Cooking Fish

[SKCM2006]

Ok, My son is very confident that he is going to catch at least one of his suppers from one of the many ponds. Does anyone have any recommendation as to how to cook his catch and what additional supplies I should be packing?

Thanks

Russ

[ken999]

For Brookies...

Butter, Lemon Pepper seasoning, salt and aluminum foil.

Clean the fish and place on the foil. (it helps to sprinkle some seasoning on the foil first as it gives the slimy fish something to stick to...) Sprinkle salt and seasoning all over and inside the fish. Put a pat of butter in the fish and a couple outside...don't be bashfull with the butter, worry about the cholesterol when you get home.

Carefully pull two edges of the foil together over the fish and neatly fold down onto the fish. Then fold each end carefully to the fish. The object here is to get a good sealed "pouch" to cook the fish in. You don't necessarily need a huge peice of foil, but it's easier if you don't try to use the bare minimum either. If the trout are in the 6-8" range you can do two or three at a time.

Get a good fire going then rake out a nice bed of coals to cook on...a half hour or so should do it...once the meat flakes apart easily with a fork, it's time to eat!

Good luck!

[Kevin]

Ken, I've been wondering exactly how to cook a brookie since I recently started fishing for them. Thanks!

[ken999]

No problem Kev...good luck to you too.

I should add:

It doesn't hurt to use a second piece of foil for an extra tight seal. Simply place the above "face" down on another piece of foil and repeat the process. Flip the trout over every few minutes to prevent burning.

[lumberzac]

Growing up I use to pan fry trout. I would bread the trout with dry pancake batter and fry the trout in a pan with a little bit of vegetable oil. Cook until the meat basically falls off the bone. This also worked well with bullhead.

I've also grilled them similar to the method to ken999, only minus the lemon pepper and adding lemon juice.

[Ordin Aryguy]

Butter tastes better, but in camping situations cooking oil keeps better. No refrigeration req'd. As long as the heat of cooking is kept at something less than "flamethrower", olive oil would be my choice, but that is often hard to regulate when cooking over a bed of campfire coals. Canola oil, with it's zero added flavor, is also a good choice for mild, delicate fish.

Bring a lime (anything a lemon can do, a lime can do better) to spritz on the fish just before serving.


Ordin

[Wildernessphoto]

A good trick for getting the meat off the bones of smaller size fish is to boil the fish till the meat falls off the bones, discard the skeleton, drain the meat and make it up using your favorite recipe.

[bridgeman]

Pat frying small brook trout rules. Get the oil good and hot (almost smoking). Mix up some bisquick, flavored with salt and pepper, with water and thoroughly coat cleaned fish (leave the heads on for added affect). Place fish in fry pan and cook to golden brown, only 3 to 5 minutes each side depending on size of fish.
The key to removing the bones is to not overcook the fish. To remove bones, roll the head upwards and back toward the tail while separating the bottom fillet from the bones with a fork. Flip fish over and repeat.

[Volte]

For added flavor stuff the cavity with fresh basil, then bake in foil like Ken999 suggested, or pan fry as Lumbzac did as a child.

[serotonin]

For trout, I like pan frying the best. If no pan is handy, the foil-method would probably be my next choice. I like the crispy skin from the frying. Haven't been able to attain that w/foil. The sealed packet more or less seems to steam the fish. Ken, do you know any tricks for getting a crispy skin w/the foil packet...?

Ancient Adirondack secret; something called 'Blue Trout'. Do Not wash the protective slime off a brookie. Don't even rinse the body cavity. Pan fry it, and it turns Blue.

I agree w/bridgeman... it's important to get the oil HOT. If I hear the fish sizzle throughout the entire cooking, I know it's gonna be how I like it. Butter will burn at those temps, but throwing in a couple pats before it's done is NICE.

I like all the seasoning suggestions above. Fresh dill is good too. An egg-wash w/yolk, can give the skin a nice crispness, but isn't really necessary.

We always leave the heads on (remove the gills), unless the fish won't fit in the pan. I usually won't keep any trout over 12 inches, so that's generally not a problem.

Cooking big trout 16-26 inches don't taste too good to me, but once or twice a year i'll keep a big pig and my brother will smoke it. It can be Immaculate. I've seen strict vegetarians unable to resist it. The smoking works good on small ones too, and smoked trout can be a nice trail- or stream-side treat. I doubt that anyone will be doing any trout-smoking in the woods on a camping or fishing trip, but i'd like to meet someone who does.

[wbwells]

Smoked Trout at Camp

Dig a hole and put some Flat Rocks on the bottom and sides
Build a Fire in the Hole (not Huge but good one)
Let Burn down to coals
some wood chips for smoke flavor
Layer of damp moss or green leaves and moss on top of coals and wood chips
Fish on the moss
more moss or leaves on the fish
cover with no more than 1 inch of dirt
poke some vent holes down in from the top
WAIT FOR 1 1/2 hour or so
Dig up and eat YUM!!!

WBW

[SKCM2006]

WOW! These are some really good suggestions... .but what if we catch something different that trout?

Russ

[serotonin]

WBW... How 'bout that! Ask and you shall receive!

For some reason I never asked my brother (the butcher) how to do it deep in the woods. FWIW, he agrees that your technique will produce excellent results.

Thanks wbw! Guess what i'll be doing soon... (I ain't gettin' kicked off no mountain, GBS!).

As an aside, my bro suggests that if someone is on an Extended trip, and preserving the fish is of importance, soak the fish in curing salts prior to smoking. Stay out there long enough and you'll surely see Noah and Louie. Johnny Leaf too!

[serotonin]

WOW! These are some really good suggestions... .but what if we catch something different that trout?

Russ

Good question.
(it's been a while for me. ...stricken w/trout fever).

Who's got a good bullhead recipe?
How 'bout panfish and pike and pickerel...?
What's the deal w/taking the skin off the pike?

[wbwells]

Smoked Fish In Camp

WOW! These are some really good suggestions... .but what if we catch something different that trout? 

Works for all kinds of Fish The Time is well kinda dependant on the thickness of the Fish The procedure is for 12 to 16 inchers 4-6 six fish

If ya try 2 layers of fish increase the time and expect the bottom ones to be really done and the top ones well maybe sushi??? 1 layer is the Best way to do this.

wbw