Traditional Wisconsin Fish Boil
intro
A beloved Door County, Wisconsin communal meal of tender boiled whitefish, potatoes, and onions, finished with a dramatic boil-over to remove bitter fish oils.
Ingredients
Steps
Set Up Salted Boil Pot
Set up an outdoor 20-liter (5-gallon) stock pot on a propane burner or wood-fired rig over high heat. Fill the pot with 15 liters (4 gallons) of cold water, add 120g kosher salt, 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, and 3 dried bay leaves. Cover the pot and bring to a full rolling boil, which takes approximately 15 minutes.
Add Unpeeled Red Potatoes
Once the water reaches a constant rolling boil (100°C/212°F, with large bubbles breaking continuously on the surface), add all 680g whole unpeeled scrubbed small red potatoes. Maintain high heat to keep the boil steady, leave the pot uncovered, and set a timer for 12 minutes—potatoes will be partially tender, not fully cooked, when the timer goes off.
Add Peeled Onion Wedges
When the 12-minute potato timer elapses, add all 340g 5cm-thick peeled yellow onion wedges to the pot. Stir gently with a long-handled slotted spoon to fully submerge the onions, keep heat set to high to maintain a rolling boil, leave the pot uncovered, and reset the timer for 8 minutes.
Lower Fish Basket Into Boil
When the 8-minute onion timer goes off, lower 900g of 5cm-thick skin-on lake whitefish chunks (held in a wire mesh boil basket for easy removal) into the boiling water, ensuring all fish pieces are fully submerged. Maintain high heat to return the pot to a rolling boil as quickly as possible, leave uncovered, and set a timer for exactly 10 minutes.
Crank Heat for Boil Over
When 30 seconds remain on the 10-minute fish timer, turn heat to maximum (add one small split of dry hardwood to wood-fired rigs, or turn propane burners to full) to trigger a dramatic frothy boil-over that spills 2-3cm of water over the pot rim for 30 seconds—this washes bitter floating fish oil off the water’s surface. After 30 seconds, reduce heat to medium-low to stop the overflow.
Drain and Arrange Cooked Food
Carefully lift the wire fish basket out of the pot, shaking gently to drain excess water, then use the long slotted spoon to remove all potatoes and onions. Arrange drained fish, potatoes, and onions on a large serving platter, patting lightly with paper towels to remove surface moisture, and serve hot with 113g melted unsalted butter for dipping and lemon wedges on the side.
Tips
2.If cooking indoors on a stovetop without an outdoor rig, skip the intentional boil-over to avoid stovetop mess: instead, use a ladle to carefully skim all floating fish oil from the water surface during the final 2 minutes of fish cook time.
3.Stick to firm, mild whitefish like lake whitefish, cod, or haddock for this recipe: delicate fish like tilapia will fall apart during the vigorous boil, and oily fish like salmon will leave a strong, unpleasant residual flavor.
OMG, I made this for our annual lake house potluck last weekend and everyone went back for seconds! I was nervous I’d mess up the boil timing since I’ve only ever had this at Door County restaurants, but the 45 minute cook time was totally spot on. My kids even ate the boiled potatoes without complaining, which is a miracle. SO good!!
Game changer! I’ve done low country boils a million times for cookouts but never tried a Wisconsin-style one without all the Old Bay. The simple, subtle seasoning paired with the melted butter dip? *Chef’s kiss* Threw some extra corn on the cob in the pot too and it soaked up all that great, briny flavor. Will be making this all summer long for backyard hangouts.
I was worried this would be too complicated for a weeknight meal since it’s marked medium difficulty, but it was way easier than I expected! Only swap I made was using salmon instead of whitefish because that’s what I had stashed in the freezer, and it turned out amazing. 10/10 will add to my regular meal prep rotation.
Y’all, this is the most accurate at-home Wisconsin fish boil recipe I’ve found online! I grew up going to fish boils every Friday night in the summer up in Door County and I was skeptical any home recipe could nail that classic, no-fuss flavor, but you got it exactly right. Pro tip for newbies: don’t skip the heavy salt in the boiling water, that’s what makes the potatoes taste like the real deal!
Made this for my husband’s birthday dinner since he’s from Milwaukee and has been craving a taste of home for months. He said it tasted exactly like the fish boils he went to with his grandpa as a kid! The only tiny mishap was my fish fell apart a little when I pulled it out, but that was totally my fault for cutting the chunks too small. Will absolutely make this a regular family dinner.
Brought this to my neighborhood block party last week and people were asking me for the recipe before I even set the serving pot down! I paired it with a side of creamy coleslaw and rye bread like we had at the fish fry I went to in Milwaukee last summer, and it was the perfect spread. 10/10, zero leftovers, even the picky kids ate it.
Wait, hold on — do I really need a giant outdoor boiler pot to make this? I live in a tiny third-floor apartment with no patio and only have a regular 8-quart stock pot. Will this still work on my stovetop or am I out of luck? 😭
SO good. Made this for my son’s high school soccer team pre-game dinner and those teenage boys ate every last bite. I was worried the mild fish flavor would be too boring for their palates but they were dousing it in melted butter and going back for thirds. Even the coach pulled me aside to ask for the recipe. Total dad win in my book.
Finally, a classic fish boil recipe that doesn’t have weird hidden gluten! I have celiac so I’m always paranoid that boil seasonings have hidden wheat fillers, but this one is totally gluten free as written. Served it with gluten free rye bread and my whole family loved it, no one even noticed it wasn’t the regular wheat bread I usually buy.
I’ve been making Wisconsin fish boils for 40 years, ever since I learned at a cabin up north when I was in my 20s, and I have to say, this recipe is dead on. A lot of online recipes add too much fancy seasoning that takes away from the simple, fresh flavor of the fish and potatoes, but this one keeps it totally classic. I’ll be passing this link along to my grandkids who’ve been bugging me for my recipe for years.
This was really good, but I felt like it was a little bland for my taste! I’m used to super spicy, zesty low country boils so I added a big scoop of Old Bay and a few dashes of cayenne hot sauce to the boil water, and it was chef’s kiss. Anyone else tried adding extra seasonings to switch it up?
Wait, does this reheat well? I made a test batch last night and it was incredible, but I want to make a big batch on Sunday for lunches throughout the week. I’m worried the fish will get rubbery when I microwave it at the office, though! Anyone have tips?
I was so intimidated to try this because medium-difficulty recipes usually stress me out, but the step-by-step instructions were so easy to follow! I didn’t burn anything, the fish was perfectly flaky, and my roommate said it’s the best thing I’ve ever cooked. Total confidence booster — can’t wait to make it for my parents next time they come to visit.