Fried Brook Trout

How do you fall in love with a particular food? Is it the way that it is cooked? Is it the people who have prepared the food for you (or you for them?) Is it the people that you are with when you are eating the food? Or is it the location in which you first eat it that settles into your food=pleasure memory files?

When I was a very young child, I lived with my parents and my older sister in Vermont. My dad took us hiking on the Long Trail regularly, even tho we were just wee tykes, my sister and I. I have fond memories of sleeping over in a log lean-to alongside the trail, and waking up in the morning to Dad frying up brookies in a cast-iron frying pan over an open fire. That is how I came to love eating brook trout. And the love of brook trout is all wrapped up in my love for my dad, and the wonder of hiking and exploring God's good creation, and the simple joy of participating in a fun activity with my family.

This recipe for Fried Brook Trout comes from a 1913 Houlton Cook Book, put together by the Ladies of the Unitarian Society (more good church cooks, getting those recipes out there in the community!). The recipe itself was contributed by Dr. F.F. Innis, "a thorough sportsman and gentleman." Thankyou, Dr. Innis, for what amounts to a lovely trip down memory lane for me!

The trout pictured here was caught by my husband, who loves to fly fish. On our anniversary, this past May, he decided to try to surprise me with my favorite fish. He caught this trout in the St. George River in Appleton, Maine. And, while we did not cook it over an open fire, as the recipe calls for, it still tasted mighty fine.




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