• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Midwexican

Hiya! I'm Christina Tino Marie Koncker, and I'm "Bringing the heat to Midwestern eats, served with a slice of Minnesota nice."

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Sides
    • Snacks
    • Dessert
    • Condiments
    • Reviews
  • Sparkling Water Reviews
  • About
  • Work With Me!

Air Fryer Walleye

January 16, 2021 by Tino Marie Leave a Comment

Air Fryer Walleye is a healthy alternative to butter-fried preparations with a clever low-carb crust that offers a satisfying crunch with every bite. 

Walleye is prized in the land of 10,000 lakes – it’s light, mild-flavored, delightfully flaky, and not too fussy to prepare. It’s a lovely fillet that is best prepared simply, like by sauteeing in butter. Or coated in cracker crumbs and fried in butter. 

If you’re looking for a healthier alternative to the fried in butter route, Air Fryer Walleye is THE way to go. You can opt for a cracker crumb coating of your choosing, or do like I did and use pork rinds.

Air Fryer Fish Why pork rinds?

Pork rinds are salty, delicious, and low-carb. Since pork rinds are plenty salty on their own, you probably won’t need to add salt. You can also use flavored pork rinds or add a few seasonings to punch up the flavor. I kept it simple and added garlic powder and cayenne pepper.

My Air Fryer Set-Up

My air fryer set up may differ from yours, so let me tell you what I’m rocking. I picked up one of these 8-quart Instant Pots on a Black Friday sale a couple of years ago:

I am Team Instant Pot and use it several times a month. Air fryers piqued my interest at the time of my Instant Pot purchase but I didn’t want to add another appliance to my kitchen collection. 

Of course, now you can buy 8-quart Instant pots with air fryer lids (which I hear work great).

At the time of this writing, I could not find an Instant Pot brand air fryer lid sold by itself for an 8-quart model. 

Not wanting to purchase another Instant Pot, I went on the hunt for a compatible lid for my 8-quart model. After reading rave reviews, I purchased this Michelangelo Air Fryer Lid: 

I highly recommend this Michelangelo Air Fryer Lid (AND there’s a $10 off coupon available!) if you find yourself in the same boat as I was a few months ago. This lid fits both 6- and 8-quart Instant Pots. It also comes with a deep basket, steam rack, tongs, and silicone pad (aka countertop saver). 

My favorite thing about it, other than its ability to fry foods, of course, is that you can see through the lid. This is a feature I have yet to see in other air fryers. I love having the ability to check on my food without having to interrupt the cooking cycle.

When cooking, I put the fryer basket on the steaming rack to elevate it closer to the lid.

How do you prepare Air Fryer Walleye? 

Preparing this Air Fryer Walleye is super quick and easy. Crush some pork rinds – plan on using a 3-ounce bag for 4 good sized fish fillets. I add the pork rinds to a gallon bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Then I add whatever seasonings I’m feeling to the crushed pork rinds, shake to combine, add pour onto a plate. An egg is necessary to get the coating to stick. So after whipping up a large egg, you’re ready to coat that walleye.

Air Fryer Walleye

Dip each fillet in the egg, letting the excess drip off. Dredge each fillet in the crushed pork rinds and you’re ready to air fry!

Fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes. Flip halfway through, if desired, though not necessary. I don’t usually bother flipping as I don’t want to risk disturbing the coating. 

Serve with fresh lemon wedges.

Or one of these fantastic condiments: 

Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo

Spicy Pico de Gallo 

Citrus Jalapeno Salsa

Pepito Pesto 

Air Fryer Walleye

Air Fryer Walleye is a healthy alternative to butter-fried preparations with a clever low-carb crust that offers a satisfying crunch with every bite.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 6 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Course Main Course
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients
  

  • 4 walleye fillets
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 3 ounce bag of pork rinds I used Old Dutch
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Crush the pork rinds into crumbs. I pour them into a gallon bag and roll over them with a rolling pin until nice and crumbly.
  • Add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the gallon bag of pork rind crumbs and shake to combine. Pour the pork rind crumbs onto a plate.
  • Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk until the white and yolk are combined.
  • Dip a walleye fillet into the whisked eggs, making sure both sides get coated. Let the excess egg drip off.
  • Dredge the walleye fillet in pork rind crumbs, making sure to completely coat on both sides.
  • Spray a bit of cooking spray on the rack in your air fryer to ensure the fillets don’t stick.
  • Put the walleye fillets on the air fryer rack (IMPORTANT, read notes*). Repeat with the remaining fillets.
  • Fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around 10 minutes. You can flip halfway through cooking, if desired, though I found I didn't need to.
  • Serve with lemon wedges.

Notes

*Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to fry in batches. I fried two fillets at a time. I put the fryer basket on the steaming rack to elevate it closer to the air fryer lid (see My Air Fryer Set-Up). 
Keyword air fryer fish, air fryer walleye, fish, seafood, walleye

Air Fryer Walleye

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch Tagged With: air fryer, air fryer fish, air fryer walleye, air fryer white fish, coated air fryer walleye, crispy walleye, pork rind walleye, pork rinds, walleye

Previous Post: « Salsa, Ham, and Egg Roll-Ups
Next Post: Doritos Taco Salad Board »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar


subscribe to midwexican

Enter your email address below and click 'Subscribe' to receive notification when new posts are published.

Top Posts & Pages

  • A Full Flavor Review of Waterloo Sparkling Water
    A Full Flavor Review of Waterloo Sparkling Water
  • AHA Sparkling Water, All 8 Fizzy Flavors, Reviewed
    AHA Sparkling Water, All 8 Fizzy Flavors, Reviewed
  • Jalapeno Pickle Roll-Ups
    Jalapeno Pickle Roll-Ups
  • Coconut Rice Krispie Cookies
    Coconut Rice Krispie Cookies
  • Blueberry Banana Smoothie
    Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Featured Posts

Spicy Pico de Gallo

spicy pico de gallo

Homemade pico de gallo made with fresh, homegrown tomatoes is a seasonal guilty pleasure. I spice my pico de gallo up by benching green bell peppers and putting in serrano or jalapeno peppers.  One of my favorite parts of summer in Minnesota is ALL OF THE FRESH TOMATOES. It truly is like Christmas in July.

Coconut Rice Krispie Treats

Coconut Rice Krispie Treats are perfect for coconut-crazy confectionistas - and only take mere minutes to make!

Coconut Rice Krispie Treats are perfect for coconut-crazy confectionistas. Coconut is added THREE ways, guaranteeing every bite is crisp coconut perfection.  The best desserts have coconut in them. For some the best desserts have chocolate. For others, it’s salted caramel. But for me, it’s coconut all the way.  When I want a coconut-forward dessert –…

Read More »

Chimichurri Scrambled Eggs

Chimichurri Scrambled Eggs

Give ho-hum scrambled eggs an instant flavor (and color!) boost with a spoonful of bright, herbaceous Roasted Garlic Chimichurri. Pair it with spam (or ham) for Green Eggs and Spam (Ham) for a super fun breakfast Dr. Seuss would approve of.  Chee-mee-CHOO-ree! It’s as fun to say as it is delicious to eat. And chimichurri…

Read More »

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress