Fresh Fish in Johns Creek – Is Steelhead Trout the New Salmon?

I was testing out a recipe for a cooking demo I’ll be doing at Kathleen’s Catch in Johns Creek.  Kathleen had asked me to make healthy fish recipes, but wanted to skip salmon since and try Steelhead Trout instead.  She said it looked like salmon, cooked like salmon, tasted like salmon and like salmon was high in nutrients and Omega 3’s.   With that in mind, I gave it a shot.

When doing my research on healthy ways to cook fish, I was surprised to find that pressure cooking is a healthy way to cook fish because it retains nutrients and doesn’t require extra fat/butter/oil.  I wanted a recipe that had some pizzazz and of course couldn’t find a pressure cooker recipe for Steelhead Trout, so I substituted the trout for the salmon Pamela Rice Hahn’s Red Wine Poached Salmon from The Everything Pressure Cooker Cookbook. 

The Recipe

Ingredients
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 celery stalk, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2t dried thyme
3 1/2c water
2c dry red wine
2T balsamic vinegar
1/2t salt
1/2t black peppercorns
1 2 1/2lb center cut salmon roast… I subbed this out for 2 Steelhead Trout filets
Lemon for serving/garnish

Instructions
Add all ingredients to the pressure cooker except the trout and lemon.  Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes then slow release for 15.  Quick release any remaining pressure

Set the trivet in the pressure cooker and bring the wine mixture to a high simmer.

Wrap the trout in cheese cloth, leaving handles on both ends to help insert and lift the fish into the hot pressure cooker.  Use tongs for this.  Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then slow release pressure for 20 minutes.  Carefully lift salmon out of pressure cooker w/tongs and drain in cheesecloth in a colander.

Serve with lemon wedges.

How It Went

My husband's first comment, “This is trout?”  And yes, he loved it as did I! 

The recipe in and of itself was easy, but did require several steps.  That said, it was truly a laid back, stress free preparation and left plenty of time to get side dishes ready, set the table, surf the net, etc. 

Will I make it again…absolutely!  And, if you want to give it a test run, hit my demo at Kathleen’s Catch in Johns Creek on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m.  Visit www.kathleenscatch.com to reserve your spot.

About Chef Leslie - Leslie Guria's Fresh from Your Kitchen Personal Chef Service servces clients throughout north metro Atlanta. For information, visitwww.freshfromyourkitchne.com/blog or email Chef Leslie at leslie@freshfromyourkitchen.com.