Lake Trout Recipes

[hunt1up]

So I took the wife and kids on a Trout/Salmon charter on Lake Michigan this past weekend. The fishing was excellent and we caught a handful of Steelhead and a good amount of Lake Trout, including some pretty beefy ones. The kids had a great time. The guides promptly thumped every fish and put them on ice. After they were cleaned, I took all of the filets home and cleaned them really well and vacuum sealed and froze them.

I've eaten a lot of fish in my life but never Lake Trout. I've now got 44 pounds of fish in the freezer(mostly Lake Trout) and I've been scanning the web for some new recipes. The consensus on Lake Trout seems to be no consensus at all. Some guys say feed it to the dog, other say it can be excellent. How do you cook yours? It seems smoking is the popular way to go, but how about blackened, baked, etc like I'd do with salmon?

 

[Windigo]

Smoked for sure. If you bake it, do it on a rack on a baking tray so the fat can drain. It’s great in chowder and curry as well. Fried in nugget form with a variety of dipping sauces is great finger food for the kids. It’s crazy that people call them greaseballs as a derogative today, considering that it would have been a compliment 100yrs ago.

 

[Wihunter12]

Cut lake trout into bite size chunks, boil in 7up and serve with melted butter. Very good!

 

[amassi]

Chop lake trout into steaks, save head and tail. Next spring plant under tomato plants. Tastiest lake trout recipe on the internet.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Yooper]

I either smoke mine using a dry brine, grill it on tinfoil with butter, sliced onion, and seasoning of choice, or I'll sometimes even use the air fryer. I grew up eating lakers from Lake Superior so I'm ok with them, but if they're too fat we either tossed em back or if we couldn't get them to swim they were disposed of. Rumor has it the lakers out of Lake Michigan are much better table fare now compared to decades ago.

 

[hunt1up]

Thanks guys for the thoughts. Sounds like I have a bunch of new things to try.

 

[Trackerbacker]

Cut lake trout into bite size chunks, boil in 7up and serve with melted butter. Very good!

Now that's got to be one of the most interesting recipe...

...will try!

 

[westslopelaker]

Lake trout is my favorite fish! One of my best recipes is making it into fish tacos. Cook boneless fillets in a buttered skillet. I lightly coat the fillets in taco seasoning mixed with a little old bay before cooking. When it flakes it's ready.

It's pretty good beer battered and deep fried too.

Another excellent recipe is to make it into a "salmon" chowder. I use this recipe and just substitute in fresh laker fillets for the salmon.

Salmon Chowder

Rich and creamy salmon chowder made with easy ingredients: cooked salmon, evaporated milk, potatoes, creamed corn, and lots of Cheddar cheese.

www.allrecipes.com

 

[z987k]

I put the fillet skin side down on the grill and season with lemon pepper. Just like a salmon. Because it is a salmon.

 

[TheGreek]

The lakers I’ve caught in Lake Michigan, we’ve Baked in the oven with potatoes and bacon. Turned out great.

 

[MeatMissile]

I put the fillet skin side down on the grill and season with lemon pepper. Just like a salmon. Because it is a salmon.

It’s actually a char.

 

[z987k]

View attachment 438038

It’s actually a char.

It's in the Salmonidae family. Like most of the "trout", salmon, char, etc.

 

[Wihunter12]

Now that's got to be one of the most interesting recipe...

...will try!

Typically use about a 2 liter bottle of 7up and I forgot to mention add a few tablespoons of kosher salt to the 7up. Boil long so fish is cooked through.

 

[LongWayAround]

Lake trout is great. I'm a fan of grilled on a cedar plank. Our guide suggested a light smoke and making a dill/cream cheese spread for crackers.

 

[svivian]

Now that's got to be one of the most interesting recipe...

...will try!

I know alot of guys who do it with Bourbot to make poor mans lobster

 

[TSAMP]

I just tried frying some as I had a very thick fillet to use up. It's firm but a tad fishy in my opinion. I smoked one as well and think I may have liked that better.

Who'd you fish with? I was thinking of booking another charter in Sept with some friends. We did poorly in early June.

 

[hunt1up]

I just tried frying some as I had a very thick fillet to use up. It's firm but a tad fishy in my opinion. I smoked one as well and think I may have liked that better.

Who'd you fish with? I was thinking of booking another charter in Sept with some friends. We did poorly in early June.

Confusion Charters – Lake Michigan Fishing Charters

www.confusioncharters.com

They operate out of Montrose Harbor in the city and also north at Winthrop Harbor. We fished out of Montrose since we took the kids to a baseball game that day. It was just my family of 4 on the boat and the two guides did an excellent job with a 9 and 11 year old. They have a bigger boat that’ll take up to 12 as well.

 

[MeatMissile]

It's in the Salmonidae family. Like most of the "trout", salmon, char, etc.

So are whitefish. Anyone wanna claim that whitefish are like a spring chinook?

 

[VernAK]

Growing up in MN, most folks smoked lake trout but here in Alaska it's my favorite fried fish. We have an annual lake trout camp and dinner is always lake trout fried in a comal pozo. Delicious!

Are Alaska lake trout different than Minnesota lake trout? The trout I'm eating here are feeding mostly on ciscos and whitefish with a few snails thrown in so you wouldn't think they'd be different.

 

[Fordguy]

The high fat content in salmonids (especially lake trout) make them am excellent candidate for smoking. Some of the best smoked fish I've had were lake trout. It doesn't mean that they aren't good prepared a lot of other ways. Also- try baking them with potatoes and onions in a pan with a mix of white wine (I use Riesling but just pick a white wine that doesn't offend your palate) lemon and butter, sprinkle paprika (or smoked paprika), salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the top before or while cooking. Make sure it doesn't run out of liquid in the bottom of the pan while cooking.