# Cooking Trout



## Deja vu (Jul 9, 2016)

finally got the fishing bug again and launched the paddle boat to catch a few trout for dinner. I did everything i know to make them taste good but have a hard time getting them down and wish they taste like bream.
I skinned and filleted them , rinsed them well , battered and fried but they just never taste good to me.
so help me to like them , any idea's ? soak them in milk ? add anything ? I generally hate baked fish but sure would like to hear some recipes .
caught on a clear Matrix Shade


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

Blackened ain't bad, enough spices and ya can't taste the fish, just the worms.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

Deja vu said:


> finally got the fishing bug again and launched the paddle boat to catch a few trout for dinner. I did everything i know to make them taste good but have a hard time getting them down and wish they taste like bream.
> I skinned and filleted them , rinsed them well , battered and fried but they just never taste good to me.
> so help me to like them , any idea's ? soak them in milk ? add anything ? I generally hate baked fish but sure would like to hear some recipes .
> caught on a clear Matrix Shade
> View attachment 1081601


If you can’t eat it fried chances are your not gona like it know Matter how it’s cooked


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## Mac1528 (Mar 24, 2012)

Believe it or not, Grandparents we're old Germans and any leftover fish got pickled, she even had a special dish for it. She cooked it several different ways, never breaded. As leftovers being pickled it was always great, no matter what species of catchable/edible fish, except mullet! 

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## jaster (Oct 7, 2007)

Only way I like it is battered in spicy chicken fry and fried!

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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Just remember the bigger trout, 17" + start tasting fishier because of its diet. Try the barely legal ones.
Or just catch black snapper.


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## DMC (Nov 28, 2010)

Soak in lemon juice. It will take a lot of the fishy taste out. I just learned this a couple years ago. Just rinse good. Had a man from Louisiana tell me to use mustard. I want eat dish unless fried. 
One of the reason I don't eat mullet. I haven't tried the lemon juice on them.


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## TheBeeDeeGee (Oct 3, 2017)

I must have something wrong with me because I can eat them baked with a little butter and Tony C's. 

...but I'll eat bluefish too


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

TheBeeDeeGee said:


> I must have something wrong with me because I can eat them baked with a little butter and Tony C's.
> 
> ...but I'll eat bluefish too


Fresh blues are good. They don't freeze worth a damn though.


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## silverking (Feb 11, 2010)

Cut filets into length-wise strips with the skin removed. Lay on strips of bacon (pork or turkey) and roll together. Pin with a couple toothpicks. Brush with EVOO, dust with Italian or your favorite seasoning and put on a hot charcoal grill. Use tongs to turn. When the bacon gets crispy on the edges, the rolls are ready. The bacon adds flavor and retains moisture. Serve with some rice and a salad and there's dinner.


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## Walton County (Aug 23, 2016)

TheBeeDeeGee said:


> I must have something wrong with me because I can eat them baked with a little butter and Tony C's.
> 
> ...but I'll eat bluefish too


I am with you on this. I prefer trout 10:1 over redfish. Also, If I am keeping fish to eat, I will eat bluefish as well.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

DMC said:


> Soak in lemon juice. It will take a lot of the fishy taste out. I just learned this a couple years ago. Just rinse good. Had a man from Louisiana tell me to use mustard. I want eat dish unless fried.
> One of the reason I don't eat mullet. I haven't tried the lemon juice on them.


I was taught a trick to wipe down fish with lime let it sit for a min or 2 it takes the off putting taste off the fish. works really well on fish that has been froze.


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## Lyin Too (Aug 31, 2009)

__





Paul Prudhommes Louisiana Kitchen – vintage.recipes







vintage.recipes


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## lettheairout (Mar 11, 2008)

If you can't make a saltwater fish taste good then you aint doing something right. I've fed folks trout that never had it before. They grew up eating bass n blue gill. They all enjoyed the trout way more then a bunch of fishy tasting blue gill. My kids will eat about any fish from saltwater but won't touch freshwater fish except a nasty catfish. Filled, salt, pepper and Cajun spice. Egg wash then dredge in either panko, or crushed pork rinds. Heat oil in cast iron and fry them puppies up. 

Prostaff member for Old Crow Custom Calls.


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

Some people I fish with say I'm a bit fanatical when it comes to harvesting fish; however, if they don't taste good then what's the point of keeping them? Plus, I've found that this method actually improves the texture and taste of every species of fish that I keep. So, here goes my $0.02.

Either bring them home still alive or have the ability to create an icy bath on your boat for the fish you plan to keep.

If you're going to harvest them on the water make a mix of ice and seawater in the cooler or live well with enough seawater to make a slurry. Make sure to have enough ice on hand to add to the mixture as it melts.
If at home, still create an icy solution (I use some older Igloo coolers) and give them sufficient time to die before cleaning. 
And, speaking of the kill - the Japanese have a method called "Iki Jime" where they spike the brain, spike the spinal cord, and bleed the fish. Based on my personal research, the fish DO taste better. The Iki Jime can be difficult and tedious to perform, so I cheap out and just clip the gills and let them bleed out in an ice bath.

