Harrison’s Whitefish Sandwich – Redux
written by Jim
Northern Michigan develops and inspires important writers with a bent toward the outdoors. Amongst the best was Jim Harrison, whose fine and somewhat naughty road-trip novel “The English Major” includes a (very likely) non-fictional whitefish sandwich at a diner in the village of Epoufette. Located on US 2 west of the Mackinac Bridge, you’ll find Epoufette around the half-way point of a 60 mile stretch of mostly public, sugar sand beach on the North Shore of Lake Michigan. Pick a spot. Pull off the road. Take a dip and have a picnic. It’s free. Harrison wrote like Albert King played the blues; both had an emotional landscape to describe and the chops to deliver. All they needed was a cool story as a vehicle to do so.
Anyway. The sandwich. I imagine it was fresh local whitefish coated in an egg wash then dredged in seasoned flour before being deep fried. Harrison describes his sandwich as being topped with tartar sauce. I think it might also have included iceberg lettuce and a couple slices of cardboard tomato that Harrison probably removed. It was served on (again…..imagining) a hoagie roll off the Gordon’s truck with a side of overdressed, overly sweet, mayonnaisey coleslaw. Aside from the tomato and slaw, it sounds like a fine meal.
You, dear reader, can recreate and improve this Michigan meal starting here at Monahan’s. Get a third of a pound of whitefish fillets per sandwich. Dip them in an egg wash then dredge in dry Drake’s batter mix. Shallow fry in a quarter inch of hot neutral oil till crispy (maybe 3 minutes per side). Build the sandwich on a hoagie roll or a brioche with our excellent tartar sauce, crunchy lettuce, and, when in season (NOW!), garden or farmer’s market tomato slices. Serve it with a lemon wedge and a mound of our slaw and you’re good to go.
How to make it really special? Well…
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