Fly fishing for trout is one of my absolute favourite ways of relaxing in the outdoors. Recently it seems to have become somewhat taboo for fishers, fly fishers especially, to take trout from the water. For me responsibly ‘harvesting’ fish within the bag limit and size restrictions to turn into delicious meals for my family adds considerably to outdoors experience.
My favourite trout to eat, brook trout, aren’t even really a trout but are a char
This is my go to method for smoking whole trout. Eat this warm from the smoker, or use it as the star ingredient in other dishes
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time2 hourshrs
Brining time2 daysd
Total Time2 daysd2 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: smoked
Keyword: smoked, trout
Servings: 4
Equipment
smoker I use an upright Pro-Q (for now)
Ingredients
2troutmy favourite are brook trout (which aren't a trout at all but a char)
4½litreswater
50gramsbrown sugar
65gramssaltflossy, sea, kosher or any other foodgrade salt without anti-caking agent
Instructions
Place the water, salt and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Stir, over a medium-high heat, until the sugar and brown salt are throughly dissolved. Take off the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once the brine has cold to room temperature, place the trout in a large non-metallic container, and pour over the brine. Ensure the trout are fully submerged. Cover the container and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours. I often leave trout for as long as 72 hours and believe the longer brining time results in a more moist fish.
Remove fish from the brine, wipe dry with paper towel, and place back in the fridge on a cooling rack to fully dry for a couple of hours.
Prepare your smoker to run at 95°C (200°F) while soaking two handfuls of wood chips in water.
With the smoker stable at 95°C (200°F), hang the fish or lay on the grate, and add a handful of wood chips to the fire. If laying your fish on a grate, prop the stomach cavity open, with toothpicks or the woody part of rosemary srigs.
Smoke for two hours, adding more wood chips as necessary, while resisting the urge to open the lid and look at them.
Eat warm from the smoker on a bagel, or toasted bread, with a smear of cream cheese and capers. Or allow to cool before refrigerating for later on.
Smoked trout bagels make a fantastic brunch, especially if the trout is still warm from the smoker. But most of the smoke trout in the house gets eaten in pasta in a variation on the classic carbonara.
Magpie goose hunting is unlike any other waterfowl hunting that I’m aware of. The large black and white waterfowl live in the swamps and billabongs of northern Australia, and can only be harvested by recreational hunters in the Northern Territory or Top End. The season begins around late-September or early-October each year and runs until Christmas time. At that time of the year the weather is almost a constant 32 degrees celsius and nearly 100 per cent humidity.
A successful morning on Harrison Dam with several magpie geese and a wandering whistle duck taken
Magpie goose flesh is unlike any other waterfowl I’ve ever eaten and lends itself much better to red meat dished than poultry recipes. A poor cook can easily render prime goose breasts almost inedible, but in the hands of a skilled cook magpie goose is a true Australian bush tucker delicacy.
2Magpie goose breasts (skin free)Replace with any wild or domestic goose meat
1gramCure #1 – 6.25%
10gramsflossy or kosher salt
½tspdried thyme
½tspfreshly ground black pepper
¼tspcelery salt
¼tspgarlic powder
⅛tspground cumin
Brandy, bourbon, whiskey or rum
woodchips
Instructions
Firstly, combine the Cure #1, salt, herbs and spices in a mortar and pestle, and pound together until they are a uniform mixture. Rub this mixture evenly over the surface of the magpie goose breasts, ensuring you massage the mixture into any crevices.
Place the magpie goose breasts in an airtight container. Allow the breasts to cure in the fridge for 36 – 48 hours. Then rinse the cure off the breasts, under cold running water, and dry the meat with paper towels. Place the meat, uncovered, on a plate in the fridge for 6 or so hours so the surface dries out.
Prepare your smoker, with the aim of holding a steady temperature of between 160°F and 200°F (70°C-93°C). I use a vertical smoker, and half-fill the water pan with very hot (not quite boiling) water to speed up the pre-heating process a little.
Remove the magpie goose breasts from the fridge and rub a splash of liquor over them. I used cheap brandy, but will give a little Bundaberg Rum a try next time. Then sprinkle the meat with freshly ground black pepper. Place the breast meat into the smoker and throw a good handful of moistened woodchips and a couple of chunks of wood onto the coals. I used a mix of cherry and oak, but I’m sure any smoking wood will do just fine. Smoke the breasts until they reach an internal temperature of 140°F to 150°F (60°C-66°C), this should take about three hours. Make sure there is a good flow of smoke throughout the cooking time.
