A Taste of Local

This week (August 5th-7th) we have quite a few Demos going on. Friday through Sunday we are helping to open the newest Earth Fare in Huntersville, NC. But the big Demo this week is the one we are doing with the Ingles in Waynesville.  What started as a nice idea to try and promote Sunburst and cook a little with ingredients that can be found in Ingles has turned into a huge Taste of Local event. Not only are we cooking a very tasty trout recipe we are partnering with Annie’s Bakery in Asheville to serve our Trout Dip with their bread and partnering with a local tomato grower for our Fillets.

Here is the recipe we will be making, and it is our Recipe of the Month!

Recipes Courtesy of Charles Hudson

Sunburst Trout Farms

Lime Basil Grilled Trout Fillets

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 Sunburst Trout Fillets
Juice of 1 lime
One Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves (about 1 oz)
2 Cloves Garlic Chopped
¼ Cup Olive Oil
1 tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

Procedure:
Make Marinade: Chop basil and mince garlic, Combine with lime Juice, Olive oil, Salt and Pepper
Add marinade to fresh trout fillets
Marinate Fillets for at least an hour before grilling

To Grill Trout:
Preheat Grill to medium high to high heat Remove fillets from Marinade, and place on a well oiled pre-heated grill.
Start flesh side down for about 3 minutes then flip to skin side down and cook 2-3 minutes.

Marinated Tomato Salad with Kalamata Olives and Cheese.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 Medium tomatoes (about 2#) diced
¾  Cup Kalamata Olives sliced length wise
2 Tbl. Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbl. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 oz Block of hard Cheese such as Parmesan or Romano, Shaved
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Procedure:
Combine all ingredients except cheese and stir lightly.
Add shaved cheese in and stir lightly.
Stir before serving.

The Demo begins at 3:30pm where we will be handing out the Trout Dip and Annie’s Bakery Bread, then at 4pm and again at 5:30pm Chef Charles will be showing us how to cook the recipe above.

Fresher Than Fresh

It makes a difference not only in where your fish comes from, but also how fresh it is. At Sunburst we are meticulous about our trout being the freshest around. All fillets are cut to order so our local customers and even our customers who are within a days shipping can serve trout that is less than 24 hours old. Restaurants love being able to say the trout on the customers plate was swimming that morning!

Here is our process each day:

Time from pond to cooler: 55 minutes

Fillets 8:00 am:
First we capture trout. Small amounts are netted by hand (never more than 1,000 pounds) put into an ice slurry to start the cooling process, and taken to the processing plant only steps away.

8:20 am: 
Our trout are allowed to quietly cool until they are still, and then transported 200 pounds at a time into the splitting pan where they are prepared by machine designed and built by Sunburst. They are now ready for the Swiss built filleter.

8:30 am:
Once the trout pass through the filleter, the meticulous work of  trimming is done by hand. We believe that no machine can replace the skilled hands needed to reach our exacting specifications at this stage of processing.

8:40 am: 
Following a thorough wash, the fillets are moved to the sorting, grading station. It is here that the fillets are selected by size, color and uniformity and the few fillets which are deemed to be inferior are culled. If the fillet is to have the pin bones removed, they then are moved to the station where this task is done by a U.S. built machine which we adapted to our process. Each fillet is then examined, and any pin bones missed are removed by hand.

8:55 am: 
On to the weighing station where the fillets are bagged for each customer and immediately put into the 10 degree cooling room. The secret is to finish what the ice has started and get these beauties to 36 degrees as fast as possible. Time from pond to cooler: 55 minutes

We then repeat the process again as needed throughout the day. In the Summer and Fall months when we are the busiest we can repeat this process three to four times a day. That is why when you purchase Sunburst Trout it truly is fresher than fresh!

The New Age Farmer

Today’s farmer is not your typical overalls and dirt covered gentleman who works from sun up to sundown as a labor of love. While most farmers tell you they do work from sun up to sundown as a labor of love, creating a product to go from our farm to your plate. It is also now doing the books, self promotion through demos, participating in tailgate markets, and figuring out how to use your marketing dollars to the best of your ability, whether it is through traditional outlets or by using all the free social media tools to create business.

Sunburst has definitely shown that Social Media can be an amazing tool to drive business. It is part of an overall package a business needs to thrive in today’s ever changing world of business. With a slow economy social media is a free way to reach a broader audience and drive customers either into your store or to your website where you then must create a sale. It has also been a great tool for customer service, showing off your products and community involvement.

As I look around me when I participate in conferences and/or just paying attention on Facebook or Twitter I am constantly seeing new farmers popping up and helping today’s consumer learn about where their food comes from. Consumers are becoming more savvy and knowledgeable so we must too.

In addition to using technology to promote business Farmers are also becoming super stars in their own right, it is no longer uncool to be a farmer. It actually can be seen as glamorous. In the Asheville area you are even more likely to see a Farmer or Chef who promotes sustainability and local farmers on the cover of a local magazine.

