Lake Trout grilled

[greybeard]

Many times I read people sharing their disdain for Lake Trout. Yes not great fighters and big ones have consumption warnings. This year fishing has been slow and last trip had 4 LT under 6#. We had a cook out planned and one Coho was not going to feed us. I’ve grilled LT before and thought it was just fine. So today we grilled both Coho and LT. My buddy who has eaten my Cajun salmon for years said today he like the LT better just because it was different.

Here is my recipe for Cajun Butter. It’s great on all fish. As the recipe states it is amazing, considering the ingredients that it’s not hot unless you add more Cajun Butter at the table.

Enjoy.

Grey Beard


Cajun Hot Butter

3/4# butter
1 tbl paprika
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt

Skinless Fish filets cut to the width of your spatula for ease in turning.

Melt the butter and stir in the spices. Place in a 1 pint jar and shake occasionally to keep the spices suspended as it cools. Use as a baste for grilling fish or chicken. May store for weeks in refrigerator.

Place fish on a hot well oiled grill at a medium heat and baste with Cajun butter. Let fish cook until it appears to be almost done, then turn using a sharp metal spatula and baste on the second side and cook until done. Best if not over cooked so needs little time on the second side.

Add more butter to the fish at the table depending on how hot you like your food.

90% of the salmon we cook is with this never fail recipe. It’s surprising despite all the pepper, it’s not hot to the palate unless you add more Cajun butter at the table. This is a variation on Blackened Red Fish.

The butter also works great in a fry pan at low to med heat for frying fish. I cover the fish while cooking so it takes less time. Take care not to burn the butter.

[pfm]

The Feds want the lake back to its origin. Therefore, there has been no reduction in Laker stocking (the DNR can't control this as the Feds own it) and the catch rates for those non-fighting grease balls is increasing annually. Not the size we used to have back in the hey day bouncing lead balls off the hills of Racine. Get used to catching them because it will be the trout that sustains this fishery the way it is going. Right now, without greasers and Bows, the pickings would be terribly slim up and down the coast much like last year. As for eating greasers, never for me...

[muskymike275]

Thank You for sharing the recipe! I"m going to give that a shot the next time we grill fish. I have always eaten the lake trout and found them very good. When I grill them I usually put them skin side down in aluminum foil then sprinkle generously with Old Bay seasoning and some pads of butter on top, and a sliced onion, cover with more foil and grill for 30 minutes. We have chunked them up and deep fried them which was good, and they are very good smoked. 

[greybeard]

To keep my wife and daughters happy I have to make salmon NOT taste like it does in the restaurant. I think removing the skin is important also helps remove some of the fat that holds the contaminats. Cooking directly on a well oiled grill allows the "fishy" juices to cook away.

I told a friend who loves fish but not salmon that cooking salmon on the grill vs baking in foil is like the difference between chicken and beef. After eating coho yesterday she agreed. She like the LT also.

gb

[getchasome]

Thanks for the recipe grey beard!! pfm, what port do you typically fish out of? Just curious.

[greybeard]

I live in McFarland. Kenosha some yrs the first trip or two then Racine. Once the lake sets up with a good thermocline mostly Milwaukee. If reports are much better at Port or Sheboygan or even Algoma I'll go there. Nice to have friends in all these ports who are willing to share info.

gb

[pfm]

"pfm, what port do you typically fish out of? Just curious. "

No port in particular. I start at the IL border in the spring and make my way up. I don't go north of Sheboygan though. Sheboygan is my favorite port. You gotta love a place where you can drop off your fish to be cleaned while you grab a burger and beer.

Just pray the Feds don't get their way because Lake Michigan with be Lake Huron II. A telling sign though is the fact the Feds did not allow stocking reductions on greasers when all the states reduced salmon plants. The Feds know the damage those stinky bottom feeders play on the alewife population too.

The recipe sounds great GB. It seems like it would cover up the any poor tasting fish.