How do you get the "Fishy" taste out of trout?

[Speedy]

I'm getting ready to make my move back East to Vermont early May. I have a dozen or more nice Rainbow trout in my freezer. All 18" -21", cleaned scaled and frozen same day caught. I have tried the maple syrup version and the breaded with corn flakes style also. Looks good but still has the dominant FISHY taste. Can't leave them for months in the freezer. I can thaw them and flay them anytime. Any ideas on cooking other than extreme hot sauce. LOL  Thanks  "Speedy"

[bulletbob]

 Usually when a fish gets nasty and fishy in a freezer, they stay that way.. Time to soak them in milk, salt water etc, is  usually before you freeze them.. Also it sounds like you froze the fish intact just gutted, headed, etc... The skin and the fat underneath is NASTY and if you freeze a trout in thet manner, good luck getting them to taste sweet.. I never freeze trout personally, they  get nasty easier than say Perch or other   panfish..  I never thought any of the trout out of the Finger Lakes were all that great eating anyway, they tend to be strong and oily compared to  holdover trout from clean water streams ..  A diet of little greasy, fatty sawbellies tends to make FL trout   strong tasting... If you must freeze good size trout, I would   freeze JUST the skinned fillets, and use a vacuum sealer, and they won't be quite as fishy.. Good luck with the rainbows you already have, but if they were mine, they'd probably become fertilizer.. I have had no luck sweetening up "freezer fouled" fish with any cooking method.... bob

[Speedy]

Thanks for the tip.. I was told soak them in Jack Daniels, next day throw away the fish and drink the marinade. LOL  I'm a little afraid to keep any Lake Trout. Ever try any?

[Sk8man]

With fresh ones they can be filleted skins off and then put the fillets in a leak proof plastic bag or large zip lock and put salt and concentrated lemon juice in it let them sit for an hour or so. Most of the fishy smell and taste will be gone quickly and gently rinse them just prior to cooking (not too much rinsing as it dissipates the oils). I haven't ever tried it with frozen fish but I also remove the grey lateral line during filleting too as that is where a lot of the strong fishy taste comes from.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Sk8man

[bulletbob]

1 hour ago, Speedy said:

Thanks for the tip.. I was told soak them in Jack Daniels, next day throw away the fish and drink the marinade. LOL  I'm a little afraid to keep any Lake Trout. Ever try any?

 Lakers are ok. Some are quite good, others are really strong even when  iced down, and cleaned quickly.. I usually take one,very rarely two.

 Browns are better, Rainbows I have kept from cayuga have ranged from  totally inedible  to extremely good..I like salmon the best of all the salmonids. They all need to be kept cold, cleaned well, all dark meat trimmed with a good sharp blade, and personally, I don't like them frozen.. The flavor seems to degrade pretty quickly.. As stated. I would never clean them with skin and dark meat intact.. It will certainly ruin the entire fillet  in a short time. Some people  can endure fish thats extremely strong and rancid and still enjoy it. I am not one of those people.. I don't mind a strong fish such as Bluefish or Mackerel from the ocean, but they must be very fresh.. any dark fleshed, oily fish must be eaten fresh, they just don't freeze well at all, and I include Finger Lakes trout in with those... Others might disagree, and thats ok, but I don't even try to freeze them.. they get rancid really  fast when frozen..

 

[fisherdude]

For me I only eat fresh  salmon from Lake Ontario wouldn't touch a Laker. Fish doesn't freeze good in my book. Finger Lakes fish I eat fresh on the grill soy sauce brown sugar marinade Italian dressing marinade the rest gets turned into dog food good for 3 days and any left from dog food made over the 3 days gets thron out

 What you have from the freezer I would dump out . 

[Speedy]

Thanks for the tips.   All I ever knew was gut, then and clean them ASAP and get them on ice.

Now I can relate...When I was a volunteer Deputy Game Warden in New Jersey, I would get the nasty calls to pick up a hit deer or two in highway crashes. Some times they were not yet dead and pumped adrenaline in their system and the meat would taste like skunk road -kill. LOL  So..do you guys filet the fish on board and just bring home the fillets?

Thanks 'Speedy"

[just me]

soak in milk

 

[fisherdude]

1 hour ago, Speedy said:

Thanks for the tips.   All I ever knew was gut, then and clean them ASAP and get them on ice.

