What would you do with this fish?

I went to the grocery store this afternoon and swung by the meat, fish and veggie sections to see if they had any reduced items that looked interesting. I picked up a whole rainbow trout and some salmon trimmings. I haven’t cooked a whole fish in ages but I think the last time I did I think I poached it. Do any of you have a preferred way of cooking a whole fish? And what would you do with salmon trimmings? I was thinking of fish stock or chowder.

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How fresh is it? If it is very fresh, you can steam it, or bake it with little seasoning/spices. You can always filet it and then freeze some and pan fried them in portion.

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Wrap in tinfoil and grill or steam bake

Broil them with some lemon, mirin and soy sauce

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I absolutely adore rainbow trout, especially grilled whole. I just rub with olive oil, sea salt & pepper, then grill until the skin is nice and crispy. All I need with that is a squeeze of lemon all over and dig in.

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To add to what @linguafood says, if you happen to have fresh herbs, lemon slices, and even a tiny splash of white wine to stuff inside the fish (body cavity) that‘s another option. Adds moisture and flavor. Then bake or grill as you prefer.

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Pan seared in EVOO… I’d add minced garlic and lemon juice after the flip, and then top with butter and minced parsley, basting the top until the bottom side is crisp.

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I take a very similar approach to @linguafood and @tomatotomato with fresh whole fish. I like to rub the skin with some salt (and check that all scales have indeed been removed), and then brush both sides with olive oil that has grated garlic, a bit of thyme, and lemon juice.

I also brush the open belly/pectoral area with olive oil and salt and pepper too, and even the head if it’s a fish with nice cheek meat. Roast the fish in the oven, and then a quick broil if it has thicker skin that can crisp up nicely.

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I doubt it’s very fresh. It was marked down in price because the sell ny date is tomorrow.

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If it doesn’t smell, you’re good.

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I definitely gave it the sniff test and it definitely smells okay. But I bought it in the grocery store so I’m not sure how long the trout has been in the store.

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Dunno what part of the world you’re in… but here there is no such thing as fresh fish. It is frozen… or what’s in the seafood counter is thawed from frozen. Regarding the latter, everything has a sell by date within a day or two.

Anything I buy thawed (which is a rare occurrence) is used within a day or two.

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My favorite way to cook rainbow trout is yakizakana. Salt it liberally and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or so. Remove, pat dry, and salt it again. Grill it, preferably over a live fire, but in a dry frying pan is acceptable, too. About four or five minutes per side and it’s done. Serve with some grated daikon radish and ponzu. I would actually do very much the same with the salmon trimmings, too.

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In my experience, fish that is very fresh is best served with as little seasoning and also gentle cooking. For fish that is not as fresh (not that it has gone bad), then a bit more aggressive cooking with more seasoning and more oil (like pan frying and deep frying) make them tastier.

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I like them. I do so particularly for various version of mackerel.

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I live in Ottawa, Canada and I stand corrected. We have the Ottawa River to the north of the city and the Rideau River to the east of the city and as far as I know none of their native species are available for sale in any of the stores locally. So the fish we get is mostly from the Atlantic or the Pacific and probably flash frozen then shipped to Ottawa from there. When I refer to fish as fresh I refer to the fish sold at the fish/seafood counter as opposed to the frozen fish in the freezer section of the grocery store (like Highliner etc.).

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This!!!

I have made this and can vouch for it. Really easy and good!

But these also look good:

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Are the salmon trims filets? I make a nice white bean or potato chowder when I get them. Cook the potatoes or beans in stock (fish if you have it), use a stick blender to smooth out half of it (for the beans) or all of it (for the potatoes). Then add the fish–they’ll cook quickly at a low simmer.

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As others, I grill rainbow trout. Usually I stuff with herbs and lemon and then wrap with bacon. The bacon is nice because it helps the fish not stick to the grill.

Salmon scraps=salmon/corn chowder to me. You could make fish cakes from it as well.

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I like to dredge in flour . Shake off the excess. Brown in butter . Salt and pepper. Nothing else needed. The crispy tail i always went for first.
Fishing and camping recipe.

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That is the best recipe for fresh caught wild rainbow trout, I agree. It has been a long time since I have caught my own.

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