A Beautiful Fish
A family style meal adaptable for any size group. Perfect for fresh fish at camp or deep freezer holdovers grilled in your backyard. The only non-negotiable is a ripping hot grill. (1 fish, 1 cup rice serves 2-3 people)
Camp Medley
1 apple, minced (Pink Lady or similar)
1/2 serrano pepper, minced
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
1/4 onion, minced
1/4 cup parsley or cilantro, chopped
juice and zest from one lemon
2 tbsp. tamari
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. honey or agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste
Grilled Trout
three medium sized trout, cleaned and gills removed
2-3 lemons, sliced
1 head of garlic, minced
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 cup parsley
olive oil
butchers twine
salt and pepper
flaky salt for finishing
cooked rice for serving (optional: cook rice with 1 c. chicken stock and 1/4 tsp turmeric)
The Beta
Make the camp medley ahead of time by combining all ingredients in bowl. Taste and adjust accordingly for salt, acid, and sweetness. This can be stored in the fridge up to a day before serving.
Stuff each fish with the garlic, onion, lemon slices, and parsley, spreading the ingredients out evenly among the fish. Next, close each fish with three strands of butchers twine per fish. We like to start with one strand in the middle, and then split the difference on either side.
Coat the skin of each fish with olive oil, and then delicately place the fish on a ripping hot charcoal grill. Cook until the fish easily pull away from the grates.
Flake the meat from the bones of each fish before serving, working a fork gently into the flesh and then pulling back and away from the spine, working with the direction of the ribs. Once you’ve flaked one side of a fish, the skeleton should pull away from the other side with ease. Start at the tail and pull out towards the head.
Once the meat is flaked, add flaky salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve over rice with a generous portion of the camp medley alongside your choice of grilled veg.
The Origins
by Tom
The origins of this meal started when I had an itch to go catch a fish at Yankee Jim Canyon on our way to Big Creek to camp for the week. Annie and Dori met me in Gardiner that morning—May 2023. I told them, “Let’s stop by Yankee Jim Canyon for a quick fish. I rigged up under my Crosswing awning at a pullout off Hwy 89 near mile marker 17. I was first to scrambled down some scree and within seconds of my first cast, my line was tight and I yelled fish on. I was looking for Dori who had my net but still working her way down in shock when I told her I needed her to come down to net the fish. A few long seconds later, a 14 inch rainbow trout was safely in the net and later became dinner.
We got lucky and got the only dispersed site along Big Creek, a little camp nook, creek side and road side, that was perfect for our overnight adventure. There was a fire pit, but I prefer the Snow Peak Takibi setup. Mainly because it never leaves my truck while camping. Coals are the goal from preferred hardwood burned down but most firewood in MT is pine which isn’t great for cooking coals. Charcoal briquettes from Gardiner Market aren’t first choice but they do the trick.
A gourmet camp meal with simple ingredients—the origins of the Camp Medley.
The fish is always killed, bled, and gutted with gills removed river side (if possible). At camp, we lightly coated the fish with oil (both skin and belly), salted inside and out then prepared the fish aromatics. The basis is usually citrus, alliums, and herbs. That’s the formula. We had lemon, garlic, yellow onion, wild chives and cilantro so that’s what went in, tied up with soaked twined and grilled. Annie, came up with the fish topper. Fish slaw? Salsa? We never figured out what to call it. It compliments a wild trout—I know that.
Hello to a river.
by Lawton
Welcome back to the table, friends. It’s been a few years since our last post, and we know you’ve been chomping at the bit to see what we’ve been up to. Why bring it back now? Because there’s a freezer full of fish, venison, and other accoutrements, and it’s time to get busy.
Tom took me fishing on my last day in Montana this past summer, and we trekked along the Gardner River, somehow not losing many flies and returning home with a pile of browns in Tom’s YETI lunchbox. Back at the apartment we prepped a charcoal fire on the front porch, gazing out at Electric Peak one last time. We drank Kettlehouse’s Fish On! in the cool Montana air, and I wished I was staying to fish another day. Or another ten years.
After a good day of fishing, and a good last day of fishing to boot, this meal was the perfect prize—for the miles walked, fish caught, and time well spent. I had been in Montana just long enough to never feel like leaving. We’d done it all: tackling big hikes, escaping for longs days of fishing, and sitting quietly to take in the views of that open country. This meal wrapped all of those long days of exploration into one neat little package—a gift to take home to family and friends and share around the table.
Whether you’re camping creekside or shopping for trout in your local market, this is the best way we’ve found to serve these beautiful fish. A few tips: 1) Don’t get too caught up in the medley recipe. These recipes are casual after all, and it’s all about experimenting with new ingredients. 2) Do not overcook your fish! You’ll end up with a dried out mess that makes flaking damn near impossible. Once your fish pulls of the grills, flip, and be done with it. The bones will come right out, and your tastebuds will be much happier. 3) Catch your own trout. If you’re at the supermarket, you might as well buy a ribeye.
