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Author Topic: Cookin Fish  (Read 3466 times)

Offline WesternMELunkers

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Cookin Fish
« on: Jan 14, 2015, 07:07 PM »
In the past I haven't kept many fish but I am eager to put my chef hat on this winter and cook more. My question is..any major difference in taste between browns and rainbows compared to brookies? I've had togue (wasnt too keen on it) but there is nothing like a good brook trout fish fry..haven't had anything else so just curious

Offline dirtydraws29

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #1 on: Jan 14, 2015, 07:22 PM »
im a rainbow fan asfar as trout goes personally cusk my fav

Offline Eroy4

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #2 on: Jan 14, 2015, 07:58 PM »
Well, rainbow trout and brown trout are "true trout", while brook trout and togue are members of the char family. So there is a difference in test in my opinion. I also would not ignore white and yellow perch, they are abundant and taste great.

Offline Sawyerjosh

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #3 on: Jan 14, 2015, 08:17 PM »
eat the perch and crappie.  Throw the trout back.  Unless you really like 'fishy' fish.  The big trout you catch through the ice are nothing like the 7" brookies out of a little stream

Offline MadSledder

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #4 on: Jan 14, 2015, 10:37 PM »
I find brookies browns and rainbows (as well as landlocked salmon) to all be pretty similar in texture and taste. Of them, I put brookies and browns to be the most similar, and 'bow and salmon also to be similar. They are all tasty and can be cooked up the same ways.

Touge are whole different can of oil. If anyone has a touge recipe they would be willing to share, I would really like to hear it. I love to chase them but just can't make them taste good without a smoker.
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Offline fishamusmaximus

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #5 on: Jan 15, 2015, 04:37 AM »
Togue

Like the old recipe joke says. Put togue on a cedar plank. Bake in the oven for 20 min at 375 degrees. Remove from the oven and throw the togue in the trash can and eat the cedar plank.


I like small brook trout.



They were biting great out here an hour ago but........

Offline funfish

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #6 on: Jan 15, 2015, 05:12 AM »
I like baking Togue them flake them out and make them into fish cakes and pan fry...very tasty!! ;D

Offline lonmower

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #7 on: Jan 15, 2015, 05:42 AM »
Removing the skin on togue is a must to get rid of the strong fishy taste. Then my Dad always cut them into bite-size chunks and rolled them in a batter for frying. I don't have the recipe, but it was similar to an onion ring batter, and for some reason had a little Seven-up soda in it. Absolutely delicious. @)

Offline cjg

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #8 on: Jan 15, 2015, 05:53 AM »
eat the perch and crappie.  Throw the trout back.  Unless you really like 'fishy' fish. 

X2

Offline lobsterman

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #9 on: Jan 15, 2015, 06:05 AM »
eat all the junk fish they taste the best by far,

Offline TheOutdoorsman

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #10 on: Jan 15, 2015, 06:17 AM »
Touge are whole different can of oil. If anyone has a touge recipe they would be willing to share, I would really like to hear it. I love to chase them but just can't make them taste good without a smoker.

Make poor-man's lobster out of them.  Kind of like what we've done with cusk, but with extra salt, extra sugar, and boil for longer.  I usually use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of salt and sugar per 3 quarts of water (enough to cook a small togue or two).  Bring to a boil, drop chunks of fillet in, bring the water back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Drain, melt some butter in a bowl (the amount depends on the amount of fish), and put the cooked pieces of fish in the butter and mix. 

You won't be disappointed, I've changed many peoples' opinion on eating togue.

They also make a good chowder.
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Offline Fishn'Rod

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #11 on: Jan 15, 2015, 06:23 AM »
"Make poor-man's lobster out of them.  Kind of like what we've done with cusk, but with extra salt, extra sugar, and boil for longer.  I usually use 1/2 to 1/3 cup of salt and sugar per 3 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil, drop chunks of fillet in, bring the water back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Drain, melt some butter in a bowl (the amount depends on the amount of fish), and put the cooked pieces of fish in the butter and mix. "


That almost sounds like the Laker Boils they do on the Great Lakes.

http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/fish_boil

Offline Downeaster

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #12 on: Jan 15, 2015, 06:33 AM »
eat the perch and crappie.  Throw the trout back.  Unless you really like 'fishy' fish. 

X2

Fresh water bass, perch and cusk have always been the better tasting fish in our waters.  Pike
are good, but an angler has to be experienced in cutting out the Y bones.  I enjoy all the brook
trout, Rainbows, Togue, and less interested in browns, and salmon.  I tend to fry my fish in
Panko, or bread crumbs and oil.  Maybe it took generations for me to acquire my taste for the
trout species, but anyway I enjoy some each year.

