We are on our annual vacation to Park City to visit old friends and neighbors while getting a little skiing in. It brings back a lot of memories from the six years we lived here after moving out of New York City. Some of those memories included the great meals we enjoyed at our local favorite restaurants.

So this week I’ll try to bring you recipes from some of these restaurants as well as some new restaurants in town. The recipes come from local publications used for marketing the restaurants. I’ll also tell you about any meals we have while here but I’m not sure how often that will be since most nights we will be eating at friend’s homes. Last night we enjoyed a delicious lasagna from our dear friend Alice, the person most responsible for us ending up in Park City in the first place. Thanks Alice.

Mustang Restaurant’s Utah Red Trout

This recipe is from a new restaurant in Park City called Mustang Restaurant (at least new to me) and was created by Bill Hufferd. It is served with a simple lemon butter sauce with capers and rosemary. Chef Hufferd says, “Because of the trout’s tender, flaky texture, pan sear the filets to keep them intact.”

Ingredients

Four 8 to 10 ounce Utah red trout filets (and you can substitute whole trout you find in the supermarket.)
Olive oil to saute the trout Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 stick unsalted butter
Juice of two lemons
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons fine diced fresh Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

How to Make Mustang’s Red Trout

Start by heating a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Season the trout with salt and pepper and when the oil is hot, add the filets skin side down and cook for four minutes.

Flip the filets over and cook for another three to four minutes and then remove them from the pan to a plate and keep warm. Add two tablespoons of butter to the pan and saute the shallots.

Add the lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce the sauce until it is thick enough to coat a spoon.Reduce the heat to low and add the rest of the butter gradually in small pieces, whisking after each addition. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Plate the trout and spoon the sauce over the trout and garnish the plate with capers, diced tomatoes, chives and toasted pine nuts. Serve with potatoes or rice and your favorite vegetable.

Bill Hufferd’s Mustang Restaurant is at 890 Main Street, Park City, Utah.

Black Tip Shark That Looked Great But Tasted Lousy

The other day I purchased what I thought were gorgeous looking shark filets for grilling. They were on sale at a ridiculously good price, which should have been my first clue something may not be right, but I have purchased a lot of fish on sale before with no problems.

I’ve been told by fishmongers I trust that supermarket chains sometimes buy too much of one item and then have to put it on sale to move it. Other times they put an item on sale so they can advertise it in the paper to get people in the store or so they can make one of those annoying announcements over the speakers while you are in the store.

This is why it is so important to find a fish store or supermarket you like and get to know the person running each department. Build a relationship with your fishmonger or butcher and they will typically steer you in the right direction, making sure you get quality product and the best sales. In this case I didn’t follow my own advice. I purchased the fish at a supermarket chain whose fish department doesn’t usually “wow” me, from a person behind the counter I did not know.

They told me the filets were black tip shark, great for grilling and tasted like swordfish that was selling at a significantly higher price. The filets looked great as you can see in the above photo and when I brought them home, they smelled fine.

Grilling and Tasting

I seasoned them with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and threw them on my gas grill being careful not to overcook them. We like our fish medium, especially if we are serving it to the kids.

When I made my first cut into the fish for that first bite, I knew something wasn’t right. The fish did not flake apart like I expected. When I took that first bite, the meat was very tough, tasted mealy and was almost inedible. When I say inedible, I don’t mean the fish was turned but chewy….not at all what I expected.

I thought maybe I didn’t cook it right or was I suppose to marinate it for a few hours so I emailed my friend Chef Alan Bickel with my own Ask A Chef Question.

I wrote, “Chef, what did I do wrong?  Is it my cooking technique or the fish? And if it was the fish, what was wrong with it? It looked great at the market.”

Here is what Chef Alan replied back to me:

“I have experienced what I think you’re referring to, although it has always been with swordfish in my case. It is almost a ‘grainy’ texture in the mouth, almost as if you were trying to chew finely ground up sandpaper?

In addition, I find the surface of the steaks have almost a sandy feel and not as firm as normal for a dense fish of that kind. As far as flavor profile goes, in a case like this there’s a very bland, depthless feel to it, instead of a full characteristic flavor.

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How to Buy Seafood - Advice from a professional chef

  
Grouper
St. Petersburg Times photo

Recently I received an email from Diane who wanted to know why the grouper she bought in bulk didn’t look like grouper she purchased in the past. In fact, she questioned whether or not it was really grouper at all. Here’s what she said,

“I have been a grouper lover for years and up until recently I have enjoyed it frequently.  I purchased it through a food company that provides meat, poultry and fish in bulk.  In my last two orders I have received a fish that they are calling grouper, but it doesn’t look or taste like grouper.

 I am used to a nice white very light fish.  This fish is off white with brown coloration through it and it is a very thick fish.  It doesn’t flake like grouper; it forks off in larger pieces.  The company is insisting that it is grouper, just a different kind. 

They said that there was a problem with the grouper from Florida so they are getting it somewhere else.  I told them that all grouper is a translucent white thin fillet until cooked.  Is it possible that I am getting grouper?  I have no idea where to turn with this issue….” -  Diane

Buying Seafood

So here was a situation where Diane was buying fish site unseen, very similar to when a chef buys fish from his supplier without seeing it. He has to trust his fish purveyor will bring him what he wants and the fish people know he will return it if it does not meet his specifications. We have the advantage of going to the market, seeing the fish and if feeling bold, asking the fishmonger to let us smell it for freshness.

Most of us wouldn’t dream of smelling fish before purchasing but it is a good practice to get into. Nothing is more frustrating than buying some fesh fish at the market only to bring it home, give it a smell and realize it is not as fresh as you thought it was. By asking the fish person to smell it, they realize you know what you are doing and will give you a little more consideration next time you come in to buy fish.

What Does A Professional Think?

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