Baked Steelhead Fillets

Baked Steelhead is a super fast and easy recipe for a busy weeknight dinner. It is a very nutritious one too; steelhead trout or salmon is a so-called “superfood” with its abundance of healthy protein and omega 3 fats. Make it even healthier by serving it with a huge, mixed salad, packed with healthy greens, colourful veggies and even some fruit. (Make sure you choose sustainable sources as much as possible).

I discovered steelhead trout/salmon in Canada, in BC to be precise. It is a very confusing species, sometimes classified as salmon and at other times as trout. I’ll leave that to the scientists to determine; the most important thing to me is that they taste amazing. Although Vancouver is right by the ocean, unless you own a car and are willing to drive long distances getting truly fresh seafood is a challenge. One thing I do know is that frozen seafood is often a great alternative to fresh. In fact, if you’re stuck buying your seafood from the supermarket, you’re better off buying it frozen than “fresh”. This is because the fish labelled fresh is often actually previously frozen and several days old anyway. In contrast, frozen fish is often frozen while still very fresh.

I found these wonderful frozen steelhead trout fillets at the supermarket and I now make these at least once or twice a week. As with anything related to cooking, if you make your own food you can save loads of money, even if you buy pricey ingredients. You’re still better off than ordering inferior quality food from outside. So at about 15 dollars each, these fillets are quite pricey. However, each fillet is quite large (it’s literally one whole side of a massive fish) and represents at least two meals for two people. This is still way cheaper than a horrible fast food meal.

I’m a fan of lazy meals, especially anything that takes minimal effort yet yields delicious results. This baked steelhead trout recipe is a very lazy recipe. It takes five minutes to prep, 20 minutes in the oven and you’re all done! Dinner is served! One of my husband’s colleagues gave me the idea for this baked steelhead trout recipe. I tweaked it a bit and added my own touch. However, it is still a beautiful, easy recipe to make one busy weeknights.

Ingredients

1. Two four to five ounce steelhead trout fillets with the skin on. The skin is often the best part, it gets crispy and delicious in the oven, so do not discard it!
2. Three cloves of fresh garlic, crushed.
3. One heaped tablespoon of miso paste or Korean soybean paste
4. Two tablespoons warm water
5. Two tablespoons canola oil

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For conversions, please check the Conversions section of this website.
2. In a small bowl, mix the miso or soybean paste with the warm water. Brush the mixture liberally onto the trout fillets using a pastry brush. Only brush the side without the skin.
3. Spread the crushed garlic on the same side as the miso mix.
4. Brush a small oven-proof pan with the canola oil. Place the trout fillets on it skin-side down. Place in the oven.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy. Check the skin by gently lifting the trout side with a spatula. Serve with salad and enjoy!

Do you like steelhead trout? How do you like to cook it? What other fish do you enjoy? Tell me in the comments! For more information about steelhead trout, check this link, this link and this link.

If you like this recipe and want another seafood recipe, check out this Salmon Fillet with Miso Potatoes recipe.

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