IN SEASON
t Tide toable A
The tails of trout...
fi sh widely found around the globe, trout is loved by fi shermen, chefs and feasters alike. The UK is renowned for both its brown and
rainbow trout, readily available throughout the year. We spoke to Vale House Kitchen owner and keen fi sherman, Bod Griffi ths, about the journey of the trout from ‘tide to table’.
T ere’s something really quite magical about trout. I have spent many a day strolling along a river bank or side of a lake stealthily stalking them with a fl y rod in hand. T ey are prized the world over, found in every continent except Antarctica, for their sporting prowess and culinary excellence.
In the UK there are two main types of trout. Our native brown trout and also the rainbow trout.
Brown trout are found in rivers and lakes and vary both in size and colour depending on the environment they are living in. T ose fi sh living in fast fl owing rivers and streams use considerable energy swimming against the current, defending their territory called a lie. T is will off er them security from predators and access to food carried to them on the current. T ose living in lakes are generally less territorial and have to travel further afi eld to fi nd food. Some brown trout decide to leave the river they hatch in and travel to the sea – they are then referred to as sea trout. Sea trout take on a bright silver colour, not dissimilar to salmon, and grow much larger than their river cousins due to a higher abundance of food, and feeding on other small fi sh; sand eels, crabs, shrimps and prawns.
Rainbow trout eggs were fi rst shipped to England in the late 1800s from their native North America. T ey were artifi cially hatched and introduced to British waters, and now make up the mainstay of trout you fi nd in stocked lakes. Rainbow trout rarely breed naturally in the UK. T ey grow twice as quickly as brown trout and are an ideal fi sh to
40 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER immediately.
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Curing – make a 50% salt, 50% sugar mix and add whatever aromatics you feel happy with. Cover this mixture over your trout fi llets for 20–30 minutes,
rinse off and you have wonderful cured trout. Slice the fl esh into pound coin- thick slices, leaving the skin behind, drizzle with a little rapeseed oil and serve with a few salad leaves.
cured fi llet in the smoker for around 10–15 minutes. The trout fi llets will take on the wonderful smoky fl avour of the wood you have used (beech or oak are our favourites).
scrambled eggs.
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and dill are perfect), drizzle rapeseed oil onto the skin, squeeze over the juice of a lemon and add a splash of white wine. Wrap the trout up in foil and place in a hot oven for around 20–25 minutes, depending on the size of your fi sh.
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If you want to eat your fi sh whole, the best way I fi nd is to cook it in foil. Stuff the cavity of your fi sh with fresh herbs (oregano
Check the Vale House Kitchen
website for courses in fl y fi shing and fi sh cookery this spring;
www.valehousekitchen.co.uk
When you have your smoked trout fi llets they make an ideal substitute for smoked salmon at breakfast. Pan fry in a little butter until hot and serve with
Once you have your cured trout fi llets go one step further. Hot smoke your trout (hot smokers are easy to buy online or you can make one yourself) by placing your
breed in fi sh farms. T ey are the most common type of trout that you
will encounter at the fi shmonger or supermarket. Here at Vale
House Kitchen we like to use organically
farmed trout from
Stream Farm in Bridgewater. T ey are fed on organic pellets, allowed to grow in stream-fed lakes and are delicious.
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT GETTING A TROUT FOR THE TABLE?
Apart from buying trout from your local supermarket, fl y fi shing is probably the most common way to source trout with around 800,000 people participating in the sport every year in the UK. This involves casting a ‘fl y’ made from feathers, thread and other materials that is made to look like the trouts natural food. By tricking the trout into thinking
Vale House Kitchen’s five favourite ways with trout...
Sashimi. If you have a particularly fresh trout, fi llet it and use it as sashimi. Cut the fresh fi sh into small slices, dip in soya sauce and English mustard, and eat
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