Striped bass is one of the world’s truly great game fish. It’s prized for its beautiful white meat, it puts up a great fight and you can catch large fish very close to the shore – 30 to 40 pounders are not uncommon among skilled surfcasters.

 

After centuries of overfishing, the species has come back with a vengeance. The state of Massachusetts for example – probably the best place in the world to catch stripers – upped its bag limit a few years ago to two 28-inch fish per man per day. For many years, fishermen could harvest just one 30- to 32-inch fish per day.

 

Martha’s Vineyard, meanwhile, is the striped bass capital of the world, so you would assume the island’s best fishermen know what to do once they get their catch to the kitchen. You’d be assuming correctly.

 

We found this recipe in Martha’s Vineyard magazine while staying in Edgartown one October. The recipe was attributed to Ed Jerome, a champion of the annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, which attracts some of the world’s best fishermen. We whipped up a batch after catching a boatload of blues and stripers on the Vineyard with legendary Captain Chris Peters, http://www.fishingmarthasvineyard.com/, who caught the world’s largest mako shark (1,221 pounds) several years ago.

 

Jerome’s recipe is pretty darn tasty – and real easy to make at a tailgate.

 

Here’s what you need:

Season the chunks with salt and pepper and place in a large glass or plastic bowl. Liberally squeeze fresh lemon juice over the bass chunks, and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

 

Pour about 1½ cups (or about 1 inch) of oil into a large saucepan, pot or cast-iron skillet. Heat to 350 to 375 degrees. Mix eggs and milk together. Set out a bowl with a generous amount of Bisquick. Dip the chunks in the egg mixture, then in the Bisquick (use the wet hand/dry hand method – in other words, use one hand to dip the fish in the liquid, and another to dip into the dry mix. It will help keep your hands from caking up.)