Recipes

Trout, with its moist salmon pink flesh is the most versatile of fish. It can be eaten raw (sashimi), smoked, baked, grilled, pan fried or just placed straight on the BBQ. Like all fish it should be eaten as fresh as possible, not overcooked, and prepared simply to enhance but not overpower its delicate flavours. It really is very hard indeed to make mistakes with trout.

There is no need to remove the scales from a whole trout, nor to take off the head. If the fish is not overcooked the flesh eases gently off the bones. The first test to check if the fish is cooked is to observe the eyes change from clear to pearly white. Then gently ease open the flesh in the thickest part of the fish and check Just comes away from the bone easily. Large trout, when either filleted or cut into cutlets, cook very quickly. Timing for cooking fish is always best done by eye and aroma - forget about clock timing except to give a very approximate estimate.

How about trying some of these recepies?

On the BBQ 1

Rainbow Trout 300-400 gram plate size whole fish

Moisten one side of a piece of foil with oil or butter, pop some herbs or spices into the cavity of the fish - try dill, oregano, ginger, lemon, pepper, fennel or even garlic. Wrap fish into a parcel and cook for 5 minutes on each side then test to see if cooked. Serve with fresh lemon wedges.

On the BBQ 2

Fillets or Cutlets

Moisten foil as above but also add a tablespoon of soy sauce and chopped spring onion or ginger. Cooking time could be only 2-3 minutes depending on the heat of the fire. Serve with soy sauce, chopped coriander or fresh spring onions. Wonderful served with steamed Chinese greens.

Frying

It is advisable to wipe fish or fillet dry and roll in plain flour. Shake excess flour from fish. Simply fry very gently in hot oil or a mixture of oil and butter for about 5 minutes each side. Drain well before serving with lemon wedges.

Trout with almonds

Cook trout by baking, frying or grilling on BBQ. Chop up some bacon, fry until crispy then remove and drain. Fry peeled whole or chopped almonds in the bacon fat until golden brown, then drain. Sprinkle the almonds and bacon over the cooked fish and serve with lemon wedges to the side. This dish could be accompanied by steamed beans or asparagus, and baby boiled potatoes tossed with butter and chopped parsley.

Grilled trout on skewers

Chop fillets into bite sized pieces. Soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes. Thread pieces of fish onto skewers and brush with teriyaki sauce. As an alternative you could brush with lime juice or a 50/50 mixture of lemon juice and honey. Grill over a very hot fire. Serve on a bed of stir-fried vegetables and steamed rice.

Smoked trout fillets

Steve's special recipe

Prepare a good hot coal fire in a smoker, or a weber with a lid. Rub fillets generously with salt then cover with honey and allow to marinate for one hour. Place wet young green wood or chips onto coals to create smoke. If you can find any wood from fruit trees such as peach, cherry or apple you will have a fantastic flavour. Do not use wood from citrus trees. Cook fillets in smoke for about half an hour. Serve warm or cold with lemon or horseradish sauce.

Pasta with smoked trout

Smoked trout makes a wonderful sauce for pasta. Melt a good dob of butter in a heavy-based frying pan. Crumble 300 grams of cold smoked trout into the butter and gently warm through. Pour in 300 ml of cream and warm without boiling. Spoon over drained pasta and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a crunchy green salad.

Baking

Trout of any size can be baked in the oven but make sure the oven has been pre-heated to 180 degrees C. Cooking time varies from 15 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the fish.

Simple fish bake

1 kg Rainbow Trout

Grease a ceramic dish with oil or butter. Add half a cup of dry whit wine. Slip in fish and spread lemon slices over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cooked. Reduce any pan juices in a small pan then ladle over the fish before serving. You can add side dishes such as toasted almonds, crushed macadamia nuts, coriander, chopped dill or chives and lemon wedges. Serve with a variety of steamed vegetables and potatoes baked in their jackets.

Trout in newspaper

Fill the fish cavity with plenty of fresh green herbs - sage, oregano, thyme, parsley, etc - and one clove of garlic crushed. Wrap each fish in 3 layers of newspaper, more for larger fish. Soak the parcel thoroughly in water and cook in pre-heated oven (180 degrees C) or over the BBQ, for approximately 30 minutes. When newspaper is dried out cut and peel it away. The skin will be attached to the newspaper and come away from the flesh. Wonderful with corn on the cob and tomato or noodle salads.

Steamed trout

Very gently dab a large (1 kg+) fish dry with kitchen paper. Score three or four cuts along the sides of the body and insert slices of ginger in each cut. Rub lightly with sesame oil and sprinkle with chopped spring onions. Steam for 30-45 minutes until cooked and serve with soy sauce and a generous handful of chopped coriander or spring onions. Serve with plain steamed rice and steamed Chinese vegetables.

Freezing

If you are unable to eat your trout within 2 or 3 days of the catch it is wise to freeze it. Texture and flavour is barely affected if it is tightly wrapped in cling wrap before being placed in freezer bags. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.