Smoked Steelhead!!!! (Simple & Sensational)!!!

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leah elisheva

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Sep 19, 2013
3,028
214
Seacoast of New Hampshire
Well happy SUPER Saturday to all you Great Smoked Cookies!!! And here's to a very wonderful weekend!!! For all!!!

While I don't like the expression, "guilty pleasure," (as I do not have guilt about pleasure), I'll confess to occasionally procuring "Farm Raised Fish" and as the last bastion of "junk food" or the closest thing to such anyway, which I do eat.


And while I actually adore the fatty taste and texture of farm raised fish, I of course do not enjoy the notion that their feeding pellets are coming from chicken feces, corn, soy, wheat, color dye and more - sometimes all of them in one even - and so I keep farmed fish as a "now and then" little "snitch" if you will; and yet recently made the decision to shake that old habit and to only buy wild.

First however, I decided to celebrate the last of my farm fish eating, with whatever seemed best in the store, and thus had a simple steelhead piece.


I mopped it through grapeseed oil, smoked it on my little gas smoker for 20 minutes on high heat, and put that over a Greek "Marouli" (green) salad - romaine, green onion and dill - (dressed with whisked fresh lime juice and olive oil and oregano) and then added olive oil and red Hawaiian sea salt and oregano to everything once at the table!


Well, while I do know that it may not have been the "healthiest choice," seeing as wild fish does feast on far better things, this SUPER SIMPLE meal was REALLY SO VERY OUT OF THIS WORLD and just delicious! The simplest is to me, the best, and every time!


And while I normally prefer my salmon family fish prepared, "raw" in the middle, this DID in turn cook through, and yet I got the skin really smoky and crispy and also got that brown and smoky crust and flavor on the luscious and wonderful top, and since the skin of any fish is indeed my favorite part, I am quite thrilled!


Forward to wild I do from here on go, but I will share that this "nod" to an occasional habit, or to it being in the past, was very very tasty indeed! Fantastic!


Happy all to everyone! And make this whole weekend delicious!!!!!!!

Cheers!!!!!! - Leah





 
Great idea Leah..........  I have a fillet off the side of a 16 lb salmon that has been calling me. Sounds like a salmon and salad meal with the Super Bowl...

Brad
 
Looks wonderful!

Back when I earned the name I use on this forum (IE: I was flat broke and living on a boat) wild caught fish was often all I had to eat. I'd get off work and fish right off the dock at the marina for white perch. A few times a week my boss and I would take his boat out in the bay and troll for striped bass, or later in the summers we'd anchor and fish for spot and croakers. I'd also go crabbing from time to time, either "chicken necking" at the marina or up in the shallow parts of the Rhode River. I remember kind of resenting having to forage for my own dinner, wishing I could afford to just go to the damn store and buy whatever I wanted. Of course I didn't consider the fact that my diet was delicious, nutritious and essentially free.

Nowadays, every year about this time I vow to go fishing or crabbing at least once a week all summer and avail ourselves of all the free seafood just waiting to be plucked out of the briney waters of the Chesapeake. And most years, most weeks, life gets in the way, and it's just easier to go to the grocery store. But this year's gonna be different! Hopefully anyway.

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Hey Brad!!! Thanks so very much! It really WAS good, and your possible meal sounds just fantastic as well!

And Andrew, what fabulous stories, photos, and sentiments shared! You've been blessed indeed to have the real deal, and I adore working for my dinner more than simply buying it all nice and neatly "done" so to speak. 

Today's salute/goodbye to farmed fish however, was spectacular and so I'm grateful - farmed aside - for it's deliciousness indeed!

Happy fabulous new month! It's February after all! Here's to it indeed being the best month so far, and for all!

Cheers! - Leah
 
Nice meal Leah, Thumbs Up now I gotta go get some fish and fire up the smoker :grilling_smilie: Justin
 
Looks good, Leah.

Nice piece of fish, simply cooked, with a good looking salad and dressing.

Looks like a perfect meal to me. Accompanied with some vino rosso, it's a good way to go.

I'm with you in that I prefer my fish that I'm cooking for a meal to be finished at a much lower temperature than most of the run of the mill recipes call for. I normally finish at 115F-120F max. Beyond that, the fish starts drying out rapidly and, to me, is ruined.
 
The farmed fish debate is a big issue. Here our farms in Tassie grow salmon & ocean trout (steel head) .Then theres some freshwater natives, & then barramundi in warmer waters. If they didn't farm salmon & trout there wouldn't be any here.I eat it now & again because its always fresh.Chinese push the demand for freshwater fish,popular steamed.

I don't know much about what goes into the pellets here but there is an issue with harvesting sardines,mackerel etc just to feed it to farmed fish.

Anyway looks great.
drool.gif
 Hope that cold front that caused all the chaos has passed. 
 
Thanks tons Mate! T'is simple food but it undeniably was delicious!

Yes, I too have eaten farmed from time to time (like yesterday) - loving the fatty flavor, though am making an effort to go "all wild." Your pellets may indeed be a cleaner feed though!

In any event, today IS supposed to be warm! (Not your kind of down under warmth mind you). But 45 no less, which is about 7.2 on your scale, and so I'll take it!! Happy all! Cheers! - Leah
 
Fish is fish, I like it. They are turning some of the old production platforms in the gulf into fish farms. I have no trouble with them but some of the other countries, well that's a long discussion not for here though.

Looks good Leah, hey... today is groundhog day, who's smoking one for the big game?
 
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Good Morning Foamheart (I love early morning people) and happy SUPER-GROUNDHOG-CHINESE-YEAR-OF-THE-HORSE kind of weekend to you!

Thanks very much for comments on my fish!

Agreed! (Some guy was smoking beaver weeks ago, and so perhaps we'll be enchanted by a little groundhog entree or two from one). I'd be thrilled to have a horse meat steak tartare plate even, in the name of the Chinese New Year and all...

As for today, I'm more enthused about food than football and may post my doings a little later on.

Make today delicious!!! Good to hear from you!!! Cheers! - Leah
 
Terrific looking dish as usual! However, we catch fresh steelhead around here and there is no comparison to the farmed stuff but if that is all you can get, it is way better than no steelhead!

Disco
 
Thank you Mel! And Disco too! (Agreed, ANY steelhead is better than none, but Disco you are so blessed to have that fresh, wild, and wonderful fish! Here is to Canada!!!!! Cheers! - Leah
 
Another great looking meal Leah!

Having worked in the fishing industry for a good portion of my life I can say that one gets spoiled eating fresh fish! Much like MD said at times it was really the only option financially. Fresh fish, crab, mussels, oysters, shrimp is the only thing I really miss about living at the coast!

For me the farmed fish debate is a sticky subject and will not go into it here as I don't feel that this forum is the place or time for it. I will say that there are some farm raised fish that I will eat and others such as Salmon and Steelhead that I will not.
 
Thank you! (Dirtsailor). Agreed, as the farmed stuff is fed junk, kept in conditions that are not well and so it goes...

You've been blessed to have fresh fish - right from the catch! Indeed!

And while my "farmed consumption" has not been often, I am excited to narrow that even more.

Nonetheless, it was delicious!

Here's to great fish and a beautiful day for all!!!!!

Cheers!!!!!!! - Leah
 
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