Now I can relate...When I was a volunteer Deputy Game Warden in New Jersey, I would get the nasty calls to pick up a hit deer or two in highway crashes. Some times they were not yet dead and pumped adrenaline in their system and the meat would taste like skunk road -kill. LOL  So..do you guys filet the fish on board and just bring home the fillets?

Thanks 'Speedy"

You're not supposed to filet out on the boat for identification and size purpose but I have you're supposed to bleed them out gut and Gill put on ice. some bleed out fillet fish leaving  the skin on then on ice supposed to be offshore to do so. 

[greenhornet73]

I freeze my fish in salt water and they always taste fresh caught. The frozen fish block takes up space but I rarely stock up my freezer with more than a few bags at a time. Lake Ontario fish I won’t keep unless I plan to eat them before I need to freeze. Just my personal taste.

Edited April 30, 2023 by greenhornet73

[rusty1034]

Release them unharmed, then buy haddock fillets. 
 

After many years of eating fish I’ve decided that I don’t eat fish from fresh water, no matter how they have been treated, cleaned, breaded or fried. 
 

I still love sushi and sashimi though. Big difference. 
 

 

[greenboatluke]

Do you like smoked trout/salmon? I tend to smoke what makes it to the freezer. The brining process before helps (as already mentioned) and you can season them before they go in the smoker. And there’s the flavor from the smoke of course! 

Edited April 30, 2023 by greenboatluke

[Speedy]

12 hours ago, rusty1034 said:

Release them unharmed, then buy haddock fillets. 
 

After many years of eating fish I’ve decided that I don’t eat fish from fresh water, no matter how they have been treated, cleaned, breaded or fried. 
 

I still love sushi and sashimi though. Big difference. 
 

 

 

[Speedy]

I heard ya..I like Cod the best. But cutting up and eating raw fish As Is, sounds like Bait. Guess it's the Red Neck in me. LOL   Speedy

[RH93]

Have you tried pressure canning yet?

 

Just recently got into pressure canning salmon and trout. Ive been pressure canning the fish with jalapenos, garlic and ginger paste. 

I'm extremely surprised with how "un-fishy" it tastes. 

I've eaten salmon and trout that was cooked many different ways, I think pressure canned fish is my current favorite. 

[TyeeTanic]

I put it into a ziplock (unfrozen) at least 24h before I want to cook, and add chopped garlic, chopped onion, parsley, olive oil (couple of teaspoons), fish seasoning (of you're liking ... or you can just use salt, black pepper, dill, oregano), squeeze of lemon, a squirt of balsamic vinegar ... and then top it up so the fish is fully submerged with a good white wine (pinot grigio is good).  Shake it up to mix the contents and let that baby soak for 24h.

 

I then transfer the fish onto a cedar plank to cook ... and I keep basting with that "broth in the bag" every say 10 min ... especially closer to the end.  Once finished, add a few thin slices of butter to melt over the fish and enjoy.

[Smat64]

2nd on the cedar plank if its too fishy or desired. 

[GAMBLER]

The key to non fishy trout and salmon is 1) proper care after the catch (bleed them out and put them immediately on ice) and remove the dark meat between the meat and the skin.  

[greenhornet73]

That’s true for most fishy tasting fish including saltwater fish like mackerel and bluefish. Also, the fresher you eat them the better.  If you freeze those two types don’t bother unless you plan to smoke them.

[Kevin J Legg]

I bleed them and ice them. Fillet, take skin off and remove all brown along skin side and lateral line. This helps a great deal but people that only like white fish, like perch and walleye, and don’t like salmon which are more oily still might not like them.

[BassMrs.ster]

Soak in milk 

[bluetop]

With fillets I first rub with lemon. If I’m worried about fishy taste, I then also rub with chicken broth - then I add dry seasonings.  While broiling, you can also baste with chicken broth.  Great with large lake trout.

[muskiedreams]

Enjoy the fight and release them. And then go get some walleye or perch for dinner. Some fish are good for fighting, some for eating. But of course, taking all the other measures to maximize quality makes a difference no matter what species.

[Steely19]

They are fish comes with the territory. They are supposed to taste fishy. If you don’t like it eat chicken.

[BassMrs.ster]

Soak in whole milk for 2 days