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I love going fishing with my kids, it's a really gratifying experience for us all. We're not the kind of fishermen who let our catch go, for us it's the enjoyment of spending time together, catching a magnificent specimen, and enjoying the fish as a family meal.
Every time we catch a fish though we have a chat about making sure the fish is dispatched with respect because we know we will enjoy eating it. It's a way in which we feel connected to the food we eat, which is very important I believe for their culinary education.
Ingredients
Rainbow trout (each serves 2)
Limes or lemons
Coarse Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Method
You'll need a very hot wood fired oven or a BBQ with a lid. Ideally the wood fired oven needs to be 200-240c burning something fragrant such as silver birch.
If you are cooking on a BBQ, you can cook indirectly on a hot bbq with the lid on at a similar sort of temperature, or cook directly over medium hot embers and make sure the skin doesn't burn as the fat starts to sizzle out.
Deeply slash the fish in a few places on both sides, this helps the heat penetrate into the fish in the thicker parts of the fillet.
Place of few slices of lemon or lime under the fish, this will stop the skin stick to the tray or the grill, this is a great tip if you have trouble with sticking fish skin, as it slightly lifts the skin of the fish up ensuring it won't stick, as well as adding a lovely citrus flavour as the fish cooks.
Season generously with the sea salt and black pepper over the skin and inside the cavity.
Depending on the size of your trout, this will take anything from 30 minutes to almost an hour for a very large specimen. Check the internal temperature of the fish in the thickest part has reached 62 deg C.
The skin should have crisped up nicely at this pint and the flesh should still be slightly translucent, flaky and still juicy.
If the skin crisps up too quickly, then lay a sheet of tinfoil over the fish to stop it burning,
Serve in thick slices with a squeeze of the lemon or lime over the top.
Ideal served with some baby potatoes and a green salad.
Wood Fired Trout
Freshly caught trout cooked simply in a wood fired oven is a real treat. It's more delicate than salmon, but when the skin crisps up and the flesh is perfectly cooked it's a real winner.