Once the meat has reached the required internal temperature remove it from the smoker and allow to cool before slicing. Slice the magpie pastrami thinly; serve with mustard, gherkins, and crusty bread or crackers.
Notes
Cure #1 is also known as Pink Curing Salt, Prague Powder #1 and Instacure #1. It is readily available from smallgoods and sausage making retailers. The sodium nitrite inhibits bacterial growth, gives the cured meat the characteristic pink colour, and is one of the key components in the bacon-like flavour of cured meats. Follow the direction on the pack carefully, as sodium nitrite is highly toxic in large quantities. Our kitchen scales are not sufficiently accurate to measure one gram increments, so I use an old reloading balance beam scale when fooling around with small quantities of Cure #1, using 15.5 grains of Cure #1 per 500 grams of meat.
Magpie Goose Pastrami, the most popular part of a charcuterie board
Marinated and smoked leg of goat, served with charred vegetables, salad, and garlic sauce inspired by Turkish and Middle Eastern flavours. This meal is great for sharing with friends over a weekend BBQ or dinner.
Goat meat, or chevon, is incredibly popular across much of Africa and the Middle East. Despite this it is quite rare to be served goat in most Australian homes. There are millions of feral goats across Australia (resulting in $25 million of losses to agriculture per annum) , they can be a challenge to hunt, and are great to eat (perhaps with the exception of big old billy goats).
Having done most of my hunting until recently in the Top End opportunities to enjoy wild goat had been few and far between. Living down south has led to some more wild goat meat in our diet. I came up with this recipe to first introduce my family to goat meat.
1 bone-in leg of goatcould be substituted with lamb
2tbspfreshly cracked pepper
2tbspsea salt
4clovesgarlic
2tbspfresh rosemary
olive oil
1lemon
2Onions
4 long red chillies
1cupmesquite woodchops soaked in water
Salad
Rocket
2tomatoes
olive oil
lemon juice
sea salt flakes
Garlic sauce
2cupssunflower oilor similar tasteless oil
4clovesgarlicvery finely chopped
1/4cuplemon juice
1/4cupcold water
sea salt
Instructions
Make a rub by crushing the coarse salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary in a mortar and pestle. Once all ingredients are thoroughly crushed add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and mix well.
Rub the mixture all over the goat leg, being sure to work it into all of the gaps between the muscles. Set the meat aside, at room temperature, to take on the flavours of the marinade while you prepare your smoker.
If you haven’t already, start soaking a good couple of handfuls of woodchips in water, I used mesquite for this recipe.
I aim to have the smoker stable at 95-105°C (200-220°F), with the water pan at least three quarters full. To achieve this quickly, and to avoid a dramatic drop in temperature, I use a chimney to start the charcoal and once white hot I pour it into the smokers charcoal tray, and then add hot water to the water pan. Once the smoker has reached a stable 95-105°C (200-220°F) you’re ready to add the meat.
Zest a lemon over the goat leg immediately before putting the leg in the smoker.
Put the goat on the top rack of your smoker, and add a handful of woodchips to the charcoal. With the smoker at 95-105°C (200-220°F) it should take about three hours to cook, but the size of the leg and amount of fat and connective tissue will vary this time. The only way to absolutely know how cooked the meat is with a meat thermometer.
While the meat smokes, very finely chop four cloves of garlic. Using a small food processor, stick blender, or by hand with a whisk (if you’re a bit of masochist) slowly trickle the sunflower oil into a bowl with the garlic. Just like mayonnaise, or a hollandaise sauce, you are trying to make an emulsion. Too much oil too quickly and the emulsion will split. Once all the oil is added you should have a thick mayonnaise type sauce, slowly add the lemon juice as you whisk. Then if the emulsion is still too thick slowly add ice-cold water until you have the desired consistency. Add salt to taste, pour into a container and set aside in the fridge.
Once the internal temperature of the meat has reached 140 degrees Fahrenheit, or your desired level of doneness, remove the meat from the smoker and set aside covered to rest for twenty minutes.
While the meat rests make a salad of rocket and sliced tomato, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Grill onions and long chillies (a mix of red and green, halved lengthwise) over a very hot grill. Finally, warm some Lebanese or Turkish flat bread and carve the meat from the bone. Serve the sliced goat, topped with char grilled onions and chillies, salad, and flat bread on large plates in the middle of the table to share.
