High Sierra Topix

In previous years our first choice was owboy cooking them over a fire, then if need be give some rawer spots a finish in the pot or lid with seasonings - if necessary carrying fish in the creel packed with snow from a high lake until we were down to 10k hah. We'd poach trout when above fireline with no easy drop to a fire ring, we'd remove the flesh into the pot lid then use the fish oil water for our dinner and reheat / cook any raw spots of the trout in the pot lid with some mix of EVOO (2oz nalgene), water to help steam and reduce lid sticking, true lime packet, .5oz nalgene of trader joes everyday seasoning, and a little fancy hickory salt to spread on top. That's fine for smaller fish, but gets tedious (and somewhat fuel intensive).

A non-outdoorsy relative got me this knife (https://kershaw.kaiusa.com/atmos.html) on sale at a Big5 (lolwut) and I really love it. It's a little thick for filleting, but I've been able to adequately fillet 12-14" trout with it and I've been using it to gut / cut up trout for the pot etc before that and a 3" blade that holds it's edge for 1.9oz is great (Gerber's LST uses **** steel). We just put those fillets in the lid and cook them the same way, which saves some time. Some broken bones obviously, but on larger fish that's less of an annoyance.

Minute rice and trout seems like a good idea, though with a bit of cook time to it for a butane stove (MSR pocket rocket works well for two, I was a dedicated cat stove guy going solo from 13-18).

The fish soup is something we'll try: http://highsierratopix.com/community/vi ... 26&t=13650

We did a half street kid pad thai with some trout and that worked well (maruchan ramen strained, some dehydrated peanut butter & coconut milk, and the included hrimp flavor packet added). Added a true lime packet to compensate for the lack of a second chili lime shrimp ramen.

PS - I had learned to fillet from the ribs first - this method works far more reliably for me (essentially doing it backwards): https://youtu.be/Y4fmA4Y9plY?t=64

A frying pan, olive oil, pepper, garlic, an orange to help with the sauce. Not a fan of rice. Used to take it but no more. We used to take fresh veg and add that as a side. Broccoli, Peppers, etc. We peel the fish after it cooks. No bones. Lift the tail and peel.. Done.

Yeah we peel after cooking when cowboy cooking over coals. Poaching has less bone bits left in, but it's more fuel burned so filleting for something over 12" works well enough (and we can just pick out the bones later for the most part).

I have the pot lid on our snow peak pot, but I can't fit an entire fish on it. I have packed out skillets when doing little 1 night trips in the SW with ridiculous dinners, but I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to that on a week+ trip in the high country. Also not a huge fan of rice... an orange is a really neat idea. Now I'm thinking about a short trip with fancy trout heh.

We did brook trout fish tacos on a trip up green creek last summer - put some cilantro in a paper towel, pack some onions and a half lime and corn tortillas.

I dislike mushy trout so do not like poached trout though that is WD's usual process. Our process is simple and have described such at length on this board in the past. Prepare fish cutting off head/tails/fins. Second make a half cup of Minute Rice in a pot. Third small frying pan with a modest amount of oil covered with aluminum foil that allows fry-baking. Flip and move about fish a couple times to cook thoroughly. Use needle nose pliers with fork to remove most bones. Open foil some at later stages to help dry out fish. Add rice into frying pan and stir. Open foil a couple times to help dry out. I usually just add salt as trout have a fine salmonid flavor as is though bro often makes his with seasonings.

Your post brings back memories of outdoor cooking adventures. It's impressive how you've mastered the art of preparing trout in various ways, even without traditional fires. Your resourcefulness in using the knife you mentioned and your methods for filleting and cooking trout are commendable. Thanks for sharing the link to that interesting fish soup recipe – trying new recipes is always a culinary adventure. If you ever decide to experiment further, you might enjoy adding this excellent pico de gallo recipe to your repertoire. Its vibrant flavors could pair wonderfully with trout.

Glad Shadowheart revived this thread, @ Erutan's cooking tips are always worth checking out.

Ed

My filleting skills are awful, I get a clean fillet maybe 1/3 of the time. I haven't gotten around to trying some of the fish soup options I linked to in my first post as miso packets are tasty and simple when poaching, but it's something in the back of my head.

I knew about https://www.highsierratopix.com/culinar ... g-methods/ but it's mostly just "google trout recipes" which isn't always the best backcountry solution.

Using tin foil as a lid with a nice skillet (the 12" GSI Bugaboo is great - cheap, very even heat distribution, and a rock solid handle if not the lightest) is definitely the best way to do it (depending on how aggressive your trip is for the weight). Another idea using panko, bacon bits, thyme, and umami powder as dip is @ https://www.highsierratopix.com/communi ... p?p=180649

Use the best-quality British trout you can find for this trout and radish ceviche. Serve with crunchy tortilla chips on the side to scoop up the fish. Ceviche is a dish where raw fish is cured with citrus juice, salt, and herbs. No cooking is required, but you need to marinate the fish for at least 30 minutes in the fridge

A nice low effort move for trout above 10k is poaching with ramen packs. Heads and tails cut off. I always have extra since I'm 'poaching' the noodles for hot pots. Spicy champong gives solid returns. I've tracked down a cache of hokkaido instant miso with dried clams and am eager to put it to use as a poaching liquid.

Various schools of thought abound on fresh trout, ceviche and tapeworms and I confess to have tasted the forbidden fruit. Though only in the dubious Sierra and never with a best-quality British trout.