The authentic boreal fishing camp recipe, where whole lake trout cooks gently over hot coals with smoked pork belly, tender onions, and salted butter.
Ingredients
- 1600 g Fresh whole lake trout (touladi), gutted and scaled
- 160 g Thick-cut salt-cured smoked pork belly
- 2 pieces Quebec yellow onion
- 80 g Cultured salted butter, 80% fat
- 2 pieces Fresh unwaxed lemon
- 2 tbsp High-oleic sunflower oil
- to taste Fine sea salt
- to taste Whole black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Build your fire with dry hardwood, ideally maple or birch, 45 minutes before cooking. Let the active flames die down until you have a thick bed of glowing coals coated in a thin layer of gray ash, delivering a moderate heat of around 350 °F / 180 °C (you should be able to hold your hand over the grate for 4 to 5 seconds).
- Pat the lake trout thoroughly dry with paper towels, both the skin and inside the cavity. Using a sharp knife, slice the fish along the backbone from the belly side to butterfly it flat without piercing the skin along the back.
- Peel the yellow onions and slice them into even rounds about 1/4-inch / 5 mm thick. Cut the thick slices of smoked pork belly into wide pieces that fit along the length of the fish.
- Scrub your hinged grilling basket clean, then brush it generously with sunflower oil so the fish does not stick to the metal as it cooks.
- Season the flesh side of the butterflied trout evenly with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Layer the sliced yellow onions and pieces of smoked pork belly directly over the open flesh, then scatter small pats of cultured salted butter across the top.
- Place the fish inside the hinged grilling basket, skin-side facing down toward the coals, positioned 6 inches / 15 cm above the 350 °F / 180 °C heat. Grill for 12 to 14 minutes, until the skin crackles steadily, turns crisp and browned, and the flesh begins to turn opaque along the edges.
- Carefully flip the basket over so the flesh and toppings face the coals. Cook for another 6 to 8 minutes, shifting the basket if dripping fat causes flare-ups, until the pork belly is golden and crisp and the onions are translucent and lightly caramelized.
- Check for doneness: the internal temperature should reach 130 °F / 55 °C on an instant-read thermometer at the thickest part, or the flesh should flake easily into tender, opaque pearls while remaining juicy.
- Remove the basket from the fire and let the fish rest on a wooden cutting board for 5 minutes so the juices can redistribute. Open the basket, immediately squeeze the fresh lemon wedges over the warm, sizzling fish, and serve right away.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 665.9 kcal
- Protein
- 56.56 g
- Carbohydrate
- 6.29 g
- Fat
- 45.2 g
- Fibre
- 1.89 g
- Calcium
- 13.23 mg
- Iron
- 0.19 mg
- Magnesium
- 6.37 mg
