In praise of the trout

BY CHRIS FORTUNE

A fly fisherman's wife once said: "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend."

My trout fishing experiences have met with varied results.

My most successful was standing in the middle of a Southland river, lightning and thunder crashing around me, and pulling in a four-pound brownie.

It was not until my father-in-law came looking for me, worried that I was the perfect lightning conductor, that I realised the danger of the situation. While there might have been some concern in the back of my mind, I was focused on landing dinner.

Without risking life and limb, I was recently lucky enough to have a very good Rakaia trout sent to me by courier to sample.

Again, my father-in-law was on hand to taste it. One-third of it was put in the smoker, one-third was cured with salt and sugar and sliced thinly, and the last third was eaten fresh.

Trout has a subtle taste and is slightly oily, but it all comes down to the time of year and what the river and feeding conditions are like at that time. If you had to compare, it has a similar texture to salmon, and should not be overcooked, otherwise it will be dry and unpleasant.

The key with any fish is that it should not taste or smell fishy. If it does, this is a sure sign that it is past its best. All seafood should have a pleasant if not faint beachy or river smell and taste.

It has been a long time between acting as a human lightning conductor and enjoying trout for dinner.

The memories and experience are always part of the dinner table, no matter where you are and who you are with.

SMOKED FISH BRINE RECIPE

1 cup sugar

1 cup non-iodised Marlborough salt

1 cup water

1 cup white wine

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Submerge the fish in the brine solution and let it sit in the refrigerator for six to eight hours. Drain and rinse, and smoke immediately over flavoured/scented wood chips.

- The Marlborough Express