Offline woodchip

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #13 on: Jan 15, 2015, 07:01 AM »

all fish I catch I enjoy eating . They all have to be dealt with in a different manner. I prefer W perch, Crappies bass etc . But the process to clean and Fillet them turns off a lot of fishermen off . Trout Salmon togue are also good  you have to cook them differently . I remember at one of Sebago derbies they had Togue piled up for dog food. when smoking togue trout the proper way the end results can be very similar to Alaskan salmon. Fish are supposed to be one of the healthiest  foods on the planet. They just have to be handled properly.

Offline nofishin

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #14 on: Jan 15, 2015, 07:03 AM »
I throw back brookies. 
browns: love em.  rub olive oil on them, create a salt crust by rubbing them heavily with kosher salt.  put directly on grill.  never had anything so good.

togue:  smoke them.  we have a guy that does it for us and they are well worth the cost.

Offline WesternMELunkers

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #15 on: Jan 15, 2015, 07:25 AM »
I agree with the smaller brook trout tasting better, I ate a big stocked one earlier this year it was just blah..im willing to try togue again this year using some of the techniques above, love fish so I'm really not too picky


Offline WesternMELunkers

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #16 on: Jan 15, 2015, 07:31 AM »
Make poor-man's lobster out of them.  Kind of like what we've done with cusk, but with extra salt, extra sugar, and boil for longer.  I usually use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of salt and sugar per 3 quarts of water (enough to cook a small togue or two).  Bring to a boil, drop chunks of fillet in, bring the water back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Drain, melt some butter in a bowl (the amount depends on the amount of fish), and put the cooked pieces of fish in the butter and mix. 

You won't be disappointed, I've changed many peoples' opinion on eating togue.

They also make a good chowder.
[/quote]

This sounds amazing btw

Offline TwoLightsKid

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #17 on: Jan 15, 2015, 07:52 AM »
A couple of thoughts on togue:

1. If you only like flaky white fish like cod, haddock, perch, crappie, etc, then release your togue!

2.  If you do like fish with more fat in them like trout, salmon, bluefish, mackerel, tuna, etc, then togue can be as good as any of these if cooked and handled properly.

3.  Keep smaller togue, anything above the low 20" range has more fat, stronger flavor, more mercury, and it's likely a very old fish that has taken many years to reach its current size.  Big togue are a great sportfish and a valuable and easily depleted resource worthy of protection!

4.  Bleed fish and keep them cold.  Bleeding can be done with a quick cut in the throat/gill area, and cold is never a problem during the ice season.

5.  Small togue up to 14" or so are great pan fried whole just like brook trout.
 
6.  14" to low 20" fish are great for smoking or grilling. I don't like to fillet these fish because I feel it wastes too much meat, instead, just do a quick cut along each side of the spine so the fish lays flat.  My favorite way to cook is sprinkle salt, brown sugar, and a heavy dose of black pepper on the flesh side, then grill 20-30 minutes on a hot smoky grill.  Not really smoked fish, but gets a good smoke flavor, great hot and even better cold the next day.

Offline Mossypumpkin

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #18 on: Jan 15, 2015, 07:55 AM »
Never liked the fishy fish. Crappie and wp are about all I eat. Fillet them, dip fillets in egg, roll in crushed Ritz cracker crumbs, toss in trying pan. Had some last night with butter and herb potatoes. Delish!
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Offline Fishn'Rod

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #19 on: Jan 15, 2015, 08:35 AM »
A couple of thoughts on togue:

1. If you only like flaky white fish like cod, haddock, perch, crappie, etc, then release your togue!

2.  If you do like fish with more fat in them like trout, salmon, bluefish, mackerel, tuna, etc, then togue can be as good as any of these if cooked and handled properly.

3.  Keep smaller togue, anything above the low 20" range has more fat, stronger flavor, more mercury, and it's likely a very old fish that has taken many years to reach its current size.  Big togue are a great sportfish and a valuable and easily depleted resource worthy of protection!

4.  Bleed fish and keep them cold.  Bleeding can be done with a quick cut in the throat/gill area, and cold is never a problem during the ice season.

5.  Small togue up to 14" or so are great pan fried whole just like brook trout.
 
6.  14" to low 20" fish are great for smoking or grilling. I don't like to fillet these fish because I feel it wastes too much meat, instead, just do a quick cut along each side of the spine so the fish lays flat.  My favorite way to cook is sprinkle salt, brown sugar, and a heavy dose of black pepper on the flesh side, then grill 20-30 minutes on a hot smoky grill.  Not really smoked fish, but gets a good smoke flavor, great hot and even better cold the next day.

Spot on!

