Every evening beginning at 4:30 pm, Pelletier’s in downtown Fish Creek serves up the most famous native dish of the Door Peninsula. Known as the Door County Fish Boil, it’s a tradition unique to the area, when settlers came to this wilderness to seek their fortunes.
Pelletier’s Fish Boil consists of fresh, locally caught whitefish cut into chunks, baby red potatoes, and Texas sweet boiling onions. The ingredients are quickly boiled to perfection in a stainless steel kettle over a wood fire. Salt is the only seasoning used, although its function is to increase the water’s boiling temperature, allowing fish oils to rise to the water surface. Immediately before removing the fish, potatoes and onions, the “Master Boiler” tosses #1 fuel oil into the fire below the kettle, resulting in a tremendous burst of flame that forces the kettle to “boil over,” signaling the beginning of a wonderful dining experience. –Laurel Ciohon