Many shooting men and women are keen anglers. The timing of the seasons provides spring and summer fishing to match shooting in autumn and winter. The most commonly available game fish is the rainbow trout which is generally a dark grey-blue fish with a paler grey-blue belly, and characterised by the pinky-mauve band running from the jaw to the tail. Apart from the belly it is covered in fine black spots. The rainbow trout has been introduced to lakes, reservoirs, clear rivers and streams throughout the British Isles. It grows quickly and matures after two or three years and can weigh up to 4.5kg (101b).
The native brown trout is to be found in most areas of the British Isles and with the rainbow trout is bred by trout farmers to stock lakes and reservoirs throughout the country. Generally, it is a browny-green colour with a dark back and paler belly. It is dotted with black, red or orange spots on the head and body.
The sea trout is a beautiful fish coloured a silvery bluish-green, darker on the back and paler on the belly. There are black or dark-blue cloverleaf spots on the back and sides. It is found in most of the coastal waters of Britain and in cool unpolluted streams with direct access to the sea.
The salmon and sea trout are both migratory and go out to sea from the river of their birth when they are about eighteen months old. They return to their own rivers to spawn.
When at sea salmon have a blue back and silver sides with black spots and a pale belly. On returning to fresh water the fish turns brownish-green on its back with brownish-pink sides and black spots tinged with pink. This pink is lacking in the female.
Salmon and sea trout which have recently left their feeding ground at sea are in prime condition, full of natural oil, red flesh and silvery skin. This bright sheen gradually disappears as it swims upstream to spawn and the fish loses condition.
Any game fish will quickly deteriorate unless it is kept really fresh after being caught. Most trout are caught in the hot weather and if placed in a polythene bag on the river bank or at the bottom of a boat, will quickly become inedible. They will keep far better if wrapped in damp newspaper or a bass bag which allows the air to circulate, but best of all they should be placed in a cool bag or wrapped in newspaper and placed in an ice-box which many fishermen take for their beer and picnic. In this way the fish will reach home in perfect condition, at which time they should be gutted, cleaned and stored in the refrigerator or deep freeze.
Although there are no official close seasons for game fish, most water authorities restrict their seasons to spring until autumn. The summer months are undoubtedly the most popular for trout fishermen whereas the salmon fishing is at its best in the spring and autumn when the fish are running in fresh from the sea.
Using a sharp knife, cut the fish open from the vent to the chin. With your thumb remove all the innards and cut away the gills. Using the tip of the knife, scrape away the blood from the backbone. Wash thoroughly in cold running water.
Cleaning fish. Using a sharp knife, cut the fish from the vent to the chin
Clean the fish as above but remove the head and tail. Place the fish opened out flat, flesh side down on a table or work surface, and press firmly along the backbone with the fist or thumb to flatten it and loosen the bone. Turn the fish over and lift out the bone in one piece using the flat of the knife.
Boning fish. Press firmly along the backbone to flatten it and loosen the bone
Boning fish. Turn the fish over and lift out the backbone in one piece using the flat of the knife
Filleting fish. Gradually slice the flesh away, working up the backbone
Clean the fish and cut off the head. Make a cut across the fish just in front of the tail. Using a sharp knife with a flexible blade and keeping the blade flat, gradually slice the flesh away, working up the backbone until one side comes away whole. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side.
Trout and salmon may be smoked either at home or professionally in a commercial smoke-house. The fish need not be in prime condition. Small home smokers may be bought cheaply enough and if you have a regular supply of fish, smoking makes an excellent alternative to the more usual cooking methods. For further useful information on home smoking consult Fred Taylor’s excellent book One For The Pot.
Ideally, all fish should be frozen the day it is caught. Trout and salmon are oily fish and may be stored for no more than two to four months. Smoked fish will keep for up to twelve months. Trout are usually frozen whole and should be gutted, cleaned and dried, wrapped in foil or polythene, sealed and labelled. Salmon may be frozen whole, cut into serving portions or 2.5cm (lin) steaks. Steaks may be frozen individually or packed with a double layer of cling film or wax paper between each portion.
Whole fish or large portions should be thawed out slowly. Steaks may be cooked partially frozen but the flavour is better if they are completely thawed before cooking.
A whole sea trout or salmon lying fully garnished on a large flat dish looks spectacular but needs careful carving if each portion is to be served in one piece and relatively free from bones.
