Maple Glazed Trout Salad
Trout are a freshwater fish that is primarily found in rivers and lakes. Local BC trout include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, kokanee, and brook trout.
Variety of methods were used in trout fishing such as hooks, nets, and traps. An individual fisher was required to get authorization from the Chief and share his catch with other families. Trout can be roasted over the fire on willow twigs, smoked, and fried. To preserve trout, fish was dried by removing back bone, scoring flesh surface and hanging to dry. Dried fish was packed in a birch bark basket with grease from viscera and pounded dried fish with berries. This method of packing/preserving ensured a balanced diet.
Maple syrup, used here to glaze the trout, is connected to Indigenous knowledge. This includes descriptions going back generations that discussed the piercing of maple trees for 'sweet water'. Today many Indigenous peoples hold knowledge about the location of best trees to tap and best times to tap. Indigenous people traditionally stored maple syrup in one of three forms: sugar, cakes or taffy.
Squash is believed to be the oldest cultivated food in North America. Traditionally it was dried and made into a flour by Indigenous peoples, unlike in this recipe, which uses the squash in a less traditional way. Squash is a part of the 3 sisters (corn, squash and beans) where each of the 3 sisters nurture each other when planted together.
Teetl'it Gwich’in Language Lesson
Trout | Vit
Fish | Tuk
Meet The Chef
Steph Baryluk
Chef Steph is Teetl'it Gwich'in from Teetl'it Zheh (Fort McPherson), Treaty 11 Territory located in the Northwest Territories. She now resides in Tsawwassen, BC with her husband and two kids. After completing her Red Seal as a Cook she knew she wanted to do more with her Indigenous roots. Chef Steph has hosted cooking classes and speaking engagements in her hometown and launched her own company, MRS B’S JERKY, which is a play on traditional caribou dried meat ‘Nilii Gaii’ but made with beef. She’s excited for the next steps with Indigenous cuisine.
EXPLORE MORE ROOTED DISHES
