Keeping trout for a restaurant

[Mummy Badgersford]

Hi everyone,

I am involved in a restaurant project and we would like to have ultra fresh trout on the menu - so fresh, in fact, we want to set up tank that would allow our patrons to pick the trout they will eat like you would a fresh lobster.

I realize that trout need cold, clean water and a lot of space, but other than that can anyone see any difficulties with this approach?

Thanks,

MB

 

[Toby_H]

Most standard dechlorinators are not meant to be used on fish meant for human consumption...

The old theory "you are what you eat" is true to an extent so therefore your fish will be heavily influenced by their diet. So a basic pellet diet would probably yield a fish that tastes poor.

A fish that sits idle will have a higher fat content than a fish that gets ample exercise... so providing ample space, high currents and stimuli will be important...

I ate tank raised / pellet fed Pacu once and it was horrible, despite it's claimed to be a nice tasting fish from the wild...

 

[Mummy Badgersford]

Great comments, thanks. I am hoping that the fish will sell pretty quickly so we wouldn't have a fish on hand more than a week or so. We wouldn't order more than that. But the fish would be commercially-raised, and that does raise the flavor issue you mentioned. Good stuff, thanks. MB

 

[farawayinn]

while travelling in germany i saw many restaurants with that type of setup for trout. don't know what species.
also check nanfa.com for more info. best of luck.

 

[skools717]

what size tank can you get, and i think you should setup some kind of strong current with like powerheads and put river rocks on the bottom of the tank to look like your looking into the river

 

[Mummy Badgersford]

Thanks everyone for these comments and ideas.....

 

[andyjs]

A tank made to be used for lobster would probably work as long as it was big enough. They usually have a built-in chiller. You really don't need to worry about current as much as oxygenation (which is normally provided by current in the wild) with the trout. Just use a powerful air pump and some airstones that produce fine bubbles. I'm not a big fish eater (no, it has nothing to do with keeping them, or previously working at a hatchery ) so I don't really know first hand, but I've heard that trout raised on grain-based diets as opposed to fish-based diets normally have a milder, less "fishy" taste that people tend to prefer.

 

[swede]

you could easily use reverse osmosis water to bypass any dechlorinator. every restaurant should have one anyways. i would recommend having either a bare bottom tank or large riverstones on the bottom of the tank. and a higher fat content in the fish causes more flavor. fish in colder waters , such as salmon, often will have better marbling of fat in their flesh which makes them taste better. the flavor in meat comes from the fat. how do you intend on stocking the tank? how regularly will you receive live shipments? you most likely will not have a fish for longer than a few days to a week

 

[apisto]

while travelling in germany i saw many restaurants with that type of setup for trout. don't know what species.
also check nanfa.com for more info. best of luck.

Rainbow trout are kept in restaurants since they gain weight faster than other species. All of them come from fish farms and are fed on pellets. Rainbow trout are easier to keep than brown trout (native to Europe) or any other species of trout. Commercially raised trout tend to be diploid fish since they don't spend time breeding but just eating and gaining weight.

 

[T.K.O.P. 8=X]

Couldn't you use a big lobster tank i believe has a chiller in it. Couple grand though on a used one industrial size, then again they need constant moving water you'd have to hook up a water pump too circulate/stream the water.