Using a pair of fish servers, cut through the flesh from head to tail along the centre, following the line of the backbone, and remove the flesh from either side of this line to give about six small portions. Lift off the backbone and carve the underside in the same way. Try to remove any large bones from each portion and include a slice of lemon and a little of the garnish for each serving.
Carving a fish
The flesh of trout caught from clean rivers and lakes will be pink owing to their diet of fresh water shrimps and other crustacea. Freshly caught trout have a delicate flavour and do not need elaborate cooking. There are many sauces which may be served with trout, but the fish is equally good plainly cooked with a little butter, lemon juice or herbs and served hot or cold with wholemeal bread and salad. It may be fried, grilled, poached or baked whole or filleted, or pâté or mousse may be made from fresh or smoked trout.
For those who do not fish, rainbow or brown trout may be bought from trout farms and are available from most fishmongers and many supermarkets. Trout is now cheaper than cod and is no longer the rich man’s prerogative.
A large trout professionally smoked may easily be mistaken for salmon and, sliced thinly and served with a wedge of lemon and brown bread, it makes an ideal starter for a dinner party.
Small whole trout wrapped in foil may be successfully cooked on an open fire or barbecue.
Small trout freshly caught from the river need only the simplest of cooking to provide a superb family breakfast or supper. Make sure the plates are piping hot and serve the trout straight from the pan.
4 small fresh trout
Seasoned flour
50g (2oz) butter
1tbsp oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Roll the trout in seasoned flour.
Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan but do not let it brown. Add the fish and cook over a moderate heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Transfer the trout to hot plates; add the lemon juice to the butter in the frying pan and spoon a little over each fish. Serve at once.
Baked trout with a savoury filling of mushrooms and apples make a substantial supper dish for the family. Serve hot with new potatoes and glazed carrots.
4 small trout
100g (4oz) mushrooms
2 dessert apples
1tbsp chopped chives
1tbsp chopped parsley
1tbsp chopped thyme
Salt and black pepper
Watercress and lemon wedges to garnish
Split and bone the trout, removing the head but not the tail. Pat dry and lay flat.
Peel, core and dice the apples and chop the mushrooms. Mix together with the fresh chopped herbs.
Season the trout lightly with salt and black pepper and cover each fish with a quarter of the savoury filling. Roll up from head to tail.
Place the fish in a buttered casserole or flameproof dish which is just large enough to hold the fish. Cover with a lid or foil and bake in a moderate oven, 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, for 40 minutes.
Decorate with watercress and lemon wedges and serve with the new potatoes and glazed carrots.
A classic way to serve trout, the succulent texture of the fish contrasting with the crunchy fried almonds. This is a perfect dish for an informal lunch or supper party.
4 fresh trout
Seasoned flour
50g (2oz) butter
1tbsp oil
50g (2oz) flaked almonds
Fresh parsley and lemon wedges to garnish
Roll the trout in the seasoned flour.
Melt the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Add the almonds and fry gently until brown. Remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and keep hot.
Add the trout to the pan and fry for about 5-8 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Place the fish on a hot serving dish, sprinkle with the almonds and garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.
Trout with Almonds
Horseradish sauce, home-made for preference, is a classic accompaniment to smoked trout. Serve this colourful dish with a green salad and thin slices of wholemeal bread.
4 whole smoked trout
Mustard and cress
4 large tomatoes, sliced
8 olives, pitted and halved
4 lemon wedges
Horseradish sauce
Skin each trout and place on individual plates.
Decorate with mustard and cress, tomato slices, olives and a wedge of lemon.
Serve with a green salad, wholemeal bread and horseradish sauce (Good Companions).
Sea trout is a smaller fish than salmon, slightly cheaper to buy and preferred by many for its delicate flavour and texture. Small fish, weighing about 450g (1lb), are ideal for frying or grilling and are known by various local names such as peal, sewin or herling. Although a good sea trout will weigh well into double figures, one of about 1.3kg (31b) may be cooked whole to serve either hot or cold. It does not need a rich sauce to improve its flavour. Baking in foil is probably the nicest way to cook sea trout and salmon as the fish keeps moist and all the juices are preserved.
1 sea trout, 1.3kg (31b)
Butter
Cucumber and lemon slices to garnish
Gut, clean and dry the fish, but leave whole.
