Minnesota foods to try: hotdish, Juicy Lucy, walleye and wild rice

Minnesota cooking has a reputation for being plain, and that reputation misses the point. The state's dishes come from long winters, from Scandinavian and German settlers, from lakes full of fish and from a native grain that grows in shallow water. A visitor who knows what to order will eat well. Here are the dishes most often named as Minnesota's own, what each is and where to look, and how to order without being embarrassed by a local.

What is hotdish?

Hotdish is the Minnesota word for a casserole. It is a baked dish of ground beef, canned cream-of-mushroom or cream-of-chicken soup and vegetables such as corn or green beans, with a topping of tater tots. It is church-basement food: served at funerals, potlucks and family suppers, easy to make for a crowd. It is not usually found on restaurant menus, but some restaurants offer a version, and community events and fundraisers serve it. If you are invited to a potluck, eat the hotdish and compliment the cook.

What is a Juicy Lucy?

A Juicy Lucy is a burger with the cheese inside the patty, so that it melts into a molten center. Two south Minneapolis bars both claim to have invented it. The spelling is disputed too, with one account saying a misspelled sign in the 1950s started the habit of leaving out the second letter. Many Twin Cities restaurants now serve their own versions. The key rule is to wait before biting, since the cheese is very hot, and the burger is made to burst. Let it sit for a minute. Bite from the edge, not the center, and expect to need napkins. Variations include versions with jalapeno, bacon or different cheeses inside, and some restaurants offer a veggie patty. A fair comparison between two bars is a good evening's work.

What is walleye?

Walleye is a freshwater fish and the Minnesota state fish. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and white flaky meat. It is served as a fillet, fried in a light batter, broiled or pan-fried, and often appears at lakeside restaurants and fish fries. It is also on the menu at the state fair, in several forms. Ask if the walleye is wild-caught from Minnesota waters or from elsewhere, since supply varies. A traditional fish fry on a Friday evening is a good place to try it, with coleslaw and a baked potato.

What is wild rice?

Wild rice is not rice but the seed of an aquatic grass native to the Great Lakes region, harvested by Indigenous communities for centuries. It has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture. In Minnesota it appears in soups, salads, stuffings and hotdish. Wild rice soup, often with cream and chicken or mushrooms, is a classic on a cold day. When you buy it, ask about the source, since hand-harvested wild rice differs from paddy-grown rice.

What is lutefisk?

Lutefisk is dried whitefish soaked in lye, then rinsed and cooked, and its name means lye fish. It ties to the Norwegian and Swedish communities of the state, and church suppers serve it around the holidays with butter, potatoes and lefse, a soft flatbread. It is a food people either love or avoid, and many Minnesotans of Scandinavian descent still eat it once a year as a tradition. If you are curious, try it at a church supper, where the cooks know how to make it.

What are other Minnesota specialties?

A few more dishes appear on menus and at fairs.

• Lefse: a thin potato flatbread, served with butter and sugar.
• Bars: sweet squares, such as lemon bars and caramel bars, a staple of church potlucks.
• Cheese curds: a snack found at fairs and bars across the Upper Midwest.
• Walleye on a stick and other fair foods, which change each year.

Each is worth a taste if you get the chance.

Where do you find these foods?

Hotdish and bars turn up at church suppers, community events and some diners. Juicy Lucys are found in bars and burger restaurants across the Twin Cities. Walleye and wild rice are at lakeside restaurants, in northern towns and at the State Fair. Lutefisk suppers happen in autumn and early winter at churches and lodges, and tickets are often sold in advance, so check the schedule. Small-town cafes often have a daily special that is local.

How do you order without trouble?

Be curious and polite. Ask what the cook recommends. If a dish is unfamiliar, order a small portion first. Do not make jokes about bland food to a cook who has made hotdish for forty years. Tip about 18 to 20 percent of the pre-tax total at a table-service restaurant. Menu prices do not include Minnesota sales tax.

How do you keep a record of your Minnesota tasting?

Make a list of the dishes you want to try across the state and rate each one after you eat it. Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing places to eat, and it rates by the dish, so a Juicy Lucy compared across three bars, or a wild rice soup from the north and the south of the state, tells you more than any ranking.

Tag the hotdish you ate at a church supper and the walleye from a lakeside fish fry, share your list with an invite link and follow friends who grew up here, since they know which dishes are the real thing.

Rate your first Juicy Lucy in the Mosey app.

More guides to read next:

• Minnesota State Fair food guide: what to eat and how to plan a visit
• Minnesota State Fair food guide: new foods and where to start

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.