Wild sea trout

Trout

By Michael O Meara
Oscars bistro, Galway City 091 582180


Wild trout, a fine fish which Galway is justifiably known and distinguished for. Indeed there are few fish meals comparable to a fresh brown trout, simply wrapped in tin foil with a generous piece of butter and cooked over an open fire allowing the skin to crisp while the flesh remains deliciously tender and succulent.
Of course there are a number of trout species found in our lakes and rivers which include the brown trout, Ferox, Sonaghan and Slob trout all of which are superb for the table. But a trout which resides in the sea is for me the number one, this of course being the sea trout. This is a stunningly handsome fish which is very similar to a salmon. But the sea trout (Salmo trutta morpha trutta) is in fact the same species as the brown trout ( Salmo trutta morpha lacustris). The divining difference being that one spends its life at sea, the other in fresh water which leads to obvious differences in diet and environmental adaptations. The sea trout can grow to a good size with the Irish record being an impressive 16Ib 6 oz fish caught in 1983 by Tomas Mc Manus. But a caution must be mentioned and that is the sea trout is a vulnerable fish and stocks must be tightly controlled, fish for the table should only be sourced from sustainable stocks and always be tagged. A major treat to wild sea trout is in shore salmon farming which can lead to a high number of sea lice which attacks the wild fish, again this is a major issue as the protection of our wild sea trout is vital for our world famous angling industry.

Wild sea trout with crushed new season potatoes and wild garlic

Wild garlic can be found in many of Galway’s woodlands.
1 kg new season Queens washed well and boiled in well salted water (or even better, seawater)
100 gram butter
50 gram wild garlic blanched and coarsely chopped.
Drain the cooked potatoes then roughly crush with the butter; finish by incorporating the wild garlic.

To cook the sea trout
Scale the fish, then fillet pin bone and divide into portions. Cook in clarified butter skin side down allowing the skin become crisp and almost mahogany in colour (not burned)
Turn over and finish cooking.
Serve with the crushed new season potatoes