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Is Brook/Rainbow Trout a common item on menus in your area's culinary scene?
Its apparently a common fresh water fish native to Eastern NA, and introduced everywhere else. But I dont think I have ever seen it in a restaurant in NY Metro. I took a trip to Poconos recently, and found brochure highlighting the fishing and fisheries in PA. Apparently Brook Trout and all sorts of trouts like Rainbow, Brown, and Golden Trout are very popular in the Northeast river system. There ought to be trouts in the Hudson River and its many tributaries.
Yet I never see it, except in one old fashion french restaurant called Chez Napoleon on 50 St @9 Ave in Manhattan. All the other restaurants no matter the cuisine be it italian, French, nouveau American, the most ubiquitous fish is always Branzino and Salmon. Chinese typically steam a bottom feeder like flounder. Greek diners around here have salmon, Lemon sole, bluefish, Boston Scrod (whatever that is). I never see trout sashimi in any sushi places. Hispanic centric restaurants have snapper veracruz, or bacalao which is cod.
Branzino has to be shipped from Europe though. Isnt that expensive? Why not replace with NA Trout? What are the ubiquitous kinds of fish on menus in your area?
Trout is not a favorite fish to serve in restaurants and food service operations. That fish spoins quicker than any other fish product that I have handled.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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No, I have never seen trout on a menu around here, probably because we have such good access to fresh-caught salmon and halibut from Alaska here. I fish and often catch trout, but I almost always smoke them, the brine and smoking adds a lot of flavor.
Trout is not a favorite fish to serve in restaurants and food service operations. That fish spoins quicker than any other fish product that I have handled.
Must be the reason then. Probably best as game fish then.
Rainbow/brook and other freshwater trout are a fish that is native to the west side of the Rockies. When we lived in Phoenix, we we were able to get whole wild trout frequently, even in the grocery store and it was on restaurant menus. It was blessedly reasonably priced and one of the few fin-fish I actually really enjoy eating, so we had it quite often.
Sadly, since we moved to Raleigh, I've been unable to get it. Every once in awhile, it shows up in the grocery, but it's farm raised and not very 'fresh' looking. I see fillets occasionally, but I'm not enthused by the quality or the price (and I prefer to cook it whole).
But even in the west, trout it's having it's problems. Certainly not extinct, but getting challenging.
Quote:
Because they’ve been so widely introduced, rainbow trout are not at risk of extinction. They are even considered a pest species in some places where they aren’t native. Native populations, though, are threatened by disease, habitat degradation, and fishing. Dam construction has hindered the ability of rainbow trout to migrate upriver, which is necessary for their reproductive cycle. One of the most notable diseases affecting rainbow trout is whirling disease—a parasitic ailment that causes skeletal deformities and death in young, hatchery-raised rainbow trout. Some native populations are federally listed as endangered. One of the main problems with rainbow trout is hybridization with other trout, including non-native species.
In New York, most people who eat trout with any regularity probably fish for it as New York is home to many celebrated trout streams, but it is also not unheard of in restaurants that serve a somewhat more elevated "New American" cuisine, usually panko or almond crusted or Trout Amandine.
In New Mexico, trout (trucha) was a traditional rural dish, especially in the mountainous northern part of the state. While you will rarely see it offered in a traditional New Mexican restaurant except as a rare special, trout is usually sold in supermarkets, at least in my experience.
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