Mack Days: get hooked on recipes

By Maggie Plummer

It's a good idea to learn how to deliciously prepare local macks, or lake trout.

Flathead Lake mackinaws are much, much better eating than they used to be in the 70s and 80s, CSKT Fisheries Specialist Cindy Bras says. That's because their diet has changed.

"Lake trout are excellent to eat," she adds. They're delicious pan fried, deep fried, baked, and even boiled.

Cindy is a mack and whitefish angler, and also has fished for salmon on the Columbia River.

Her favorite way to cook lake trout is fried, with the Mack Days breading (recipe listed below). It's a little bit spicy, she says, and gives not too thick a coating, but has a nice crunch.

"I just use vegetable oil," she explains. "I've had people tell me they use half oil and half butter or margarine, because then it doesn't burn and the flavor's good."

A couple of words of caution about eating lake trout:

• it's crucial to fillet macks correctly: off the side and be sure to get rib bones off.

• like with any other trout, pregnant women should be careful - fish up to 28 inches have the same mercury warning as a can of tuna. Cindy says no one should eat bigger macks that are into the 30-inch range, because they accumulate a lot of mercury (which occurs naturally in the lake).

• for most people, it's safe to eat fish that are less than 27 inches, for one meal a week; for women in childbearing years and children, that size fish is OK for one meal a month. For fish measuring 28 to 39 inches, adults can safely eat one meal a month; women and children should not eat these larger fish.

Here are a few favorite recipes to try. There are many more on the mackdays.com website.

Mack Days Breading
Slice lake trout fillets in half-inch pieces; take two cups of flour, half cup cornmeal, 2 tbs. salt, 2 tbs. ground mustard, 2 tbs. paprika, 2 tbs. garlic salt, 1 tbs. celery salt; one tbs. pepper; one teaspoon ground ginger; half tsp. dried thyme; and a half tsp. dried oregano; mix dry ingredients together, take about a cup and put in large plastic bag. Mix two eggs and a half cup of milk; dip fish in the liquid, then put a few at a time in the bag, shake, fry in oil.

Poor Man's Lobster - from 2005 & 2006 Fall Mack Days
     6-8 potatoes-cut into quarters
     6-8 carrots-sliced into 1" pieces
     4-6 onions-sliced
     1/2 cup of salt
     5 lbs. Fillets-cut into pieces (golf ball size)
     Butter
     Lemon Pepper
     Parsley
     Bring a gallon of water and the salt to a boil in a large kettle. Add vegetables to boiling water. Keep water at a rolling boil at all times to keep salty taste from becoming too strong. Boil 10 min.
     Add fish and keep water boiling. Boil for another 10 minutes. Cook until fish flakes easily with a fork. Do not overcook. Drain water off. Place on platter and drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with lemon pepper and parsley. Feeds a crowd!

Sweet 'n' Sour Lake Trout
Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup vinegar, and 2 Tbs. soy sauce-bring to a boil. Add 1 tomato and 1-2 onions (cut into wedges), 2 green peppers-sliced, and 8 oz. crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits w/juice. Mix. Add 2 Tbs. cornstarch that has been mixed with 2 Tbs. of water, and cook and stir until the mixture is thickened. Add 3 teaspoons of vegetable oil to the mixture.
Take 2 Tbs. of melted butter and brush over 4 lake trout fillets in a baking dish (use a rack in the baking pan if available). Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min. Drain and place fillets on bottom of pan. Pour half of the sauce over the fillets and bake for 25-30 min. Place on serving plate and cover with remaining warmed sauce.

Creamy Fish Chowder
     4-(2 lbs.) lake trout
     4 strips bacon-chopped
     1 large onion-diced_
     Potatoes-diced or rice (the more you use, the thicker the soup)
     Carrot-1 or 2-diced
     1/2 cup butter (1/4 lb.)
     1/2-1 gallon milk
     Bake or boil fish and remove bones. Brown bacon and add onions; cook until onions are tender. Boil potatoes until barely fork tender. Drain water. Add bacon, onions, and butter. Cover with milk and simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Thicken with 2 tbs. cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water, if desired.

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Mack Days: get hooked on recipes