Cast, Catch and Cook
With the right preparation and attitude (and a bit of luck on the water), you can create fresh and flavoursome outdoor meals to fuel your adventure.
The beauty of salt-baking is the hardened protective layer of salt around the fish that seals in the moisture, resulting in a delicate, flavourful piece of fish best accompanied by fresh local vegetables. While this recipe is best enjoyed lakeside, it can also be recreated at home on your barbecue.
Preparation
Trout
Fresh trout (12 inches or less)
1 box kosher salt (1.36kg)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 bunch soft herbs, e.g. fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetables
½ lb green beans, blanched
1 vine of vine-ripened tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
Firepit
2 12-inch cast-iron skillets
1 pair metal tongs
Firewood
Axe
Cooking
Clean the trout and place a few lemon slices and fresh oregano into the body cavity. Drizzle with olive oil.
Pour a box of kosher salt (1.36kg) into an empty cast-iron skillet and mix enough water with the salt so the mixture resembles wet sand. Spread a one-inch thick layer of salt on the bottom of the pan, top with a few slices of lemon followed by the fish and a few more lemon slices. Encase everything in an even layer of salt and put the lid on the skillet.
Burn down a few logs in preparation for cooking so you have a bed of hot coals with a few active logs burning. Place the cast-iron skillet with the prepared trout on the bed of hot coals. Position a few of the actively burning logs around and directly on top of the cast iron pan for additional heat. Meanwhile, preheat your second cast iron skillet.
Once the second skillet is hot, add some olive oil. When the oil starts to smoke, place the green beans and fresh vine tomatoes in the pan. Squeeze half a lemon over the vegetables and place the lemon facedown in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Depending on the heat of your fire and the size of your fish, cooking time may vary—check progress at around 15 minutes. Carefully remove the layer of salt and brush off any salt crystals that may have adhered to the trout. Once the vegetables have a good char to them, remove them from the heat. Plate the trout and vegetables, squeeze a bit of the charred lemon over the serving...and enjoy.
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