Fried Garfish Balls - a weekend recipe

Growing up in northwest Louisiana - not far from Black Bayou and Caddo Lake - I saw many large garfish. I didn’t know that these prehistoric denizens of many southern rivers and lakes were edible. Today, I learned differently.

My good friend and fellow geologist Mickey O. spent a couple of days this week in Houston (sorry Aunt Dot. I didn’t have time to call) at the North American Prospect Expo. On the way home, before traversing fifteen inches of snow in Dallas, we stopped for lunch at a Mexican seafood restaurant in Houston adjacent to I-45.

One of the items on the appetizer menu was garfish balls. They also had octopus tacos, which I didn't try. I didn’t get the recipe for the garfish balls at the restaurant, but I found this one on the web. Quite tasty.

Fried Garfish Balls

· 2 lbs ground garfish
· 1 cup green onions – chopped
· 1 lb. boiled and peeled potatoes
· 2 medium white onions – chopped
· ¼ cup Creole seasoning
· ¼ cup all-purpose flour
· corn flour

Boil potatoes; mix the first 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Roll the mixture into balls the size of golf balls or maybe even a little bigger if you like. Put the balls in the cornflour and roll them around to fully coat the balls. Put the balls in the fryer preheated to 375° and fry until golden brown. Serve as appetizers or as a side with the main meal.

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Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He is the author of the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans and the Paranormal Cowboy Series. Please check it out on his Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iBook author pages. You might also like to check out his website.