Door County's Famous Fish Boil

Fish boils are widely practiced in the Peninsula of Door County, WI.  Due to the abundance of whitefish in the local area, it's the fish of choice for a boil because it's cheap and fresh everyday, being near Lake Michigan.  Pelletier restaurant is famous for its traditional live practice of a fish boil.  It's located in a small tourist town of Fish Creek, which is between the town of Egg Harbor and Eprium.  Door County is mostly populated with Scandinavians, that's where the art of fish boil originated from.  

Small businesses along the peninsula of Door County thrives on tourist visits every year during warm weather.  Beside known for it's wine and olive oils, Door County is also known well for its fish boil shows.  It's a great way to entertain guests while they wait for their food and to attract tourists.  

As I said earlier, Pelletier is known for it's fish boil shows.  Guests are ask to arrive half an hour early so they can see how this unique practice is done.  Of course it has to be done outside as I will explain why later on.

Pelletier has a very rustic outdoors look to it.  To know if you're at the right place, in the village area, there's a ten foot tall bear carved out of wood in an upward stance ready to greet you with a silent roar.  Along the winding dirt street ways of this European style village complex, you'll find plenty of small shops to browse around before you reach the restaurant.  Once you reached Pelletier, you will be given an option to dine inside in the cool breezy air conditioned room or outside in the scorching hot summer sun.  Of course it's not a complete fish boil experience if you don't go outside and watch the show.

Outside you can see a big black kettle surrounded by chain links restricting bystanders from getting too close.  I sat from a distance as I waited for the show to begin.  A group of patrons will heat up the kettle just like the ones witches use to brew up magical potions.  They would than proceed to control the flames by strategically placing the wood underneath the kettle.  At the same time the foreman(leader)as we called him, will explain what he is doing step by step and the history of the fish boil.

Once the water is hot enough he will dump a whole crap load of salt into the giant cauldron.  After the salt, he will place some red potatoes and onions in a wired basket and drop them in the kettle, when that is cooked he will than replace it with a basket full of chopped fresh caught whitefish in the kettle, again using a wired basket.  Now this is where the term fish boil comes in.  Once he noticed the bubbling foam of fish oil rising from the top of the kettle, he'll douse the flames with kerosene to cause, what you would call, a boil over.  What the kerosene does is, it allows the temperature to rise which causes the oil to boil over the kettle and onto the ground.  It's also an interesting sight to see giant smoke and flames shoot into the sky.  The giant flames and topple of the fish oil is the climax of the show but in between all that, the little details of these brave souls working in sync is more like an art form.  One wrong move can spell disaster or serious burns.  

Once the kettle is free of fish oil, it's then brought back to the kitchen and served.  A fish boil meal is traditionally served with a couple hunk of whitefish, red potatoes, sweet onions, a dinner roll and Cole slaw.  The waitress will then show you how to peel away the rib bones in the middle section of the fish.  The meal was nothing special, it was just the experience that was unique, I personally didn't think it was worth $20.  Flavor-wise, the fish was bland because all they seasoned it with was salt but all of the sides were okay according to my personal preference.

When you venture to Door County, I hope you give the fish boil experience a chance.  It's good to see the culture but even better to eat the culture.  Door County is also a great place for scenic bike rides, camping and white sand beaches along the coast of the Peninsula.  I've personally been to Door County countless times and enjoyed every moment of it.

If you proceed pass Fish Creek and head further north until you can't anymore, you'll find a place call Washington Island.  A ferry is the only means of transportation.  What you'll find bizarre in Washington Island is an Ostrich farm.  Yes I did say Ostrich, in Wisconsin.  For $20 you can pick up an Ostrich egg as a souvenir or sample some Ostrich meat.