Species sheet · The Edible River
Brook trout
A belly of fire under a marbled back.
- Whole in the pan, skin crisped
- Grilled over a wood fire by the lake
- Hot-smoked or cured gravlax-style
- In French
- Omble de fontaine
- Scientific name
- Salvelinus fontinalis
- In the water
- Native to the cold streams and lakes of eastern North America, introduced to mountain torrents and lakes across Europe, where it demands very clean water.
- Season & buying
- Caught in running water during the open season, from spring to late summer; farmed year-round, especially in Quebec and the Alps.
- Common length
- ~25 cm
- How to identify it
- Olive back covered in pale worm-like markings
Red spots ringed with blue along the flanks
Lower fins edged with a crisp white line
On the plate
Pink to orange flesh, fine and melting, sweeter than a trout's.
Avoid: Scaling it: the scales are tiny, so just rinse it and pat it thoroughly dry.
It is not a trout but a char; in Quebec, where it rules the lakes, it is still called speckled trout.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
