PHOTO BY PICASA
Enjoying
one of
nature’s
most
perfect
foods
16 | FISH, HUNT RIDE
BY JEFF MORRISON
Pursing the elusive trout is one of my favourite
pastimes each spring, the other one being the
consumption of said fish. I hope you will enjoy three
trout recipes from The Canadian Fishing Cookbook,
written by me and published by Canada’s authority
on cooking, Company’s Company.
Arctic char, like most other cold-water members
of the trout family, are game fish highly prized for
their sporting abilities as well as for table fare. In the
northern tributaries of Québec and Ontario, char
are caught by fishermen using medium to heavy
spinning equipment.
Since these fish are piscivorous (they feed
extensively on smaller bait fish), anglers often use
brightly coloured spoons and spinners to imitate the
natural feed in the Arctic char’s diet. Anglers often
fish from the shore or anchor a short distance out in
the river and cast lures in typical char holding areas,
such as small backwater bays, eddies or slack water
behind large boulders. Char are great fighters and
provide a real challenge on hook and line.
Please enjoy my awesome Arctic Char Chowder
Serves 4 to 6
• 1½ lbs (680 g) Arctic char fillets
• salt and pepper
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup each chopped onion, carrots and celery
• 1 to 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 × 796 mL can crushed tomatoes
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup whole cream
Bone the fillets and remove skin from fish. Cut
fish into ¾-inch (two cms) bite-sized cubes; sprinkle
with salt and pepper to taste. In pot over medium
heat, melt butter and cook onion, carrots and
celery for about five minutes. Add broth, tomatoes,
thyme and bay leaf, and cover and simmer for 15
minutes. Add fish; gently stir in cream if desired.
Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes more, stirring
occasionally. Remove bay leaf and adjust seasoning
to taste. Serve with oyster crackers, and enjoy!
When it comes to the various subspecies of trout
in Canada, they are extensive and wide-ranging
yet share one important common thread – a tiny
fin between the pelvic fins and caudal known as
the axillary process. As inconspicuous as it looks,
this one small appendage differentiates them
from all other game fish. Trout, along with salmon,
are members of the elite family Salmonidae.
Trout species in Canada include the king of the
trout family, the lake trout, as well as brook trout
(including several regional strains), rainbow trout,
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