Brook trout cooked streamside

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Published on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 10:07

Written by Nadja Maril

If it weren't for his wife, Michael Slattery would have a brook trout tattoo. He loves the fish that much.

Slattery is a wildlife conservationist currently serving as the Chesapeake Bay coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sitting in a lounge chair on the top floor of the agency's offices in Eastport, Slattery has the floor pretty much to himself. But he seems to prefer one small corner that gives him a crow's nest view of Spa Creek and the Annapolis harbor.

His favorite trout is the Eastern brook trout—a large framed print of the fish greets you when you first climb the stairs to his office. It is a colorful fish admired for its distinctive marbled pattern, along with a sprinkling of red dots surrounded by blue haloes. The belly becomes increasingly orange or red when the fish are spawning.

"It is a stunning fish," he says. It's also, in his opinion, the most delicious to eat.

"When you clean an Eastern brook trout, their flesh is a bright reddish orange. Their flavor has a natural hint of thyme, very delicate," he explains.

Slattery refrains from eating Eastern brook trout caught locally, because in the lower 48 states from Maine through Georgia the fish is in need of conservation. He prefers to make do with brown or rainbow trout. But he savors fishing in the North, particularly out on the Ungawa peninsula of Canada, admiring the beauty of the Northern Lights and catching and preparing Eastern brook trout over an open fire.

"These experiences are truly special," he says.

Slattery likes to clean the fish he's caught at the water's edge and throw it into the frying pan just as the butter starts to sizzle. You just can't get any fresher than that. Because of the fresh wild taste of the Eastern brook trout, he prefers a minimal amount of seasoning.

"A shore lunch of fish sautéed in butter with a little dill or wrapped in foil with onion, butter, salt, and pepper, so it cooks in its own juice, is perfect. You don't want to overpower the flavor."

Looking for more brook trout recipes? Check our Recipes section for Slattery-approved meals.

Slattery recommended side dishes of wild rice, fiddlehead ferns, and wild morel mushrooms. For folks that appreciate a strong distinctive onion and garlic flavor, there are ramps—a wild onion mountain plant also known as a wild leek—that grows in the early spring in the Appalachian region.

Slattery has been fishing for as long as he can remember, and his love of fishing comes from his father. He recalls growing up on the south shore of Massachusetts and going to Cape Cod kettle ponds with his dad.

"I have a huge appreciation for fishing instilled by my father," he says." We'd go up to the north woods of Maine fly fishing for brook trout."

Where can you find good trout fishing in Maryland? Slattery suggests the Gunpowder River. It's "one of the premiere fly fishing destinations in the United States," he says. There are also wonderful places to go in Virginia, West Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania, he adds. Just go for the brown or rainbow trout if you want to eat your catch.

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