As Josh Crawford from the Cashiers Farmers Market say “It’s all about who you know and what you grow!”

Vacation, Family Owned Business Style

Left to Right Anna(your author), Ben, Binsi(Sally's Sister), Steve, Sally, Katie, and Wes

Each year most families go on vacation. Whether that vacation involves a couple newly in love, family of three or more, family and extended family, family reunion, or any definition you have of family, we as Americans love vacations. Each year the Eason family(Sunbursts owners) have taken a weeks vacation together. In the 1980′s when the third generation was young it was easy, the farm was not as big as it is today and to take a week off was no big deal, the first generation Dick Jennings could run things for a week.

But now in the fast paced world we live in and with two of the three third generation Easons working at the farm, family vacations have become a little more intricate.  Four years ago when it became apparent we could not all go on vacation to Pawleys Island (the vacation destination for 20 years) together at the same time a plan was devised to go for 2 weeks, each third generation being able to take a week. This worked ok, but we all missed being together for more than 2 days. So the next year when economy started going down and it was obvious that 2 weeks at the beach was no longer a feasible option we decided to be like the rest of the Nation and have a staycation. We are truly fortunate to have a second home in Cashiers, NC (where Sunburst was started) so it was decided that is where we should go. Since it is only an hour away we could actually all be together for most of the week without putting a strain on the business. We work a 4 day week with Wednesdays off so each son takes two days off, it works like a dream. We actually get to have a family vacation!

One of our favorite traditions on vacation is all cooking together. It is a time for us to stretch our culinary prowess and create fun and tantalizing meals for everyone.  Usually someone takes a night and cooks something either they are comfortable with or something new and uncomfortable to see if they can pull it off. We of course always cook trout one night, but there are other meals to be made as well. One year we did an entire meal based around apples and it did not disappoint! This year I picked raspberries from the garden, added blackberries and made my best cobbler yet!

With Summer in full swing take this time to think about your favorite traditions on vacation and what truly makes a vacation special.

Rain, Rain, please be here to stay!

Rain, it is a four letter word in the Summer. Unless you are a trout farmer, or any farmer really. I remember as a child being so sad when it rained and wishing I could be outside at the pool, riding bikes, or just laying in the sunshine. Now that I am part of a Third Generation trout farm and my children are the Fourth Generation my outlook has changed.

Trout need the water to be cool and full of oxygen to survive, anything above 72 degrees and it is sure death. That is why the rain is so important, it cools the water while also helping to churn it up releasing toxins and creating more oxygen. The past few years with the drought conditions in our area it has been tough. The water, if we had any, due to lack of rain has been hot and stagnant making it near impossible to swim fish at the farm. We are fortunate enough to have sister farms higher up in elevation that have the same water, just cooler, and use our feed.

But now things are looking up for us. We have had nice rains so far this year and we have built a system that churns and cools the water before it hits the farm. This system has made the water that comes into the farm 5-10 degrees cooler than the water going straight into the river, and it creates oxygen so we are not having to put it in the water ourselves. With a little luck we will be able to swim our fish here all summer from now on.

  

So next time it rains remember your favorite trout farm and all the other farms that need the rain to bring you the freshest products to your local grocer or tailgate market. Because nothing beats local and fresh products.

Best Choice, Best Practice, Best Fish

Monday SeaChoice announced it was Farm Raised Trout week!  Even though they are touting ocean farmed trout, US fresh water farmed trout is still a Best Choice according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Why is trout a best choice, practice and fish? Well a lot has to do with its Omega-3s.  Trout have .986g of omega-3s per serving(100g), that is 1/3 of your daily recommended intake. 100g is 3.75oz and the typical American portion is 6-8oz making a typical serving of trout over half your daily intake of Omega-3s!

Trout is a best practice due to it is sustainable and the stringent government regulations that make it safe for the environment. Also at Sunburst we compost every part of the fish that does not go into a value added product. That compost then goes to local all natural and organic farmers in the area to grow the vegetables we eat.

Of course we at Sunburst think trout is the best fish. A trout from Sunburst is fresh, heart healthy, and delicious! Our feed is even good for you and the environment, it is milled especially for us, has no animal bi-products and even contains a yeast that is good for womens health.

Next time you are in a restaurant or grocery store, ask yourself is this fish a best choice, best practice or the best fish I should be feeding my family?  If you would like to learn more about what fish are better to eat you can download the Seafood Watch app or print the Seafood Watch Pocket Guides.

And just in case you needed one more reason to eat trout, Kids LOVE it!

The Versatile Trout Jerky!

Trout Jerky?! Yes Trout Jerky, the brain child of our amazing R & D Chef Charles Hudson.  It is the feature of this months Recipe of the Month on our website and Facebook page, and on special all this month at your local Earth Fare.

