Tours Travel

History of Wisconsin and Milwaukee Fish Fry

The Friday Fish Fry has been a tradition in Milwaukee and the rest of the state of Wisconsin for many years. Almost every bar, restaurant, tavern or pub has one. All kinds of fish are offered, including native ones such as perch, cod, bluegill and walleye, but others such as catfish, smelt, pollock, haddock and even grouper are now also on offer. You can get the fish fried, pan-fried, battered, dusted with flour or cornmeal, or baked, but no matter how you like it, but the all-you-can-eat favorite is. We love our fish.

But how did this tradition start? Why only in Wisconsin? Why fish? Why all you can eat? Well, after digging into Wisconsin history a bit, we may find some answers. The story begins in the Milwaukee area in the late 1800’s for two reasons, beer and religion. Yes, thanks to German, Polish, and Italian immigration to Milwaukee who brought their Catholic beliefs with them, religion has a part in the tradition.

The Germans brought in brewers from the old country who found a great source of water (and a source of ice for shipping) and a grain-growing center in the US to provide an ideal location for brewing. Small breweries sprang up throughout Wisconsin to provide locally brewed beer to immigrants from Europe who were used to good beer. Some of these brewers like Fredrick Miller, August Pabst, Joseph Schlitz and Valantin Blatz went on to produce giant breweries that made Milwaukee the beer capital of the world.

These breweries were giants and produced not only sprawling breweries in Milwaukee, but competition from these breweries led to the construction of huge hotels and many opulent “breweries” that were very exclusive places to socialize and of course have a pitcher of beer. beer. In addition to these hotels, these breweries built amusement parks to help establish their early brand with the next generation of beer drinkers.

Pabst owned the Whitefish Bay Resort on the corner of Ardmore Ave and Henry Clay St in Whitefish Bay, which had an amusement park attached to it. In competition with Schlitz at the time. Pabst wanted a way to attract more people to the resort, and since Lake Michigan had so much cheap white fish, they decided to offer cheap white fish on Friday nights. It was a success. People soon flocked to Whitefish Bay amusement park and resort on Fridays and later weekends for fried fish, and soon after Schlitz and others followed suit.

Breweries owned many of Milwaukee’s taverns and restaurants and soon saw an opportunity to offer fried fish as bait to sell more beer. By keeping the price low on the cheap fish dinner, he drew people to his branded bars and consumed his beer, further cementing the brand with Milwaukeeans. They then switched to free fish lunches to further instill their brand and build loyalty. A free fish meal and a couple of pints of beer will do just that for the workers at the time.

The dry law put an end to beer, although some taverns survived by maintaining the tradition. As restaurant and bar owners needed to keep customers coming back, they extended the days that fried fish was offered and made it a family thing. This helped cement fish frying as a tradition. Fortunately, the ban ended and ice cold beer could soon be served again.

Fish fry was offered on Fridays as an alternative to meat by abstaining in observance of Catholic tradition. This eventually got him out of the bars and restaurants where he had become so popular and he started showing up at local churches as well. Originally it was probably started to offer parishioners an alternative to fried fish in taverns and bars, but it also allowed families to take part in a family activity, but also built close bonds between the church and its members. This tradition remains strong to this day.

Many churches offer fish fry on Fridays, and many more participate during Lent. Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and runs through the forty days before Easter (not counting Sundays), is meant to be a time of reflection and letting go. It was originally a time of fasting, but since forty days is a bit long for most people without eating, it was reduced to not eating meat on Fridays. Fish turned out to be a perfect alternative. During Lent, many restaurants and some churches and bars also offer a fish fry on Wednesdays also starting on Ash Wednesday. This allows people to have another day to enjoy the fish and not have to face such long lines that are typical in most restaurants and churches.

The most popular fish options are perch, walleye and cod, although many other options are now offered as well. You can get your fish seasoned, dipped in flour, and pan-fried. You can also opt for a thicker beer batter made with flour, eggs, and beer and then fried. Although much of today’s fish fry is fried, frying didn’t really start until the 1950’s when commercial fryers were invented and made it possible for small bars and restaurants to offer fried fish. Until then, most of the fish was pan-fried. Not only was this a popular way to enjoy fish, but it was also a great way to be able to cook fish in larger batches and be able to serve more hungry diners.

Milwaukeeans probably don’t know who Louis Hirschinger is, but they owe him a big thank you for bringing the other half of the tradition to Milwaukee: the all-you-can-eat fish fry. Louis, who along with his wife Ruth owned the Tanner Paull restaurant in West Allis, and after visiting a small East Coast restaurant on a business trip discovered an all-you-can-eat chicken dinner. He was fascinated by the idea and thought he would try the same thing at his Milwaukee restaurant with just fish. It was a huge success and cemented all-you-can-eat fish fry as one of Milwaukee’s favorite traditions.

Milwaukee fish fry has its roots in both religion and brewing brought by German immigrants. Along with their beer, their culinary traditions helped shape what has become the other part of the tradition. Accompanying the fish in a traditional German fish fry are potato pancakes, applesauce, coleslaw, rye bread, and tartar sauce. They are still found in many restaurants or at least side options, but chips have become the go-to side for most fish fry now in so many bars, taverns and pubs.

Wherever you go in Wisconsin, you’ll be able to find a fried fish of one kind or another. If you’re visiting Milwaukee or Wisconsin for the first time, you really need to join in on the local lore and try one. If you live there, you are always on a quest to find the best. It can be an endless but delicious search. For a complete list of all the fish fry in the Milwaukee area, go to the Milwaukee Fish Fry Guide