Bird Fish Fry is a tradition in Milwaukee and the rest of Wisconsin for many years. Almost every bar, restaurant, tavern or pub has one. All species of fish are offered, including local fish such as perch, cod, blueberry and pike perch, but others are offered now like catfish, smelt, pollock, haddock and even perch. You can get deep-fried fish, fried in a pan, fried in dough, whipped in flour or corn flour or baked, but however much you want to cook it, but the favorite is all you can eat. We love our fish.
But how did this tradition begin? Why precisely in Wisconsin? Why fish? Why all you can eat? Well, after some break into a small Wisconsin story, we can find the answers. The story begins in the Milwaukee area at the end of 1800 for two reasons: beer and religion. Yes, thanks to German, Polish and Italian immigration to Milwaukee, which brought with them their Catholic beliefs, religion has a part of the tradition.
The Germans welcomed brewers from the old country who found an excellent source of water (and a source of ice for shipping) and a growing grain center in the United States to provide the perfect place to make beer. Small breweries sprawled throughout Wisconsin to provide local beer for European immigrants were used for good beer. Some of the brewers such as Fredrik Miller, Augustus Pabst, Joseph Schlitz and Valantin Blatz continued the production of giant breweries that made Milwaukee the beer capital of the world.
These breweries were grown, and not only the Milwaukee breweries collapsed, but the competition of these breweries led to the creation of magnificent hotels and a multitude of luxurious “beer salons” that had very high-quality social spaces and, of course, had a beer. In addition to these hotels, these breweries created amusement parks to help establish their brand at the beginning of the next generation of beer drinkers.
Pabst owned the Bayfish Bay Resort at the corner of Ardmore Ave and Henry Clay St in Whitefish Bay, which had an attached amusement park. In competition with Schlitz at the time. Pabst wanted to attract more people to the resort, and since there were so many inexpensive whitefish on Lake Michigan, they decided to offer whitefish on the cheap on Friday night. It was a huge blow. People soon flocked to Whitefish Bay Amusement Park on Friday and Friday, and then on weekends for fry and soon after Schlitz and others also followed.
Breweries owned many taverns and restaurants in Milwaukee and soon saw an opportunity to offer fish as bait to sell more beer. While keeping a low price for an inexpensive fishy dinner, he brought people into his signature bars and consumed their beer, further strengthening the brand with the help of Milwaukeeans. Then they switched to free fish lunches to further instill their brand and create loyalty. Free fish meal and a pair of pints of beer will do it for the labors at the time.
The ban put an end to beer, although some taverns survived, keeping the tradition. As the owners of restaurants and bars needed customers to come back, they extended the days when they were offered to fry the fish and made the fish fry the family thing. This helped cement the heat of the fish as a tradition. Fortunately, the ban ended, and soon the cold, cold beer could again be served.
Fish fever was offered on Fridays as an alternative to meat when it refrained from observing the Catholic tradition. It ever took it from bars and restaurants, it became so popular and began to appear in local churches. Initially, he probably began to offer parishioners an alternative to fish in taverns and bars, but also allowed families to participate in family activities, but also established close ties between the church and its members. This tradition remains strong to this day.
Many churches offer roast Friday, and during Lent many others take part. Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and is governed forty days before Easter (not counting Sundays) and is intended for reflection and inaction. Initially, it was time quickly, but forty days a little for most people to watch when they go without food, it was cut to not eat meat on Fridays. Fish turned out to be a great alternative. During Lent, many restaurants, as well as some churches and bars also offer fishing on Wednesdays, also originating from Ash Wednesday. This allows people to have another day to enjoy the fish, and there is no need to venture on such long lines that are typical of most restaurants and churches.
The most popular fish choices are perch, pike perch and cod, although there are now many other options. You can spice up your fish, dipped in flour, and fried in a saucepan. You can also choose a thicker beer, cooked flour, eggs and beer, and then deep-fried. Despite the fact that most frys fish are deep fried today, deep frying did not really begin until the 50s, when commercial deep fryers, where they were invented, and allowed small bars and restaurants to offer deep fried fish. Until then, most of the fish was fried. It was not only a popular form for enjoying fish, but also a great way to cook fish in large batches and be able to serve more hungry visitors.
Milwaukeans probably don’t know who Louis Hirshinger is, but they owe him a big thanks for bringing the other half of the tradition to Milwaukee - all you can eat is fish. Louis, who together with his wife Ruth owned the Tanner Paull restaurant in the West Allis, and after visiting a small restaurant on the east coast during a business trip, he discovered that you can eat chicken. He was fascinated by this idea and thought that he would try the same thing in his restaurant in Milwaukee only with fish. It was a huge hit and cemented all you can eat fish, as one of the favorite traditions of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee fishing has its roots both in religion and in brewing bought by German immigrants. Along with their beer, their food traditions helped shape what became another part of the tradition. Accompanying fish in traditional German fishing - potato pancakes, apple sauce, cabbage, rye bread and tartar sauce. They are still found in many restaurants or, at least, are all side-effects, but french fries have become the party in which most fish are now found in many bars, taverns and pubs.
Wherever you go to Wisconsin, you can find some kind of fish fever. If you first visited Milwaukee or Wisconsin, you really need to join the local tradition and try it. If you live there, you are always looking to find the best. It can be a never ending but tasty search. A complete list of every fish grilled in the Milwaukee area can be found in the Milwaukee Fishing Guide
