May 07, 2014

Let's all Shout for Trout!

trout image
image: wikipedia

Ok, so that's maybe not quite as catchy as the "we all scream for ice cream" thing.

But here's the thing: trout is a pretty darn awesome fish, for reasons I will bore you with below.

Usually my main gripe with it is that it's hard to find in my 'hood and can be really expensive, but I've been pleased to see it at Trader Joes lately.  And while it's not cheap (about $9 a pound), it's been cleaned up and made into nice neat fillets.

trout from tj's

So, no guts or tiny bones or sad dead judgemental fish eyes staring at you creeping you out!

Anyway, why am I so taken with trout?

Trout: Nutritious and Packed with Omega-3's 



OK, so it doesn't have quite as many Omega-3's as salmon, but it's on the short list of high-omega 3 fish, with about a gram per 100 g serving. There are approximately 750,000 reasons to get enough Omega 3's, especially the kinds that you can only get in fish and not plants.  It's best to get them in your diet naturally, as supplementing is starting to get more controversial especially at high levels.

(Troubling Omega 3 research, as you may recall from Tiffany Reiss's online health research post: Monkeys and Omega 3Excess Omega 3Fish Oil and Prostate Cancer)

Yet every week there's some new study pointing to various health benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids; the last one I saw says omega 3's help you sleep.

Other trout nutritional benefits include high protein and a much healthier fat profile than most slabs o' meaty things you might put on a plate.

Trout is Sustainable, Not Full of Poisons, and OK to buy Farmed if You Ain't Much of an Angler


vintage woman fishing

The folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch (and they seem to be the go-to source for this sort of thing) give farmed rainbow trout a "best choice" designation.  And there is a link there to a long-ass rainbow trout report if you want more details.

The Seafood Watchers note that U.S. rainbow trout is "farmed in an ecologically responsible way," whereas many wild steelhead trout populations are endangered or threatened. And they've found that "management of the rainbow trout aquaculture industry is effective and well regulated, with widespread use of best management practices."

Taste: Salmon Too Fishy? You Still Might Like Trout


So I won't lie, it still tastes like fish, but it's got a much milder subtler flavor than salmon, and I am totallly diggin' it these days. Salmon feels like a "yeah it's good for me I'll eat it" meal a lot of the time, while Trout is a Treat! And yeah, I know trout is a kind of salmon, but whatever.  It tastes better.


Easy to Prepare, Apparently, 'Cause Even I Do, and I Can't Cook for Shit


Isn't it cool that the clever folks at Trader Joes know exactly who they're dealing with here, and the contents of a package fits perfectly on a foil-lined toaster oven pan?

raw trout

I thought about making a sauce of lemon and capers and greek yogurt, because I did that once before and it worked, but I felt too lazy.  So this was just salt and pepper.

I put the toaster oven on broil, and went to google a few trout links and somehow ended up on AfterEllen.com catching up on lesbian celebrity gossip and by the time I noticed that Jody Foster's wife is pretty darned hot, the fish seemed to be done!

Yeah, this is so not a cooking blog.

simple broiled trout


It pairs nicely with my specialty dish "Super Shriveled Asparagus." Which I actually like but I'm thinking the info on how to make it will not exactly be in high demand.




Real Trout Recipes for Real Cooks

I could use some help on this, because many of these seemed more elaborate, complicated,  and overly rich with high-saturated fat additions than seems necessary. On the other hand, some of you have gourmet cooking skills and like to do fancy entertaining or are paleo people more open to eating copious amounts of butter than I am, in which case, have at it!

But if anyone knows a healthy food blogger who has a good trout recipe, let me know and I'll add it in here. Or if you've got one to share, please email it to me!


But What's The Deal with Trout Skin? Are You Supposed to Eat it? I Don't, Ewww!



Do any of you eat trout or have a recent favorite food you've fallen in love with?

36 comments:

  1. I love rainbow trout. Best ever is fresh caught done in a frying pan over a campfire, but your way has merit. I would totally eat it like that. Ah, dang it, Crabby, you make me want to go fishing and it's too cold.

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  2. Thank you for the cooking lesson. It was informative. But I prefer to obtain my seafood from the back lot at the Baltimore Aquarium. Leftover Orca giblets are delicious.

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  3. I'll take the asparagus, but not the trout. Even before I went veg fish never did much for me.

