The Wisconsin Fish Boils With Michael Bay-Worthy Explosions

As someone who grew up under an hour from the Wisconsin border, on the Illinois side, Wisconsin was a magical getaway place filled with nature, water parks, quaint small-town traditions, and, of course, copious amounts of cheese. One of the most delightful parts of Wisconsin is Door County, a series of towns located on the peninsula in the easternmost part of the state. Surrounded by the shores of Lake Michigan, Door County is packed with waterside attractions and traditions including their epic fish boil.

Door County fish boils involve kerosene, a 10+ foot-tall fireball, and result in a deliciously simple meal featuring fresh-caught Lake Michigan whitefish. Paired with a local beer or Wisconsin-made wine, the fish boil is perfection on a plate. There is some disagreement on how these epic, pyro-technic fish boils first started with some crediting the Potawatomi tribe, indigenous to the area, and others crediting Scandinavian settlers who brought their fishy customs to Door County in the 1800s. Regardless of who started the tradition, it's still an event that delights locals and tourists alike.

Originally, these fish boils started out of necessity. They were a fast, effective, and easy way to feed the large groups of loggers and fishermen who lived and worked on the peninsula. But as the forests in the area dwindled due to the aggressive lumber industry, they set their sights (and saws) on other, more forested parts of the country. There was no longer a need for these massive fish boils, but the tradition persevered.

Sometime in the 1960s, the modern version of the fish boil, the one with Michael-Bay-like explosiveness began taking root. White Gull Inn, located in the aptly named town of Fish Creek, is one of the locations credited with popularizing the fiery inferno of a fish boil. While the visuals are indeed cinematic, the food is delicious in its simplicity. In order to pull off a successful fish boil, which we do not, under any circumstances, recommend you do at home (unless you happen to be a boil master living on the peninsula), all you need is an enormous metal kettle and an outdoor fire pit. Chunks of freshly caught white fish, baby red potatoes, and onions go into the heavily salted water. The salt brings the fish oils to the surface and when kerosene is sprayed on the fire under the kettle, the combustible combo causes the oily-fish-water to boil over, leaving a perfectly cooked, flakey white fish and a delighted crowd in its wake.