Steelhead Trout ~ Multi-Tasking

[jcam222]

Man it looks AMAZING!! I’ve caught a ton of steelhead. A couple nearby rivers have nice runs of Manistee strain that run in the fall. Crazy thing is someone told me they we weren’t very good to eat so never tried them. I haven’t got out much to fish for them the last couple years. I’ll have to try next fall.

 

[thirdeye]

Man it looks AMAZING!! I’ve caught a ton of steelhead. A couple nearby rivers have nice runs of Manistee strain that run in the fall. Crazy thing is someone told me they we weren’t very good to eat so never tried them. I haven’t got out much to fish for them the last couple years. I’ll have to try next fall.

There is good steelhead fishing next door in Idaho and some fishermen count the number of strikes rather than fish because they are hard to land in a big river.

 

[Sowsage]

Dang that looks good! I could eat steelhead once or twice a week! Hell I could eat just about any fish once or twice a week! Yours looks amazing! Im a little jealous right now!

 

[Fueling Around]

Big like to your posts. Thanks for sharing.
I've always had smoked fish that flakes, so overcooked by your guidelines?
May have to experiment.

That's understandable, and you need a somewhat fatty fish for smoking.
... I've come to the conclusion that some folks that say they don't like trout really mean they don't like bones, and trout have a bunch of bones!
... All that said, you can still catch and release a trout, but you can't un-shoot an elk.

Funny, you cannot un-spear a fish either.
I have learned to deal with fish bones, too. Fish bones has nothing to do with flavor on my plate. I don't like (any) salmon, steel head, lake trout, or river trout. That is fresh or smoked.

I have tried the same procedure on Ahi Tuna, and it's a nice cross over for people that don't like sushi or want something different than salmon.

I am really excited to see you mention yellow fin. I really like tuna on the grill cooked through not half sushi rare. My wife (that loves salmon) is so-so on tuna that doesn't come out of a can.
I'm going to brine and smoke a few pieces of Ahi. I've got a Big Chief, too. Mighty fine cooler smoker.

 

[civilsmoker]

That’s some nice fish! BUT I’m not sure how you found my honey hole spot to find them.....lol

 

[thirdeye]

WOOHOO!! Thanks for the ride on the carousel, a nice Saturday surprise

Big like to your posts. Thanks for sharing.
I've always had smoked fish that flakes, so overcooked by your guidelines?
May have to experiment.
Funny, you cannot un-spear a fish either.
I have learned to deal with fish bones, too. Fish bones has nothing to do with flavor on my plate. I don't like (any) salmon, steel head, lake trout, or river trout. That is fresh or smoked.
I am really excited to see you mention yellow fin. I really like tuna on the grill cooked through not half sushi rare. My wife (that loves salmon) is so-so on tuna that doesn't come out of a can.
I'm going to brine and smoke a few pieces of Ahi. I've got a Big Chief, too. Mighty fine cooler smoker.

For me, flaky is too done. I try to buy skin on and I never turn it. If I do get skinless I cutout a piece of parchment and spray it with olive oil and use that as a heat shield. I have a thermometer with a super thin probe and 140° - 142° is my magic number on grilled, and I let it rest for a couple of minutes. I really watch the albumen too, once I see traces of it I know I'm close. I go 145° on my cured and smoked, and will let it cool down on the counter, then refrigerate overnight before eating.

I'm with you on grilled tuna, I use a little griddle and like the inside a warm pink, not a cool red. I add toasted sesame seeds to the edges too.

That’s some nice fish! BUT I’m not sure how you found my honey hole spot to find them.....lol

Yep, it's a popular place and the parking lot is YUGE.

 

[civilsmoker]

Nice seared tuna! Just LOL that stuff!

 

[Fueling Around]

Congrats on the ride.
I'll try the smoke both ways and see what the fans prefer.
I'm with you on sesame flavor. I use a couple drips of toasted sesame oil. Wife uses a couple of shakes

Nice seared tuna! Just LOL that stuff!

Laugh Out Loud that stuff? That's a LOL moment...

 

[kawboy]

Funny, you cannot un-spear a fish either.

You must be a Darkhouse spearer as well?

 

[Fueling Around]

You must be a Darkhouse spearer as well?

Nope. Not a winter fishing fan.
My Father and Uncle were fanatics. I ... heard ... rumors of having to un-spear a fish or two.
I do miss winter catch northern pike.

 

[thirdeye]

Nope. Not a winter fishing fan.
My Father and Uncle were fanatics. I ... heard ... rumors of having to un-spear a fish or two.
I do miss winter catch northern pike.

Well you know what they say about ice fishing? 'You can get just as drunk on water, as you can on land'.

 

[Fueling Around]

Well you know what they say about ice fishing? 'You can get just as drunk on water, as you can on land'.

I never heard that saying. Know lots of people that can attest to it.
Wife works at Hospital that gets rotating providers in for Emergency Department (ED). More than 1 has requested to go winter fishing as the concept of walking on to a frozen lake blows their mind

 

[GaryHibbert]

That certainly does look fine!!
Gary

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Absolutely. My cure is salt/sugar based and you can add 0.25% of Cure #1 if you have fillets thick enough you think you will exceed the 4 hour window of safety. It's a dry cure that turns into a syrup after drawing out some liquid from the fish. After trimming the belly, those two fillets ↑↑ were just over a pound each, trout fillets are much smaller, so I get them to 145° in about 3 hours or in the winter I move them into a 180° oven to reach temp. Parts of my technique are embedded in older posts here, but this is the direct link to my fish curing ARTICLE with many photos and some alternate smokers. I prefer the plastic wrap method, and my vintage Big Chief electric box smoker is the most reliable for me.

I need to get this to the top of my list!

 

[DRKsmoking]

They look fantastic, Never had Steelhead but love Rainbow, brown, brook , speckled etc.
Waiting for the ice to leave the lake by April when the season opens up here in the backyard, we have rainbow here in the lake

So now that i am learning the smoking thing , i will have to try your way
Great pictures
Thanks
David

 

[thirdeye]

I need to get this to the top of my list!

They look fantastic, Never had Steelhead but love Rainbow, brown, brook , speckled etc.
Waiting for the ice to leave the lake by April when the season opens up here in the backyard, we have rainbow here in the lake

So now that i am learning the smoking thing , i will have to try your way
Great pictures
Thanks
David

Below is a link to my full article (with even more photos) and to be honest it's probably 75% technique and 25% recipe. The cure mix does have some signature seasonings, and those can be changed up, or omitted to better suit your tastes. But once you figure out the technique everything falls into place pretty quickly. I generally mix a triple batch of the dry cure and have it in the freezer. It softens in about 20 minutes, so if Mrs ~t~ buys some fillets or I make a run to the lake the cure is ready by the time I've rinsed and trimmed my fish.

The post-rinse (and before smoking) seasoning is up to you as well. I add more cracked pepper, and roasted garlic powder. Some of my friends add maple sugar or brush with slightly diluted maple syrup. One guy likes flakes of sea salt, another uses lemon pepper (Kingsford makes a good one), and I've used cajun spices. One family I gift it too wants 6 or 8 narrow slices that have pepper and maple sugar, and smoked to around 155°, so it's drier. And at least one fillet that has 2X cracked pepper that they use to make salmon spread.

SEAFOOD - Dry Cure for Salmon, Trout or Steelhead

Revised 1-13-2022 Cured fish has been prepared for centuries as a means of food preservation. Because of refrigeration and our knowledge ...

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