The Fresh (and Smoked) Lake Whitefish Company

As a Yooper-wannabe, one vendor at the East Lansing Farmer's Market is especially close to my stomach, the Fresh Lake Whitefish Company, straight from the Sault (they also set up shop at the Lansing City Market on Saturday). Yes, Mark and Carla Ebener do actually sell fresh lake whitefish, as well as fresh lake trout, walleye, yellow perch, lake herring and salmon. But they also sell smoked fish, even more than pasties, true Yooper cuisine.

For those unfamiliar with the U.P., the proper way to smoke fish is to strip an old refrigerator of everything but its metal racks, drill a hole in the top, then add smoke and fish. I suppose the Fresh Lake Whitefish Company, due to volume or perhaps those very non-Yooper things called government regulations, uses a smokehouse. At the farmer's market, if you get there early enough, you have your choice of smoked trout, smoked salmon, smoked chubs, smoked menominee, and smoked fish sausage. Oh, I forgot to mention: and, smoked whitefish.

Whitefish was the most important fish (except sturgeon in a few places, such as the Ontonagon River) of the historic Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Chippewa), with hundreds, maybe thousands, of canoes gathering at Bawating, place of the rapids, in summer. (The French term, Sault, means "jump," probably named for the act of jumping, i.e., running, the rapids.) From the earliest travel accounts, whitefish was always described as the sweetest of fish, far preferable to saltwater fish (especially salt cod). Whitefish is my favorite lake fish fresh and my favorite lake fish smoked.

Trips to the U.P. always involve picking up an ample supply of smoked fish. The Fish House in Paradise, our top choice for deep fried or broiled fresh whitefish, has great smoked fish. But we only get there on trips to Whitefish Point and Tahquamenon. More convenient, traveling too and from the central and western U.P., is King's Fish Market on M-123 in Moran, also a good place for a fish-fry lunch stop. This summer, some friends brought us home smoked salmon from King's after their July U.P. trip, and we reciprocated a few weeks later, after our August U.P. trip, with smoked whitefish dip. Some fish houses make their own dip. I prefer mine:

Food process about 1/3 pound of smoked fish, two green onions, and a few dashes of jalapeno sauce. When well grated, gradually add 1 pound of cream cheese and process until thoroughly blended. Serve on crackers, good bread, homemade garlic bread (after tasting with feta instead of parmesan, I haven't looked back), or cucumber slices (something I picked up from The Bluebird in Leland). Try as a variant of cucumber sandwiches for High Tea (or with white wine, if you prefer).

There may be other reasons for a trip to the U.P. than to buy smoked fish, of course, and a trip does take time and cost money. So, having true, high quality, Bawating smoked fish brought to the East Lansing Farmer's Market, at prices comparable to what we pay in the U.P., 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. In a few years, if Pat Lindemann has his way, we will be able to catch edible salmon and steelhead in the Red Cedar, and I will set up my refrigerator-smoker in the back yard. But until then, I'm thankful for the Fresh Lake Whitefish Company.

Editor's note: The East Lansing Farmers' Market, held every Sunday in Valley Court Park from 10 am - 2 pm, continues through October 28.