    I made a salad this week with spinach, strawberries, avocado and blue cheese. OH MAN is it so good. So many tasty ingredients together.

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  4. On the rare occasions when I can find fish that's either fresh (NOT thawed which is what I find mostly here in central Kentucky) or frozen in pieces that one person can eat, I put it under the broiler with a slosh of lemon juice on it, and salt it when it comes out. If I'm eating fish, I want to taste fish, or what's the point?
    (Leah, the first fish I caught was when I was six.It was barely big enough to feed one six-year-old. We took it home to my grandmother's and one of the grownups cleaned it and rolled it in cornmeal and fried it for me. I can still remember exactly how good it tasted.)

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  5. Our dock is back in the water. The boat won't be far behind and that means fresh fish frequently featured (alliterate much?) on the menu for the next several months.. yum!

    I do love trout (though our main lake catch is walleye) but my cooking experience is more with salmon. If you can get ahold of some cedar planks made for barbecuing salmon, I think that would be your best bet for not adding too much in the way of fat. Soak the plank for an hour (or however long they suggest) and then season your fish the way you like. Occasionally, you might want to baste with olive oil to keep it moist. And yes, we do eat the skin if it's crispy enough. :)

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  6. I like most white wish - but I'm not sure I've ever had trout - better try some!!!
    Love that you just cook it in the toaster oven so you don't have to heat up the whole kitchen.

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  7. True story. Back when we were first married, hubby and I lived in Idaho. A friend of ours gave us some fish. Being a southern girl, I knew all about cleaning fish so I cleaned them up. I saw that the skin was this orangish color. I knew for sure something must be wrong with the fish. I mean, all fish meat is white, right? I threw it all out and told hubby to tell his friend the fish were bad. Hubby informed me that it was salmon and it was supposed to be that color. DOH!

    But - I love me some trout, even the skin and the tail. I loved fishing for it when we lived in Idaho. It was the only thing that would get me out of bed at 4 am on the weekend.

    And yeah, Jody's wife is a looker!

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    1. Sorry...the meat was organish...not the skin.

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    2. Crabby McSlackerMay 8, 2014 at 9:13 AM

      OK, that's too funny LuckyMama! (And just recently I almost threw out some slimy asparagus I just bought from trader joes, before I thought to read the packaging and finally figured out they pre-coated with olive oil for cooking. DOH indeed!)

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  8. I would love eating fish if it didn't taste like fish and smell like fish. I wish there was a recipe for that, other than deep fat frying it.

    LynM

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    1. I don't think tuna tastes like fish, especially if you cook it a little longer.

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    2. Crabby McSlackerMay 8, 2014 at 9:15 AM

      Tuna sure as heck tastes like fish to me Dr. J! And Lyn, the Lobster is just like you on the fish question, so I usually eat mine solo.

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  9. Ok - so THREE delicious items in one post? 1 - the food 2 - Jody 3 - Her spouse. I'm hooked.

    Even though the only fish I eat is tuna in a packet (with the very rare exception of maybe overly cooked and hopefully dried out halibut at a restaurant), I'll give this a whirl :).

    Your description of it being less fishy than salmon combined with the notion that I could do this in my toaster oven makes me want to try this RIGHT NOW! I, too, will very infrequently eat FULLY cooked and BONED salmon - but not unless put in a situation where good manners demand such. So - this may just be a terrific new option!!

    One question though: did it get your place all stinky when you cooked it? Or just a slight waft.... And about how long did it take to cook?
    Thanks :)

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    1. Crabby McSlackerMay 8, 2014 at 9:18 AM

      Yes on stinky, and c'mon, "as long as it takes to google trout information and find out Jody Foster's new wife is hot" isn't specific enough cooking instructions? :) (Yeah, I forgot to look at the clock.)

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  10. Death Ride GrandmaMay 7, 2014 at 2:51 PM

    Love trout, love simple ways of cooking it so I actually get to taste it. And asparagus is great that way.

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  11. You have outed the trout! Now everyone will know what a great eating fish it is!

    As well as Rainbow, I really like Steelhead, it's more Salmon-like.

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  12. I need to meet the person that collects those talking trout and Billy Bass and the singing Christmas trees. That would be an interesting person.
    Eating Trout! No not after I've had a conversation with it. Too disturbing!