Offline fishlessman

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #20 on: Jan 15, 2015, 09:36 AM »
browns and brookies are great, but i cant stand cooked rainbow. used to know a cambodian girl that pickled chunks of rainbow and that was actually pretty good but frying in a pan or baking, or smoking, i just dont like it. deep fried togue with shrimp cocktail sauce is killer. favorite is a crappie fish fry

Offline kyou32

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #21 on: Jan 15, 2015, 11:39 AM »
My grand mother owned sporting camps in northern Maine for 25 years. She made a togue recipe that sucked the oil out of it and I didnt find it to be all that fishy and it is easy. She would clean the fish, remove the head and tail. Stuff the middle with bread stuffing like you would have at thanks giving. Wrap the fish in a paper bag and bake at 350. Usually when it is done you unwrap the paper bag and it peels the skin right off. Furthermore, if you are talented like she was you can pull all the bones out at once leaving a stuffed togue free of bones. It was fantastic. 

Offline JoshRobbins

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #22 on: Jan 15, 2015, 11:47 AM »
I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I ended up with a delicious chowder with togue...

Offline MAINETROUTWHISPERER

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #23 on: Jan 15, 2015, 03:57 PM »
For lakers I fillet them and stick the meat in a back of bisquick pancake mix. Put it in a hot pan with oil until golden brown... Yessah!

Offline Keychain

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #24 on: Mar 19, 2019, 02:19 PM »
My grand mother owned sporting camps in northern Maine for 25 years. She made a togue recipe that sucked the oil out of it and I didnt find it to be all that fishy and it is easy. She would clean the fish, remove the head and tail. Stuff the middle with bread stuffing like you would have at thanks giving. Wrap the fish in a paper bag and bake at 350. Usually when it is done you unwrap the paper bag and it peels the skin right off. Furthermore, if you are talented like she was you can pull all the bones out at once leaving a stuffed togue free of bones. It was fantastic.
Found this because I wondered if anyone had already posted the "paper bag" trick for cooking togue.  Generally, I refuse to eat fish.  Just not my thing and togue to me are especially unattractive as a meal.  This weekend one of the guys cooked some up using this method.  No stuffing, but clean the togue, cut the head off, wrap in a paper bag and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  I then watched him take the fish out, peel the skin off, grab the spine near the tail end and pull the bones out intact, leaving a pile of boneless fish.  Then he sautéed the meat in butter, salt and pepper for a bit.  I still can't say I like fish enough to make a meal out of it, but this was some pretty tasty stuff...

Offline gamefisher

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #25 on: Mar 19, 2019, 02:25 PM »
Found this because I wondered if anyone had already posted the "paper bag" trick for cooking togue.  Generally, I refuse to eat fish.  Just not my thing and togue to me are especially unattractive as a meal.  This weekend one of the guys cooked some up using this method.  No stuffing, but clean the togue, cut the head off, wrap in a paper bag and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  I then watched him take the fish out, peel the skin off, grab the spine near the tail end and pull the bones out intact, leaving a pile of boneless fish.  Then he sautéed the meat in butter, salt and pepper for a bit.  I still can't say I like fish enough to make a meal out of it, but this was some pretty tasty stuff...

Perfect way to cook togue, all the oil goes into paper bag.  We do it on gas grill wrapped in tinfoil, works awesome.

Offline TroutWorm

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #26 on: Mar 19, 2019, 04:49 PM »
I love a good brown trout  fry

Offline Bosshog

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #27 on: Mar 19, 2019, 05:10 PM »
Like westernmainelunker we take a cookie sheet put water and sailt in the bottom just enough to cover it then place cookie cooling racks in with cleaned togue then cover it with tinfoil and steam till the meat flakes up with a fork, take off the bone and dip in butter, awesome! you can do the same with salmon.
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Offline RealBigReel

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #28 on: Mar 19, 2019, 09:21 PM »


Big togue are a great sportfish and a valuable and easily depleted resource worthy of protection!

 ;) ;)

Wrap the togue in aluminum foil with butter, salt, pepper and a few slices of jalapeño pepper and bake it in the grill or an open fire

Offline Anomaly

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Re: Cookin Fish
« Reply #29 on: Mar 20, 2019, 08:42 AM »
Togue

Like the old recipe joke says. Put togue on a cedar plank. Bake in the oven for 20 min at 375 degrees. Remove from the oven and throw the togue in the trash can and eat the cedar plank.


I like small brook trout.

(Image removed from quote.)

My dogs love them!!!! I’m cooking up the couple I caught this past weekend and mixing it, flaked up, with some rice to mix in their food!!! They always start to salivate and then look thankful and for more!!! Other than that, they pickle up just fine!!! The only way I can actually enjoy eating them.
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