Measure out a large square of foil and spread with butter, making sure that the fish will not touch any part of the foil which is not buttered or it will stick.
Place the fish in the centre of the foil and fold to make a loose parcel sealed on top and at the ends. Place on a baking tray or in a large roasting tin and bake in a moderate oven, 160°C (325°F), gas mark 3, for 20 minutes per 450g (1lb). When cooked the eyes will have turned white.
To serve hot, leave the fish to stand in the foil for 10 minutes, then unwrap carefully, preserving the juices if you wish to make a sauce.
To serve cold, leave in the foil until quite cold, when it may be skinned and garnished with slices of cucumber and lemon.
Smoked trout, curd cheese and yoghurt are blended together to make a low-calorie pâté. Serve with wholemeal toast and a tomato and fennel salad for a tasty snack meal.
225g (8oz) boned smoked trout
225g (8oz) curd cheese
Pinch of mace
1tbsp yoghurt
1tsp lemon juice
Black pepper
Fennel or parsley sprigs to garnish
Remove the skin and any remaining small bones from the trout. Pound the flesh with the mace to a smooth paste.
Blend the curd cheese and yoghurt and season with black pepper and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly with the pounded trout.
Serve in an earthenware bowl or individual ramekins and decorate with the fennel or parsley.
This recipe may also be made with smoked salmon. Use up left-overs from a side or smoked salmon pieces which may be bought quite cheaply from delicatessens.
2 trout fillets about 350g (12oz), cut into small chunks
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
2tsp lazy red chilli
2 cloves garlic
2tsp Thai fish sauce
Handful basil leaves
Black pepper
Rapeseed oil for frying
Lime wedges
Place the trout, pepper, lazy red chilli, garlic, fish sauce, basil and pepper into a food processor and blend until finely minced. Form the mixture into 8 cakes and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the trout cakes for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Garnish with wedges of lime and serve with a green salad.
Pecan nuts rich in omega-6 come from the Hickory tree and are often used in the Southern states of America in savoury dishes, as well as the traditional pecan pie.
1 rainbow trout, filleted
1tsp oil
Salt and black pepper
25g (1oz) softened butter
50g (2oz) pecan nuts, chopped
1tsp ground mixed spice
1tbsp fresh dill
Brush the trout fillets with the oil, season with salt and black pepper and grill for 10 minutes. Mix the rest of the ingredients to make the topping and spread over the fillets. Grill for a further 2 minutes and serve with a green salad.
Salmon is a rich, highly prized and highly priced fish, largely owing to its rarity. There is great anxiety about the future of the Atlantic salmon owing to high seas netting, abstraction, poaching and pollution. Many feel that the flavour may be over-rated and prefer the more humble herring. Indeed, if the herring were to become as rare as the salmon it would carry the label of exclusivity at present given to the salmon.
The best flavoured salmon are those caught in the spring or early autumn when they are running upstream from the sea. They should be bright-eyed, red gilled with shiny scales and the flesh should be firm and red. The presence of sea lice on salmon is a sure sign of their freshness.
Large portions or whole salmon are usually poached or baked in foil to serve hot or cold. Individual steaks or cutlets may be fried in hot butter or baked in wine, cream or wrapped in foil. Wafer-thin slices of smoked salmon, with lemon, black pepper and thin slices of brown bread, make a classic first course for a dinner party as does a spectacular salmon mousse.
This recipe works equally well with trout. As an alternative to the herbs, other flavourings such as chopped chilli, ginger, garlic and soy sauce may be added to the parcels.
1tbsp rapeseed oil
4 salmon fillets 175g (6oz) each
4tsp lime juice
Salt and black pepper
4tbsp crème fraîche
1tbsp each of fresh thyme, chives, rosemary and parsley, chopped and mixed
Brush 4 rectangles of foil with the oil and place a salmon fillet in the centre of each. Drizzle a teaspoon of lime juice over each fillet and season with salt and black pepper. Add a tablespoon of crème fraîche to the fish and top with a tablespoon of the mixed herbs.
Seal the foil edges to make loose parcels and place them on a baking tray. Bake at 200°C (400°F), gas mark 6, for 12 minutes. Open the parcels and serve on hot plates with a selection of roasted vegetables such as onion, fennel, mushrooms and peppers.