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    1. Crabby McSlackerMay 8, 2014 at 9:19 AM

      I almost went vegetarian after watching "Babe" so I know what you mean CIndy!

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  13. I don't really like trout much but have fallen in love with rice pudding boiled in sugar free cream soda. So warming, comforting & yummy! Love your blog by the way, great reading :-)

    Lisa @ www.losethatweightquickly.blogspot.co.uk

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  14. Unfortunately, my family is not much for fish. It's not something i mastered when learning to cook. Although i can do it now, but it's too late, they already don't want it. Oh, well.

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  15. Come on Crabby...you live part of the year in New England, get out on that boat on the lake and fish for trout yourself. Best to go in the early morning or dusk....they are temp sensitive.

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    1. Crabby McSlackerMay 8, 2014 at 9:21 AM

      I could handle the early mornings S.B., it's the killing the poor wiggly thing that makes it really unappealing. I'm the sort of hypocrite who can only eat animals if I pretend they have always just been lifeless supermarket products!

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  16. True story: I used to have a dog that would catch trout, plunge her head right under water and bite 'em. Then give them to me for praise...Now I'm grown and eat fish caught by humans, they are all delicious fried in bacon drippings. Mmmmm, now I'm hungry.

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    1. Crabby McSlackerMay 8, 2014 at 9:23 AM

      Wow AA, that sounds like a talented dog! If you could have just taught her to fillet and fry, you'd have been totally set!

      And mmmm, bacon-dripping trout sounds delicious!!!

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  17. I love trout but can't find it around me. Maybe this summer when I'm at my future in-laws in Minnesota we can go fishing for some.

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  18. Best trout is some you've caught yourself and fried up in cornmeal for breakfast, I agree with Mary Ann from Kentucky. I'm intrigued by the toaster oven idea, I would never have thought of that and will try it! Oh, and I do my asparagus that same way, and it's delicious. Fish and asparagus always go well together!

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  19. Clearly some of you guys are going to have to take me on a fishing trip!

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  20. I get lots of tiny bones which turn me off. Plus I'm late to the party/blog post.

    I don't cook it either. I order fish in restaurants as a rule.

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  21. Thanks for this. I eat salmon a lot and my husband loves trout but I never really knew how it compared healthwise! I like to cook by fish fillets in the toaster oven. I sprinkle them with Mrs. Dash and whatever other seasonings sound good. And then top them with very thin slices of lemon. An easy peasy healthy dinner in 15 minutes or less. And love your wrinkled asparagus. It's also one of my favorites. It may not be very photogenic but it is delicious and good for you!!

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  22. I will eat canned albacore tuna in tuna salad and cod done the fish and chips way. Period. Any other fish eating on my part is done under much duress. My hubby loves fish which is a problem for us. Fortunately for him there is a fresh fish market in town where they will prepare your purchase for you so I don't have to cook it and smell up the house. Now, if only I could get him to eat it in the car.

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  23. My Mom is from Newfoundland and her father was a fisherman. I grew up in Nova Scotia, where one is never far from the water. So I ate fish often while growing up, and I liked it, but I was always scared of buying and cooking it myself for some reason.

    Salmon, I am iffy on. Sometimes it's really good, and sometimes it is awful - I think it has to do with where it comes from - farmed vs. wild caught, maybe? I have ordered it in restaurants and not been able to eat it because it bore no resemblance to what I think salmon should taste like (based on what I had growing up), so I tend to avoid salmon.

    We do buy frozen haddock at Costco because I know I can cook that and we will both enjoy eating it. I usually marinate in fresh lemon juice for a few minutes, dredge in a coating of flour + cornmeal + seasonings, then fry in a non-stick pan in butter. I won't claim that it is 100% healthy, but it is easy to do and tasty.

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  24. i'm not a fish eater - although i will eat salmon and bland-as-can-be cod. :) but i enjoyed this post a lot. congrats on your POTW at hilary's!

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  25. I haven't had trout in years. Thanks for the Trader Joe's tip. I'll look for it next time I'm there.

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  26. Now only i hear about trout recipes.Thanks for sharing.

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  27. I love trout! I fry mine but I don't like the skin. As for the odor, one of the fish markets sell a cleaner called Ban-O. A little in a pot of boiling water kills any odor in your house.

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  28. Update. Unfortunately my Trader Joe's doesn't carry it. :(

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