Enjoying one of
nature’s most
perfect foods
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 Quebec 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.
ARCTIC CHAR CHOWDER
SERVES 4 TO 6
• 1½ lbs 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
30 | FISH , HUNT RIDE
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, Arctic char, brown trout,
Dolly Varden and several hybrid
species. Trout are considered by
professional chefs and the general
population alike to be one of the
best-tasting fish our country has to
offer.
STUFFED BAKED BROOKIES
SERVES 4
• 4 brook trout, (12”–14”)
cleaned
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1½ cups finely chopped onion
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• salt an