How do you prepare and cook your trout while backpacking?

[rlown]

Um, I came upon this gem as a follow-up. This is TehipiteTom (well, his back), being the skeeter magnet for Mark. You'll notice in the pic that my pan is on the stove, there's a tortilla laying over my fuel can, as Mark makes the fish tacos. Mark's pan is still clean..

Chain Lks 2010 042.JPG

Seriously, it was wicked good.

[Wandering Daisy]

Last summer we had fish every night. We were only in an area that permitted fires on night. When cooking on my SnowPeak titanium stove (very small burner) I bring the large lid to my 3-pot nesting set, the small pot and the titanium frying pan. The large lid fits perfectly on the frying pan. I then put oil or butter in the pan and heat on very low flame- add the fish after the pot heats up, and put lid on tightly. I just let it simmer. You have to really watch it- the flame has to be continually turned down. I have a wind screen- not sure you can keep the flame low enough without a wind screen. The key is to have tight fitting lid. The fish is basically steamed. Not as good as outright fried, but better than boiled. You could do the same in a small pot with lid, but would have to really chop up the fish to fit them in. We never caught a fish big enough to need to be filleted. Without a lid the fish take forever to get fully cooked. I have never found cleaning the pot a problem. Just put a little water in it and heat it up, wash with fingers and wipe the grease with a few squares of TP. I have a larger and heavier teflon frying pan that I use if we are doing a dedicated fishing trip. A key to not having clean-up is to be sure the pot has some oil evenly spread and pre-heated before adding the fish and then really pay attention to the flame- keep it low, and you have to sometimes slide the pot around to get it hot enough on the edges. One problem is that the fish curl when heated. To mitigate this make several 1/2 inch cuts along the spine before putting them in the pan. Also, I find that butter and olive oil tend to burn but margarine or vegetable oil do not. Get the "real" margarine - not the fluffy stuff that has added water. You could even take Crisco for the fish. You need a clear oil, without milk solids or water, and one that has a high burn temperature.

[Herm]

Tehipite Tom looks like a favorite of the mosquitoes, but good for him, as he is out there among them. Certainly, that is how my back looks in mosquito season, as I too am a magnet for them.
Glad this topic keeps drawing responses, as it inspires me to cook trout caught in the high country. As I understand the foil in pan method, at least from these posts - it seems you all are using a dry pan, with an oiled and seasoned trout wrapped in foil. Is this effective with a MSR Simmerlite stove?
Cheers,
Herm

[Mike McGuire]

I normally like to wrap trout in foil, say with some spiced slivered almonds and cook them in the coals. However a couple of years ago there was a complete fire closure in Emigrant where we were, so that technique was out. However with three engineers in the party there was bound to be a workable solution, and here it is.

That was three gas stoves lined up underneath the grill. Took care to keep the fuel bottles well clear. Result was great, pretty much indistinguishable for cooking in the coals.

Mike

[funcrew]

My brother Cam and I have always laid the cleaned trout directly onto the coals with no prep. Obviously the cook time per side is determined by the size of the fish. Leaving the head on makes flipping by grabbing a lot easier. To serve, you peel the skin off and sprinkle garlic salt on the flesh. Then you slide each forkful off the spine and eat it.

Simple, tasty, and uses very little wood due to the direct contact with the coals. All of the wood ash peels off with the skin.

However, I'll be up above the fire line next week and will try the foil-wrap method. Thanks to all for posting your mad skilzzz!

[DSE]

Someone mentioned that they had purchased a titanium 10 1/2 inch frying pan weighing ~7 ounces. I've been trying to find a 10 inch titanium frying pan for backpacking with no luck. Can someone refer me to the website or store where you purchased the frying pan?

Thanks,

Doug

[maverick]

Hi Doug,

Welcome to HST! There are frying pans around, but none of them 10.5"/ 7 oz, and Markskor is not around to ask where he purchased his. Here is one of many companies that have titanium pans available: http://www.evernewamerica.com/non-stick-series/

When you find time, an intro would be appreciated here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9329

[rlown]

Markskor purchased his frypan decades ago mail order from Japan. Even he can't remember where he got it from.

[maverick]

Markskor purchased his frypan decades ago mail order from Japan.

Well there it is, all the companies I checked, non had anything close to 10". You may be able to find something on E-bay, good luck.

[SSSdave]

As the OP original poster, I ended the opening with:

I'll post some of my own ways later. ...David

But then noticed I never did respond to the thread later. So since someone just revived this 9 year old thread will have to make some input.

Next weekend 3 of us will be up at Twin and Island Lake in Desolation as our warm-up backpack this summer where we expect to put a few fish in the pan. Was just a week ago that I bought this years license ($48 !!!). Then another 3 weeks hence we will be out on a 9-day trip over Duck Pass to lots of lakes where I ought to find at least some time to pry myself away from photography and put a real dent in that purchase. My bro Joe's main interest is trout. In the mean time a couple images to get the rest of you in the mood this summer. These two image were from August 4, 2005 of some bigs we caught below Mt. Mendel that fed 5 of us with a big lunch. But briefly, our usual strategy is after trout are well done and relatively dry, to remove all the bones and skin and then mix the flesh in with rice.



and a bit later...