Give the fish sufficient time to thoroughly chill out - I'd say an hour is sufficient, but may take longer - I usually wash the boat, clean up, drink a few cold ones, and then clean the fish last. Just be sure you keep them in an ice bath until you're ready to clean them.

The next thing I do is highly contested and often debated: do not let any tap water hit the flesh of the fish! Tap water contains things like chlorine, fluoride, and other chemicals and they will impart a flavor on the fish. So, no tap water.

Fillet the fish, flip it over and remove the skin and bones, then put the clean fillet directly in a Ziploc bag. I have a few different sized food prep trays and will make another ice bath in those trays to set my Ziploc bags of fillets into.

Once I'm done - I put the Ziploc bags in the bottom drawer of the fridge and top it off with more ice. 

Fish will keep in Ziploc bags in an ice bath in the fridge for about a week. If I don't eat them w/in a week then I'll vacuum seal and store in the deep freezer.


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## huntnflorida (May 24, 2008)

Latest issue of Garden and Gun magazine


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

60hertz said:


> Some people I fish with say I'm a bit fanatical when it comes to harvesting fish; however, if they don't taste good then what's the point of keeping them? Plus, I've found that this method actually improves the texture and taste of every species of fish that I keep. So, here goes my $0.02.
> 
> Either bring them home still alive or have the ability to create an icy bath on your boat for the fish you plan to keep.
> 
> ...


You do know the ice is all made from tap water, right?


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

this recipe is interesting. i read that you grill the fish with only salt and pepper, then add the sauce. never done this. looks like another cool recipe to try.
btw: why try to take away the fish flavor? do you try to mask chicken flavor? pork flavor?
jack


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## lettheairout (Mar 11, 2008)

DLo said:


> You do know the ice is all made from tap water, right?


He makes his own ice from the sea water. But don't you rinse you filets before seasoning?

Prostaff member for Old Crow Custom Calls.


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

I agree with 60hertz. I've also found that cold fish is easier to clean than warm (kept in a livewell) fish. Lately I've mainly been catching freshwater catfish. I keep them in (not on) ice with the drain plug open so they won't sit in water. I clean them the next day. I can't find a good way to bleed catfish except by cutting off the tail, which can be difficult on the boat.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

i was thinking about using rainwater that you could catch in a barrel under the eave of the house.
jack


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## Mac1528 (Mar 24, 2012)

DLo said:


> You do know the ice is all made from tap water, right?


Great observation, that's what I was thinking too... kem-i-kuhls

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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

commercial ice undergoes filtration that ”usually” removes the taste.

my ice makers also use filtration.

I also use seawater to make ice.

furthermore, my fish cleaning station and outdoor kitchen uses well water that undergoes annual testing and also has filtration.

Unfiltered tap water never touches my fillets


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

I piss in my fish box.


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## lettheairout (Mar 11, 2008)

Its still just a fish, that 99% of the time is gonna get fried in oil. It all taste the same. 

Prostaff member for Old Crow Custom Calls.


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## Deja vu (Jul 9, 2016)

MrFish said:


> I piss in my fish box.


 bet that kills the fish odor


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

60hertz said:


> commercial ice undergoes filtration that ”usually” removes the taste.
> 
> my ice makers also use filtration.
> 
> ...


9 times out of 10 ice is nastier than the water going to the machine. Don’t care what kinda filtration you have.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Deja vu said:


> bet that kills the fish odor


Makes them smell like asparagus.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

MrFish said:


> I piss in my fish box.


That’s cause your dick is too short to reach over the gunnels.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Splittine said:


> That’s cause your dick is too short to reach over the gunnels.


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## Mac1528 (Mar 24, 2012)

MrFish said:


>


Wait... She's trying to catch her soulmate









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## Deja vu (Jul 9, 2016)

sort of a tight knit bunch around here


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

Well, OK then. I guess I just start pee-ing on them...maybe that will get the rancid ice water taste out.

Hey look - in all seriousness...I DO have a serious "Problem" with keeping the fish I keep in as good as of a condition as I can before cleaning them. 

The days of throwing fish in a cooler with a couple of blocks of ice are over for me. Maybe it's all in my head, but fish just taste better when I follow this technique.

The original poster was asking for recipes to make trout taste better.

In MY opinion, making fish tasted better starts with the handling, care, and cleaning of them. That was my point.

Is my method a little extreme? Sure! But, hey - it's just what "I do" and if you have a better way that suits you better, then so be it. 

I think I'll go make a video of how to launch a boat now, or maybe how to get live bait from the tank at Petsmart??? Y'all watch out for the USS MA too - I hear Nicholas has it on the move again!

TTFN.


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## Deja vu (Jul 9, 2016)

I am soaking up the tips and using Ice seams to be the big one. true i didn't use ice which may have been part of my dislike of the fish however they were caught about 200 yards from my home , dressed and in the pan in under an hour. I will try again soon and bring Ice with me.


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