4 salmon steaks
2tbsp light soy sauce
1tbsp olive oil
1tsp lazy garlic
1tsp lazy ginger
1tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
1tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Place the salmon steaks in a shallow dish. Combine the ingredients for the marinade, pour over the salmon and leave to marinate for 2 hours. Remove the steaks from the marinade and cook on a preheated griddle or barbecue for 4-5 minutes on each side, basting with the marinade.
Serve with a stir fry of mangetout, thinly sliced courgette, carrot and baby sweetcorn.
450g (1lb) salmon or trout fillets
225g (8oz) cooked king prawns
4 hardboiled eggs, sliced
225g (8oz) mushrooms, sliced
400ml (3⁄4pt) milk
2 bay leaves
Salt and black pepper
75g (3oz) butter
1tbsp flour
2tbsp crème fraîche
1tbsp dried dill
Melt 25g (1oz) butter in a medium sized saucepan, cook the mushrooms for 2 minutes then remove and place in a shallow ovenproof dish. Place the fish in the same saucepan, add the milk, bay leaves, salt and pepper and poach the fish on a gentle heat for 5 minutes. Remove the fish and strain the liquid into a jug.
Rinse the saucepan, melt the remaining butter and stir in the flour. Gradually add the strained milk and stir until the sauce is smooth then cook gently on a low heat for 4 minutes.
Whisk in the crème fraîche, dill and black pepper. Remove the skin from the fish, break into chunks and add to the mushrooms in the ovenproof dish along with the prawns and sliced eggs. Pour over the sauce.
Cover with a topping of creamed potatoes and parsnips and bake at 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, for 35 minutes.
The standard way of cooking a whole salmon is to poach it gently either in a fish kettle, which should have a trivet fitted with handles, or in a preserving pan, in which case a large fish may need to be curved to fit in. Salmon has such a delicate flavour that it is only necessary to poach it in lightly salted water flavoured with onion, carrot and herbs.
2.7kg (61b) fresh salmon
1 onion, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs parsley
1tbsp salt
Lettuce, cress, cucumber, wedges of tomato and lemon twists for decoration
Half fill the fish kettle or pan with water and add the sliced onion, carrot, herbs and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
If using a kettle, place the fish on the trivet and lower into the water. Otherwise, use two long strips of muslin or foil wrapped around the fish, and, holding both ends, lower into the pan, curving to fit if necessary. Cover the pan and simmer very gently, making sure that the water does not boil, for 8 minutes per 450g (1lb).
Drain the fish and serve hot with Hollandaise sauce (see Good Companions), new potatoes and salad.
To serve cold, allow the fish to cool in the liquid. Arrange on a large serving dish and decorate with twists of lemon, slices of cucumber and a mixed salad of lettuce, cress and tomatoes. Serve with mayonnaise. Alternatively, carefully remove the skin before decorating.
This is a simple but foolproof method of cooking a piece of salmon of any size or a large whole trout which you intend to serve cold. Place the fish in a saucepan and cover with lightly salted water. Slowly bring to the boil then let it simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid and leave until quite cold, preferably overnight. The fish will continue to cook in the water as it cools, keeping the flesh moist. Drain well, decorate and serve with mayonnaise, new potatoes and salad.
Perfect as a first course or as part of a summer buffet party, salmon mousse may be made in advance and frozen if necessary.
350g (12oz) cooked salmon, skinned and boned
300ml (1⁄2pt) milk
25g (1oz) butter
25g (1oz) flour
Bay leaf
4 peppercorns
1tbsp powdered gelatine
225g (8oz) crème fraîche
2 egg whites, stiffly whisked
Salt and pepper
Sprigs of fennel and sliced cucumber to garnish
Place the milk in a saucepan, add the bay leaf and peppercorns, cover and infuse over a low heat for 5 minutes. Strain and set aside.
Rinse the saucepan. Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Pour in half the flavoured milk and blend with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the milk and stir until boiling. Boil for 2 minutes. Leave the sauce to cool.
Dissolve the gelatine in 3tbsp warm water.
Flake the salmon into a bowl and mix well with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the dissolved gelatine. Fold in the crème fraîche and stiffly whisked egg white.
Turn into a lightly greased 1.2 litre (2pt) soufflé dish and leave in the refrigerator to set.
Turn out the mousse and decorate with sprigs of fennel and slices of cucumber.
Serve with crisp Melba toast.
Salmon mousse may also be served in individual ramekins topped with a small sprig of fennel.