The best tasting fish are those
caught and promptly cooked on the streambank or lake shore — where the flavor is
mingled with pine-scented mountain air and the pungent odor of campfire smoke. But this is
a rare treat. Usually fish have to be transported home. Good field care is essential,
since fish are among the most perishable foods.
Once caught, fish should either be killed promptly or kept healthy. Quality
deteriorates if they die slowly. (Then too, it is more humane to kill them quickly.)
Killing can be easily accomplished by thrusting a knife point between the eyes into the
brain or by a sharp blow on the head. Once killed, the viscera and gills should be
promptly removed.
Basic method for cleaning trout and salmon:
(1) slit belly from anal vent to gills, (2) cut through lower junction of gills, (3)
pull out viscera and gills, (4) run thumbnail along backbone to clean out kidney. Use a
minimum of water in washing the fish since water softens the flesh and reduces the flavor.
To maintain top quality, fish should be placed in a refrigerator or packed in ice
(chipped or shaved ice is better than block ice) in an ice chest immediately after
cleaning. When the flesh absorbs water it softens and loses flavor; therefore, place fish
in plastic bags before packing in ice. Also, the water should be regularly drained from
the ice chest. In the absence of an ice chest or refrigerator, every effort should be made
to keep the fish cool.
The usual procedure when stream fishing is to kill fish, field clean them and carry
them in a creel. The old stand-by is a wicker creel with the fish buried in green grass,
leaves, moss or something similar. A canvas creel is fine if kept wet so it cools by
evaporation. On warm days, fish should not be kept in a creel for more than three to four
hours. Plastic bags are fine containers for packing fish in ice chests and freezers but
are generally unsatisfactory substitutes for a creel. A fish in a plastic bag carried in a
pocket is soft and mushy in short order.
When lake fishing, fish may be kept alive in a cage in shallow water or on a stringer.
But if the surface of the water is warm the time should be short, and deeply hooked fish
should be killed promptly. A safety pin stringer is the best type to use, with the fish
pinned through the thin membrane just behind the lower lip. It can still open and close
its mouth, and if you decide to let it go, it will be practically unharmed. Do not string
a fish through the mouth and out the gills because this will damage the gills and cause
slow death. If you are using a boat, be sure to pull the fish out of the water when going
at high speeds to keep them from drowning.
The cook can tell a fresh fish by the following: eyes bright, not sunken; skin shiny;
flesh firm and elastic to the touch, bones not separating from flesh; fresh odor; and
gills bright red, not gray.
As final preparation before cooking, some like to dress a fish by removing head, tail
and fins. Or, it may be skinned, filleted, or steaked depending on the kind and size of
fish and the cook's choice.
Fish with large scales must have the scales removed. Often skinning is desirable,
particularly if the fish has a strong fishy or mossy taste, since the skin contains much
of the odor and taste. Of course, the type of water a fish is taken from will influence
its taste.
—George Holton, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Helena, MT
RECIPES
TROUT WITH ALMONDS
4 trout, each about 8 inches long
flour, salt, and pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Dredge trout in flour, salt, and pepper. Fry them in 1/4 cup butter or margarine until
done. Remove to a platter. To the frying pan add 3 tablespoons butter or margarine and 1/4
cup slivered almonds. Cook the almonds until the butter is browned. Pour butter-almond
mixture over the fish and serve immediately.
— Mrs. Liter Spence, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Helena, MT
BARBECUED TROUT
4 7-inch trout
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Mix all ingredients together, except the fish. Place the trout, preferably freshly
caught, on a grill about 4 inches above a bed of fine coals. Cook about 4 minutes without
turning. Turn the fish and baste with the above sauce. Cook the fish no longer than 10
minutes. Either spread the remaining sauce over the fish or serve it as a dip.
