High Sierra Topix

@ rlown - couldnt possibly agree anymore re: trout cheecks - they're so tasty!

@ SSSdave - I keep the trout cooking simplistic - extravirgin oil in the pan & a light/desent
amount of lemonpepper inside (helping to mask that "innerds" taste. Other than that, nothing
else, I like the natural flavors of the different trout - and, IMHO, there is a difference in
flavors between the different trout species. Next year I wouldn't mind trying a different manner
of preparing trout; something simplistic, full of flavor, and relatively lightweight.

evan wrote:I keep the trout cooking simplistic - extravirgin oil in the pan & a light/desent
amount of lemonpepper inside (helping to mask that "innerds" taste.

What "innerds" taste? If a trout is cleaned properly, the innerds are gone.. anything you add at that point is to accentuate the positive flavor.. I'm guessing most have never tried the eggs?

Totally agree with olive oil. Not sure if the smoke point matters if you can control your stove.

You have sparked my curiosity - how do you cook/eat the trout eggs? Probably no
different than roe in the sushi rolls, Im guessing!

Its just an old cooking habit to put lemon pepper on the inside. Maybe in fact there may
not be any "innerds" taste but, I have never eaten trout that didn't have lemon pepper
generously coating the insides. Maybe I should try it without the lemon pepper some time -
to get the full natural flavor. I agree, adding things like lemon pepper, salt, etc is done
to enhance or "draw out" more flavor. Smoke from the oil has very seldom been a problem.
Like you said, you have got to know your stove and how to use it.

Like this.






Close to the source.

Perhaps this has already been asked but hopefully not. Since cooking in my pot above the tree line is a horrible mess of a job that leaves my titanium pot completely burnt I was considering the idea of putting the fish into a pot shaped foil and putting water into my pot and bringing it to a boil and allow the fish to sit in the foil and be cooked by the boiling water. Has anyone tried this? I figure if it works it will also keep the seasonings and oil with the fish.

Rogue...

The best trout I have eaten in the backcountry has been cooked by markskor. Once we cut an nice trout I caught into 3 big chuncks, mark seasoned and wrapped it in foil and cooked it in one of our backpacking pans over one of our msr stoves. I'm pretty sure he put a little olive oil on each of the hunks. Then he served the fish, perfectly deboned, to Kathy and I. We had some seasoned precooked rice and Kathy and Mark drank Coronas and I had a Black Butte Porter. It just doesn't get any better. Good food, good friends, good drink! And no pan to clean!

I really think that marks cooking and serving fish is one of the highlights of my 50+ years of backpacking.

Mike

Thanks Mike! That was some fine eats that day at Saddlebag!
Frying trout, at altitude - (no fires above 10,000), is almost impossible to do correctly over a backpacking stove. Hot spots, crusted pans, clean-up chores, fish not all the way cooked, breaking the fish when turning over...just not worth it (well, not exactly true, but a pain nevertheless.)

The whole trick is to carry a roll of tin foil - doesn't weight that much, and cures all the above woes simply and easily. (Oh, BTW, a good canister stove with a wide flame helps too...cannot do this on a pocket rocket type...recommend something like a MSR Windpro or similar)... Also, helps to have a light-weight, 10+ inch frying pan. I carry a 10 1/2 inch titanium one...~7 ounces - expensive but, IMHO, well worth the weight.

My "secret" recipe:
Cut off heads, leaving an exposed spinal column. Add a little garlic, spices of choice. maybe some Ritz Crackers or similar tucked inside the trout, add wild onions if found, maybe a spritz of lemon or orange juice...drizzle with a little olive oil, and wrap up fish loosely but sealed snugly in the foil. Cook the fish/foil packets slowly (as if you had a choice) in the frypan...3 or 4 will fit inside, and turn over 3 or 4 times...maybe 4 minutes each turn, depending on the size of the fish. If windy, an aluminum foil lid will also help retain heat inside of the pan. When done, open up the wrap, and grab the spine and peal the bones back...should come out clean, leaving 2 boneless slabs of meat.
At lower elevations, where fires are allowed, use the same foil technique but cook directly over hot coals spread out - no pan needed.
Pan stays clean - no scrubbing needed, and afterwards, you can dispose of foil/bones mess in trash, or burn it first and then carry the trash out.
Bon Apetit!

Sounds like some good fish.

So instead of a clean chop off of the head you cut it in a way that leaves some bone showing to give something to grab onto? I heard once of someone saying they pulled the bones out clean but I couldn't figure how they did it.

That is my plan this year to bring some foil and over a fire will be the best. I'm just worried with my pot because I wont have anything that fancy. Just a 1.3L pot with a frypan lid and a Snow Peak Litemax stove. It seems if I can put the fish into the foil in a way that will not get wet from boiling water it would be the best way to transfer heat. Putting foil straight into the pot as another layer would save clean up and my pot from burning but should still have the major hot spot problem.

I'll have olive oil, lemon juice and this assortment of seasonings.

I also will have packets of chipotle honey roasted green chile that may be nice on fish.

I think I've posted this pic before, but It demonstrates some of Mark's techniques. If you open the pic and zoom in on mark's right, you'll see three trout in the pan. If you zoom in on his left, you'll see 3 trout wrapped in foil waiting for pan space. You might also notice his pan (off to the right) is fairly clean and just sitting there, unused. Onions, oranges, lemons and spices all over the place. Rouge, you could always buy some fish and try the technique out at home before you go. The meat tends to shrink when cooked, so the bone is grab-able. lift and separate.

If I have fire, I will wrap the entire fish in foil with aforementioned condiments, build up a nice bed of coals, and bury them for about 10 mins (when you smell the trout, they're done) .

Like to point out a few other items of interest in the picture above -
My Rainbow TT behind...close to the kitchen...butler's quarters at Chain Lakes.
Standing behind is TehipiteTom, the great mosquito magnet. Notice me in shorts with nary a bug in sight - Tom on the other hand must have attracted them by the hundreds...genetics?
Finally, yes my frying pan is clean; after cooking for these HST fools, do you think I really wanted to clean up my own pan...when in doubt, use someone else's utensils to cook in.

BTW, does frying up trout make me look fat?