Having been fortunate enough to not only catch, but also bring back from a recent trip to northern Quebec, several dozen brook trout, I was anxious to see just how good they would taste. The trip itself was very special, requiring 24 hours on the road and then a flight into the lake via floatplane. Add to that, these were native fish ranging up to 2 pounds and ten ounces that were very strong fighters and revealed a firm and salmon colored flesh. They certainly had the makings of some great table fare. I wanted to do something special with them.

In years past, the usual method of cooking freshly caught trout was to brown butter in a cast iron skillet, add the trout and a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Occasionally, they would be prepared by placing them in heavy duty aluminum foil, placing some pats of butter inside the body cavity, and a few on the top of the fish, then adding a few slices of lemon. The edges of the foil would be folded up, making a boat-like container to hold all the good juices to keep the fish moist as it cooked on the grill.

But again, these were no ordinary trout. They were firm fleshed native trout that held all the promise of a meal fit for a king! I contemplated what to do, even consulting several fish and game cook books. I even researched how to prepare them by referring to French, Italian, Spanish and Thai cookbooks. But none of them revealed quite what I was looking for. And then, I thought of my friend, Master Grill Chef, Bill Bean, who for the last several years has been cooking meats, vegetables, appetizers, and desserts over a wood fire — and everything he put his hand to turned out to be extremely flavorful!

He too was intrigued to try these wild caught native brook trout from a pristine lake in northern Quebec, and invited me to bring a few for him to work his magic on. I arrived the next evening at his home with three beautiful 14” trout, and the preparation began.

We wanted to keep it simple, thus we used the tried and true method of placing then in an aluminum foil “boat” and adding just dabs of butter and thin slices of lemon, then a pinch of salt and pepper. The key ingredient in the process, which we hoped would make the difference that we were looking for, is that they would be cooked slowly over a wood fire. For this, Bill used some pieces of oak to start the fire, and once they were burned down to coals, began to add cherry wood and placed the fish in the foil packs on the rack 18 inches above the fire. Smoke would billow up as the cherry wood was added and then Bill would cover the fish in their foil packs with a lid from an old oven roaster. The lid would capture the smoke and hold the heat as the fish slowly cooked under his watchful eye.

Meanwhile, Bill’s wife, Karen, was busy in the kitchen preparing a dish of risotto with asparagus and wild mushrooms to accompany the trout. Both the fish and the risotto were ready in about 30 minutes and we sat at the picnic table on the deck — anxious to discover what the meal would be like. We were not disappointed! In fact, we were amazed!

The flesh of the fish was firm and had turned a slightly darker salmon color — very similar to that of a true salmon. The flavor was mild and salmon-like, with the very mild smoke flavor that put it over the edge! Each of us uttered a “Wow” in amazement at the awesome flavor. The side dish of risotto was the perfect accompaniment for the trout, and a glass of Pinot Grigio topped off this wonderful meal.

If you are ever fortunate enough to catch or be given some native brook trout, treat them with respect! They deserve to be prepared in such a way that maximizes their wonderful flavor, as is described above. Bon appétit!