Stocked Trout - do they eat well?

[Jeff]

Hi all,

I have been thinking ahead to the days when I will actually be catching trout for the pot and wonder whether the eating quality of the stock fish I'll be catching will be up to much...?

I ask this question as I think about the un-natural diet of pellets that these fish are fed before their release into the water...?

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Shrek]

They eat very well.

Our club water is regularly stocked and whether I bring home a new stockie or an older fish, they both taste good.

Hot smoked trout fillets are lovely and my favourite at the moment. However, I reckon that's only until I get a cold smoker then I'll be made up.

 

[chef]

hows the smoking going adrian? that book i couldn't remeber is called " home smoking and curing" by "Keith Erlandson" it covers just about everything but you may want to experiment with the smoking times
Tim

 

[Shrek]

One of the guys at my club lent me a copy of the book, along with the plans he used to build his own cold smoker.

Haven't got round to building the cold smoker yet, but the hot smoking is going very well indeed.

 

[Jeff]

Cheers Adrian,

That's reasuring to hear that as the fishing doesn't come cheap as we all know ;0)

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

Any trout that has been stocked, but has been in the water for some time and has had the chance to eat some natural food will taste nice.

Pink flesh is the sign of a good eating trout. I had one from Press Manor the other night and it was superb.

 

[NT]

Jeff,
Rainbow Trout with pale flesh aren't as tasty - they are usually like this early and late season when their minds are on other things. Most caught fish are better than supermarket fodder as they are fresher and have better tails. The trouts tail & fins will tell you a lot about their condition.

Neil.

 

[paul williams 2]

Adrian......is this cold smoker an easy project?

 

[Shrek]

One of the guys at my club has given me the plans he drew when he made his own cold smoker. Doesn't look too complicated to construct, it's finding the time to make it.

The thing to bear in mind though is that it takes about 24 hours to cold smoke something so you've got to keep smoke going in for that length of time.

Chef has had more experience with this than me so might be able to shed some more light on it.

Either way, it's cheaper to make one than buy one as cold smokers retail from ?250 upwards !!!!

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

A friend of mine in SA made a cold smoker. It wasn't very sophisticated by the trout we smoked were gorgeous and we did fish over 10 lbs.

The salting of the fish is more important. You use a mixture of potassium nitrate and sodium chloride. Put the fish in whole and after sveral days in the brine you fillet them and then smoke them. Although a bit crude, we were quite pleased with our efforts.

I gave a cocktail party at my house for over 40 people on one occasion and served some of my smoked trout. I was pleased with the complements.

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

Oh by the way I have just got back from Press Manor with three beautiful trout, all over 2 lbs.

The flesh of all fish was virtually bright orange in colour. They had been feeding on bloodworms, buzzers and daphnia.

 

[chef]

Days in a brine!
what % solution were you using ?
in an 80% brine (2lb 110z salt a gallon water) only needs a max of 3 hours ,no need for the saltpeter really unless dry salting and as it in the salt for such a short time not really needed, when wet brining dont wash fish after just hang at room temp for 24 hours to drip then smoke ,dry cure wash well then hang for 24 hours to drip then smoke.times for smoking will vary as to size and fat content i usually smoke overnight then have a look . leave fish 24 hours before eating then eat or freeze. frozen fish can be smoked to but reduce salting/brining times due to moisture lost when freezing

if you want to start smoking get the book
"Home smoking and Curing" by
"Keith Erlandson"
tells you how to build various smokers and smoke different meats

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

This was a long time ago and I have forgotten the exact details but the instructions told of the amount of salt and saltpetre plus the length of time needed for the curing. It was several days.

 

[Jeff]

I went fly fishing for the first time ever at Norton Fishery Essex on Saturday morning and caught a 3lb 2oz Rainbow!!!

As pleased as I was to catch it my feelings soon turned to disapointment when I cooked the fish. I found the fish to taste very muddy

 

[NT]

Jeff - Rainbows can taste muddy. Keeping them fresh and the cooking may improve their taste.
Once despatched, keep them in fish basses (a sort of woven bag that needs frequent wetting as they work by evaporative cooling) or in cool boxes with ice blocks if you can be bothered carrying them.
I either cook them in silver foil with butter, milk and herbs & seasoning at a hot oven for about 25 minutes at 200degC. Alternatively frying them in butter or bbq in them in a fish holder. Fish tend to have very little fat so you need to add a little butter and or milk. Don't over cook them - keep checking along the backbone for uncooked flesh.
If this doesn't work - dip the cooked trout in fresh lemon juice - and they taste great (although you can only taste the lemon)..
Neil.

 

[Jeff]

Cheers Neil,

I'm well up to speed with the cooking of fish etc, I am an avid cook ;0)

Nowadays I most enjoy the individual taste of the things I eat and hate to throw too much in the way of other flavours at my foods...

I cooked the trout so to tastes its delacate flavour but was disapointed with the result this time round ;0'

Cheers all the same.
Jeff