So far this summer has been full of outdoor adventures with a lot of fishing trips. One weekend Aj and I decided we wanted to try trout fishing so we brought the canoe to one of the trout ponds by our house, no luck. The next day we tried another trout pond on the other side of the cities, no luck there either. The next weekend we went to Ely and tried the trout lake that I fished one other time 9 years ago, and we caught seven. I’m not sure why we caught them this time, maybe because everything is better in Ely, because Aj had also found a cowbell lure to use, or because we brought our Peruvian lucky charm along too. My cousins were up visiting from Peru, and while everyone else was in town, Abi joined us on our trout fishing adventure. She caught the first and I think the most.
So… Aj likes to call me his little raccoon, because raccoons are intrigued by colorful shiny things, and I am too. This explain why trout fishing was so fun for me. Rainbow trout are shiny and colorful, they literally have a rainbow striping down their side and bright silver bellies. Another reason why it’s so fun is we use these really long lures called cowbells that have 4 or 5 big shiny spoons on them that flash in the water, the whole process is shiny and gives fishing a little bit of glitz.
I was a little scared to try eating trout though. My dad makes really good smoked trout (Dad, you should blog that!) but I don’t think I’ve ever had it any other way. Since trout has pink meat just like salmon, I thought I could pretend it was salmon for the first time and prepare it like we do salmon. It turned out awesome! One basic rule I have when cooking fish that you aren’t breading and frying is to add some sort of citric acid, usually I use lemon juice, but this time I had the idea of lime juice. Then I found this relish in the July issue of Cooking Light, which used lime juice, so I gave it a try. The lime juice, cilantro, green onion, and jalapeno make a light fresh tasting relish, it turned out really good, masking any possible fishy taste. The only problem I had with it, is that everything is green and it’s just not as pretty as the rainbow trout. Next time I think I would use a red jalapeno to switch it up a bit.
Here is what you need:
And of course, some trout (you’ll want to filet them, leaving the skins on):
Start the grill, I always prefer charcoal because of the added flavor. Come to think of it, we should try the cedar plank method… anyway, while the grill heats up, mix lime juice with a little bit of olive oil and brush it on the fillets. I probably used 3 tablespoons of lime juice and 1 of olive oil.
Then make the relish by combining the chopped green onions, chopped jalapeno, and cilantro leaves (you don’t even need to annoyingly cut up the leaves for this) with the juice of 1/2 lime, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Let the relish marinate while you grill the fillets.
When the grill is ready, put the fillets on the grill skin side down, put a couple lime slices on top, then put the cover on the grill and wait about 7 minutes. The trout is done when it starts to flake and peel off the skin.
Spoon some of the relish on top of each fillet, sprinkle on some sesame seeds, and enjoy. Charred green beans pair nicely and make a great side for this.
I’m no longer scared to eat fish that isn’t salmon or a white meat fish. Turns out that trout is fun to catch and eat! Maybe one day I’ll convince Dad to let me blog him smoking the trout too.
- 6 rainbow trout fillets
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 2 cups cilantro leaves
- lime juice
- olive oil
- sesame seeds
- salt
- Brush the fillets with a mixture of 3T lime juice and 1T olive oil
- When the grill is ready, place the filets skin side down on the grill, put a couple slices of lime on each, cover and cook for about 7 minutes. The fillets are done when the meat starts to flake and peel off the skin.
- Chop the green onions and jalapeno pepper, combine with cilantro leaves, 1T olive oil, the juice of ½ lime, and a pinch of salt.
- Spoon the relish on top of each fillet and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
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