This time of year is a great opportunity to grill fresh fish, whether caught by you or purchased from a local retailer.
Rainbow trout, lake trout, halibut, salmon, whitefish and grayling are all popular to Yukon anglers.
The amount of “y” bones in pike make most people shy away from cooking them, but they are fun to fish for and so easy to catch that even my buddy, Steve, is successful occasionally.
To help locate these native fish, try following advice from What’s Up Yukon’s “fishing guru” Dennis Zimmermann and his column, Been There, Fished That.
Although Steve doesn’t catch a lot of fish, he knows how to run a barbecue. He trims the white belly fat off while gutting, because on a trout this fat can be oily and greasy and have a strong fishy smell. This may be attractive to a grizzly bear but will tend to mask the taste of your favourite mouthwatering side salads.
A simple, quick method for barbecuing hard-won trout is to first make a basic rub using a few cloves of crushed garlic mixed with a teaspoon of olive oil. Then carefully gut and wash your trout, pat it dry and make a few slits in each side. Rub the mix into each side of the fish and then sprinkle with salt and pepper before putting a wedge of fresh lemon in the cavity.
Oil your grill before using it in order to prevent chunks of fish from sticking to it. And if you own a barbecue fish rack, don’t be afraid to use it.
Preheat your barbecue to medium and grill the fish five to 10 minutes per side, depending on the size of your catch; just a couple of minutes is usually pretty good for my buddy Steve’s.
If you possess a meat thermometer, 145F will tell you the fish is done.
Another barbecue favourite at our place is a creation using 12 slices of bacon, a pound of Digby scallops (approximately 24) and a few ingredients found in better Yukon kitchens.
Start by making a marinade with a cup of orange juice, three cloves of minced garlic, two tablespoons of horseradish mustard, some fresh or dried Yukon herbs from your garden, a little olive oil (maybe ¼ cup) and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
Rinse the scallops; season them with a little salt and pepper and set aside.
Fry bacon slices ½ to ¾ done and cut them in half. Wrap the partially cooked bacon strips around the scallops and thread them onto two skewers in order to make turning them in the marinade, and later on the grill, much easier.
Five to six scallops per pair of skewers should suffice.
Place the skewers in a flat dish, pour half of the marinade over them, cover and refrigerate for one hour, turning and basting regularly.
Save the other half of the marinade for later.
Preheat your barbecue to medium, oil the grill, remove your mouth-watering skewers from the dish and cook about three to four minutes per side, basting frequently with the remaining half of the unused marinade; discard the used stuff.
Even if you soaked your bamboo skewers prior to using them, the ends will probably still burn, so use barbecue tongs to turn your skewers on the grill.
Remember to buy locally when in season.