Dick, our founder, and who we named the Jerky after, likes to refer to this as a “new classic”. We take premium trout pieces; grind them with a peppery blend of herbs and spices and pipe out the mixture. Next, these sheets of Jerky are allowed to marinate, then they are briefly smoked, and then dried to a chewy portion of jerky utopia.

High in omega – 3s, protein and shelf stable, Jerky makes a unique snack to take along on your next outdoor adventure, sporting event, or enjoy as a snack anywhere. It can even be used as a sausage substitute used ground up in pescatarian mashed potatoes, salads, or anything your culinary imagination can create.

From the Beginning

Sunburst Trout was started in 1948 (originally Jennings Trout Farm) by Dick Jennings Jr. on his property, Lonesome Valley located in Cashiers, NC. The trout were originally raised to feed the mink that were farmed on the property, but in the 1970s when consumer conscious changed the mink were no longer viable and trout became the forefront.

Seeing the writing on the wall Dick built the facility we are currently in now in the early 1960s, and became the first commercial trout processor in the Southeast. We still continued to hatch and raise fingerlings on the property in Cashiers until the mid 1980s. His daughter Sally and her husband Steve had been hatching and raising the fingerlings in Lonesome Valley until they were asked to run the facility we are in now in 1985.

That is when we became Sunburst Trout Company and of course this year became Sunburst Trout Farms. Sally and Steve have taken trout and Sunburst to the next level. Lonesome Valley has also been taken to the next level. No longer a mink or trout farm it is now becoming one of the most prestigious gated communities in Cashiers.

One of the unique qualities that sets Lonesome Valley apart from the rest is the restaurant Canyon Kitchen. Just opening for its 3rd season this past Memorial Day weekend, Canyon Kitchen headed by Chef John Fleer has already made a name for itself. This year John was a finalist for the James Beard Award Best Chef Southeast. He has captured the beauty of Lonesome Valley within Canyon Kitchen by his amazing creative cooking abilities.

The most creative part is taking the old hatching raceways and turning them into troughs to grow the greens used in the Kitchen. So the circle continues, from the beginning and back again Lonesome Valley and Sunburst are always at the forefront of growth.

May is for Burgers and Trout

May is National Burger Month and earlier in the month our recipe of the month was announced to be a trout burger. This got me thinking back to last year when I desperately tried to get our CEO Sally to start blogging. She is one of the busiest people I know so this was a feet that did not quite pan out as I had expected, but she did give us a few brilliant posts. One of her first posts was a great one about how the Burger Holidays are no longer just for burgers, but for burgers and trout or just trout. So here it is again just in time for Memorial Day.

MONDAY, JULY 5, 2010

I thought people ate hot dogs and hamburgers on Fourth of July. Apparently, lots of people have switched to grilling trout for our nation’s birthday! Our family created an American Surf and Turf. Our great friends, Stephanie and George Faison, one of the partners of DeBragga Meatsin New York, were visiting us, so George cooked up some American Wagyu sliders followed by some Sunburst Trout fillets. What an amazing combo!In celebrating America’s 234th birthday, I think it is especially important this year to remember the responsibilities which our forefathers placed on us: To honor this country and to support our fellow citizens, especially in difficult times. I see more and more of that, both in my business and in my community.

Keep up the good work, America, and thanks for eating Sunburst Trout over the holiday!

-Sally Eason, CEO Sunburst Trout Farms

Happy Memorial Day! Think Global and Eat Local.

WNC Chefs Challenge Heat #2 Sunburst v. Posana Cafe

On May 16th Sunburst went up against Posana Cafe in the second heat of the WNC Chefs Challenge. It was another amazing experience that we at Sunburst were honored to be a part of. Here are the dishes from last nights competition, the secret ingredient was onions.

Course #1 - French allium onion soup with a cornmeal crouton with Gorgonzola, on top of a fennel cucumber relish. (Sunburst)

Course #2 - Chicken liver diavolo with a beet and marcona almond salad, with crispy shallots over a green onion puree. (Posana #2 Rated Dish)

Course #3 - Pink NC Snapper Escabeche with Spring Onions & Fennel, Pea Shoot & Lady Pea Salad, Onion Veloute. (Posana #3 Rated Dish)

Course #4 – Wood oven-roasted garlic-marinated pork steak with a red wine honey glaze, scalloped onions and potatoes with minted peas and pickled onions. (Sunburst #4 Rated Dish)

Course #5 - Chocolate cake wtih poached shallots & chocolate butter cream, strawberry sauce, salted pine nuts & chive blossom garnish. (Sunburst #1 Rated Dish)

Course #6 - Goat cheese and vidalia onion profiterole, almond and marscapone tartlette, honey-glazed cipollini. (Posana)

While we did not win, our team consisting of Chef Charles Hudson, Chef James Flora and Chef Becky Gaddis did an amazing job. We only lost by 267 points which was a margin of 2%! These three are why our value added products are always amazing. Congratulations for never wavering and always being at the top of your game, we love our team!