Calling steelhead fishermen

Holy cow, this is what you all have been pulling from the waterways around here? Well, why didn't you say so?!

We found this beautiful steelhead trout fillet at Sam's Club and couldn't resist. The color is like salmon. Plus, $6 for a big piece is a really good price. We decided to go for it and I am so glad we did!

I made a kind of mojo in which to marinate the fish. The zest of an orange and its juice as well, sambol olek, fresh parsley, basil and oregano. I added a tiny pinch of salt, too, to round out the flavors. I didn't have much time to marinate--maybe 15 minutes while I prepped the rest of the meal.

Citrus with fish, of course, can make a ceviche. People go on and on about how ceviche isn't raw because the acid in the citrus "cooks" the fish. This makes me crazy. Of course it's still raw, people! Did you apply heat? No! Darling Husband informs me it's a similar chemical process to cooking. However, when people say they're skeeved about eating raw fish, I find it misleading to tell them not to worry because it's cooked, really.

But I digress. The rest of the meal was wild rice (a mix, from a box) and baked acorn squash. I seasoned the squash with cayenne, chilli pepper, moroccan spice and pepper, then crusted brown sugar and topped with a pat of butter.

I fried the fish in some more butter, allowing it to get a nice crust on the one side. I had removed the skin with a fillet knife. Fish skin really, really grosses me out. Fortunately it's a snap to remove.

You make a small cut at the tail end, through the flesh but not the skin. This gives you a handle to hold on to. You place your knife facing away from you, just at the place where the skin meets the flesh and sort of pull the skin/push the knife/gently sweep the blade in arcs. It's quite impressive but really simple to do.

The fish was wonderful, firmly textured, very flavorful and not at all fishy. I was a bit proud of the fresh tastes of the marinade, too, and the nice herbal pop.

Now we must befriend steelhead fishermen to hook us up with more.