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Eating what You Catch
There’s a popular saying that maintains you can give a man a fish and he’ll have a meal, but if you teach him how to fish, he’ll always be well fed. It’s a great sentiment and it contains more than a kernel of truth, but when you see the way many people prepare the fish they catch, you have to wonder whether or not the idea would hold under practical application!
Really, how many times would one be willing to suffer through the same burnt trout prepared with a little oil or butter on a trusty camp skillet? It might be a fun snack when one is eating his or her very first trout, but it certainly wouldn’t be anyone’s idea of a great staple meal.
That basic recipe for baked trout is well known for a reason. It works and it’s pretty darn edible. It’s hardly exciting, though, and after enjoying that treat a few times, the newly taught angler might just hit the streets begging for a portion of pot roast.
It’s a problem experienced by even some of the most talented fly fishing anglers. They know how to catch a gorgeous fish, but after that, they’re at a loss. The cooler filled with newly snagged salmon makes its way home and ends up being partially used because no one can figure out how to liven up the fish and to create a nice variety of tasty alternatives to broiling it with a little lemon juice.
That’s why one might propose an amendment to that popular saying. Perhaps we should say that if you teach a man to fish and how to prepare the fish, he’ll always be well fed! Fortunately, that is something we can manage handily. Fly fishing successes don’t have to end in the river. They can end at home on a supper table by learning a few different cooking techniques and how to implement them.
Whole trout can make an edible main dish at a campsite in a skillet. It can be easily transformed with only a few ingredients into a gourmet supper with a little effort. Instead of salt, pepper, onion and the inadvertent blackening so often encountered around the campfire, one can take trout in a different direction. There are many different ways to prepare the popular fly fishing catch.
How about stuffing the fish with a combination of dried fruit and rice? Perhaps one is feeling adventurous and would like to apply the no-heat method of cooking so popular in South America to some trout filets and create a wonderful cerviche dish. You can vary your seasonings. Everything from chili powder to whiskey can dress up a recent catch and transform it into an exciting alternative to the hum-drum methods usually used.
If you like to cast your flies in the direction of salmon, you have a variety of options. Bakes salmon with tomatoes and onion or grilled salmon steaks in a savory sauce are both on the potential menu. Anglers can experiment with new ways of cooking and enjoying their catches. Did you know you can make a spectacular meal using the right collection of spices, five pieces of newspaper, cotton string, a bowl of water and a barbecue grill?
You might be so talented on the water that you always have fish to eat. That’s an enviable position in which to be. You can make it even more enviable by brushing up on your cooking techniques. Find a quality source of fish recipes targeted at the fly fishing angler and take a good hard look at them. Not only will you learn some tasty recipes, you will also notice some general tendencies and methods you can use to make your own variations.
You know how to fish. Conventional wisdom says you should be able to feed yourself indefinitely. We both know, however, that will require you to master a few new ways of preparing your catch. Once you do, you will be self-sufficient. Even better, you will be smiling when you sit down at the table.
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