cooking, so it is quite sufficient for a standard family meal.  You can cook the tasty walleye within 15 minutes as a whole. In case you need more or less quantity of serving, increase or decrease the ingredients rationally, but the cooking time will remain the same.

Below is the list of ingredients that you need to cook walleye fillets with your air fryer. You will need 8 walleye fillets to cook with this recipe to serve four people at the dinner table.

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon red pepper (cayenne pepper)
• 2 eggs (Large ones)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 large lemons (dice into 8 wedges)
• 3-ounce pork rinds (preferably old dutch)

That is all you need at your kitchen counter. The lemons are optional to add, so if you do not have lemons at home, or you do not like to add them, simply forget them. Let’s now proceed with the cooking method.

Process

First of all, you need to crush the rinds into crumbs. You can use the rolling pin for the purpose by simply putting the pork rinds into a gallon bag. Keep rolling until the rinds become crumbly and nice.

Keep the rinds in the same bag after crushing and add half of the available pepper and garlic powder to it. Start shaking the bag so that the spices inside may combine with the rinds evenly. Give it a while to mix well.

Once done, convert the rinds into a wide plate or kitchen tray. Take another bowl and crack the eggs in it. Keep beating until turned into the egg wash.

Take the walleye fillets one by one and dip them in the egg wash.  Make sure to be coated perfectly so that no side of the fillet is remained dry. Do not let the fillet take away the excess liquid with it. Wait until it drips off.

Then take the fillet to the crumbs plate and dredge and toss it well therein. There should be an even coating of crumbs mixture on each side of the walleye fillet.

Get the air fryer basket ready by spraying the cooking oil all around. Do not apply excessive oil as you just need slight lubrication to prevent the food from sticking with the basket.

Coat all the walleye fillets the same way and keep the seasoned fillets placing in the air fryer basket. If your air fryer size does not allow you to place all the fillets in it at one time. Cook them in batches but do not stack them on each other.

Let the air fryer cook your walleye fillets for 10 minutes. The required temperature is 400°F. Although there is no need to flip the fillets upside down through the midway, it is better to do so. That translates into an even crisp on both sides.

Your delicious walleye is ready to be served. Use the diced lemon wedges for decoration.

Serving

Irrelevant of the cooking method, the potatoes are always a great option for side serving with fish varieties. You can also serve other vegetables either steamed, grilled, or roasted along with the walleye fillets. Similarly, serving pasta, quinoa, or salad are other great options that can grace your walleye dinner plate incredibly.

Health Benefits

Similar to most seafood options, walleye also provide you sufficient quantity of protein through a standard serving. Nobody is unaware of the fact that intaking protein is critically necessary for the daily functioning of the human body as well as for the reproduction and repairing of body cells.

Walleyes also contain the Omega-3 fatty acids that are considered healthy fats. Omega-3 supports the health of your heart and remarkably improves brain functioning.

It is also a rich source of vitamin D, which blesses the bones with strength when combined with calcium in the human body.n Intaking vitamin D from external sources becomes more important for those who live in a place where there is no or less sunshine. It is because sunshine enables the human body to make vitamin D on its own.

Possible Health Risks

The larger fish are more exposed to mercury, and similar is the case with older fish. As compared to other sport fish, it is considered that the walleye fish may have a higher concentration of mercury. It is recommended by the EPA that depending on human weight, that is safe to intake 0.1 micrograms of mercury per day against 1 kilogram of weight of the body.

Final Thoughts

It is recommended by the medical experts that out of different kinds of meat, white meat is best to eat. While among the white meat, there is no comparison of fish meat for the health benefits they provide. Similarly, amongst the large variety of seafood, walleye is one of the most healthy and most popular fish options that people love to eat. The above-presented recipe will not take any effort to cook and you can add some flavor and nutrition to your daily intake within a few minutes with this simple cooking method.