Notes
With a smoker you really want to avoid constantly lifting the lid to check the temperature, so a remote probe type thermometer is a must. An internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) will result in meat cooked to a medium doneness, 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65.5 Celsius) equates to well done and anything five degrees past that will be well done. The average sized upper leg of goat will probably take about three hours to cook to medium, continue to add woodchips throughout the cooking process to ensure a good flow of smoke.
Smoked kangaroo fillets, and tomato, basil and smoked macadamia salad make a perfect combination. Served as an entree this dish will impress even the fussiest dinner guests.
In June 2018, prompted by an over abundance of kangaroos and worsening drought conditions the New South Wales Government made common sense changes to the kangaroo management program. The most positive change was that volunteer hunters, assisting landholders with permitted kangaroo control measures, were no longer forced to leave the meat to waste-but instead may now use the meat and hide from any kangaroos they shoot. As I result I found my way into an abundance of kangaroo meat and was able to experiment with many different styles of cooking.
I had been aging some small roo fillets in the fridge for about ten days, when we had some friends visit for dinner. While I would not categories these friends as fussy, they are certainly not accustomed to regularly eating game meat. With that in mind I decided to smoke the fillets and use them in an entrée, in which both the texture and flavour of the kangaroo could be balanced with other elements of the dish. This dish proved to be a real hit with everyone.
Watch the Parmesan cheese closely and remove as soon as it becomes golden brown.
Kangaroo fillets in 50/50 brown sugar and salt rub.
Smoked kangaroo fillet with tomato and macadamia salad
An entree of smoked kangaroo, tomato and macadamia salad with chilli mayonaise
Prep Time4 hourshrs
Cook Time1 hourhr
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Contemporary Australian
Keyword: entree, kangaroo, salad, smoked
Servings: 4people
Equipment
smoker
Ingredients
8smallkangaroo fillets
Brine
kosher salt / flossy salt5% weight of kangaroo fillets
brown sugar5% weight of kangaroo fillets
Salad
8tbspwhole egg mayonaisehomemade or store bough
hot sauce (Tabasco, Frank's, etc.)to taste
1punnettomatoesbaby roma, tommy toe, or similar
1handfulfresh basil leaves
1handfulraw macadamia nutscashews would also work (but macadmia nuts are native Australian).
1-2cupsParmesan cheesefreshly grated
Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Weigh the kangaroo fillets and make the dry rub. The rub is 50/50 salt and brown sugar, made to total 10% the weight of the meat. Just to be clear that is 5% salt and 5% sugar, so if the kangaroo weighs 1kg (1000g) you need 50g sugar and 50g salt.
Evenly coat the fillets, on all sides, in the rub and set aside in the fridge for three hours. The rub will act similarly to a brine and will help lock some of the moisture in the fillets.
While the meat rests in the fridge setup your smoker, aiming for a steady temperature of 120°C (250°F). I use an upright type smoker with a water pan, and have found the water pan both regulates the temperature and keeps meat more moist.
Once the smoker hits about 90°C (200°F) , throw a handful of woodchips in and smoke the raw macadamia nuts for about twenty minutes, being careful not to burn them. A pizza tray with a perforated bottom is ideal for smoking nuts. Take the nuts out before adding the roo to the smoker.
Grate one pile of parmesan cheese per two people onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place the tray into either a very hot (220°C / 430°F or higher) oven, or on the lowest shelf under a hot grill (broiler). Watch the cheese carefully and remove it to cool as soon as it has turned golden. It will harden and be crunchy once cooled.
Now you can remove the kangaroo fillets from the fridge and with a damp cloth or paper towel wipe off the excess rub.
Add the kangaroo fillets to the smoker, along with more woodchips. Cooking time will depend on the temperature of the smoker and thickness of the fillets, use a digital thermometer and aim for an internal temperature of 55°C (130°F).Ensure you keep a steady flow of smoke through the smoker over the cooking time to get the best flavour.
Prepare the chilli mayonnaise by adding hot sauce to taste.
Make a simple salad by roughly chopping the tomatoes and combining with torn fresh basil leaves. Immediately prior to plating up, add the smoked macadamias to the tomato salad.
To serve, smear a generous dollop of mayo on each plate, pile tomato salad beside the mayo and top with some cracked pepper. Crack the parmesan crisps into halves or quarters and arrange on the tomato salad. Slice the smoked roo fillets into half-centimetre slices and carefully arrange on top of the chilli mayo.
Notes
The dry rub/brine is a little too salty for the meat to be left in it for more than a few hours. If you would like to brine the meat for several days reduce the salt content to 1% weight of the meat.
This dish was superb with a robust Hunter Valley Shiraz and the left over smoked fillets were quickly scrounged from the kitchen.
