Steelhead Trout substitute

Best substitute

Farmed Atlantic salmon

Use the same amount by weight, add 2 to 3 minutes for a thicker fillet as the steelhead trout you are replacing

Best for roasting

Close match

The fish steelhead is usually sold as an alternative to, and the swap runs both ways without any recipe changes.

Other steelhead trout substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Arctic char
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Sits in exactly the same place between trout and salmon, and matches steelhead better than any salmon does.
What changes
Best for
roasting, pan-searing, grilling, smoking, gravlax-style cures
Practically interchangeable: the same moderate fat, the same medium flake, the same orange-pink colour. Cook it to the same doneness and the same time. If your fishmonger has char and no steelhead, buy it without a second thought.
3Coho salmon
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The leanest of the common salmon and the closest salmon match for steelhead.
What changes
Best for
roasting, grilling, pan-searing, poaching, salads
Milder and less oily than Atlantic salmon, with a firmer flake and a deeper colour. Cooking times are the same as steelhead for the same thickness. Because it is lean, it wants a brush of oil and a slightly gentler oven than a fatty farmed fillet does.
4Sockeye salmon
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, and check it 2 minutes early
Widely sold, especially frozen, and the most dramatic-looking of the swaps.
What changes
Best for
roasting, grilling, salads, canned-style salmon dishes
Deep red, firm and lean, with a stronger, more mineral salmon flavour. It has less fat than steelhead, not more, so it goes from moist to dry in a couple of minutes and benefits from being pulled while the centre is still translucent. It also looks noticeably darker on the plate.
5Rainbow trout fillets
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, but halve the cooking time
The same species without the sea run, sold as small thin fillets rather than a big slab.
What changes
Best for
pan-frying, quick roasting, brunch dishes, lemon and butter preparations
Same clean flavour, much thinner fillets, so allow two small fillets per portion and cook them in a few minutes rather than fifteen. They cannot be treated like a thick roasting fillet, and they are too delicate for a hard sear or a heavy glaze.
6Cod or halibut
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, brushed generously with oil or butter
The least-best swap, worth knowing when the shop has no pink fish at all.
What changes
Best for
baking, roasting, poaching, fish with vegetables
These are lean white fish, so the dish loses both the fat that keeps steelhead moist and the colour that makes it look right. Brush with oil or butter, cook at a lower temperature, and expect a lighter, plainer plate. Do not use them where the recipe cures the fish or serves it raw.

What is Steelhead Trout?

Steelhead Trout is Steelhead trout is a rainbow trout that has spent part of its life at sea, which gives it a large orange-pink fillet that looks almost exactly like salmon but is leaner, milder and quicker to cook, and it is also sold as ocean trout or sea trout.

Cooking tips

Steelhead is leaner than farmed salmon, so it cooks faster and dries out sooner. Roast a fillet at 400F for about ten minutes per inch of thickness and pull it when the centre is just barely translucent, around 125F, which lands at moist and silky after resting.
The thin belly edge of a large fillet cooks far faster than the thick shoulder end. Tuck the thin end under itself before roasting so the whole piece finishes at the same time.
The skin crisps as well as salmon skin does. Dry it thoroughly, salt it, and start it skin side down in a hot dry-ish pan with just a film of oil, pressing gently for the first thirty seconds so it does not curl.
Run your thumb down the centre line and pull any pin bones with tweezers before cooking. Steelhead has fewer than trout but they are in the same place.
It takes a salt-and-sugar cure well and makes excellent gravlax-style cured fish, but use a tested recipe and its quantities and timings as written rather than improvising, and keep the fish refrigerated throughout the cure.

Frequently asked questions

Is steelhead trout the same as salmon?

No, though it is a close cousin. Steelhead is a rainbow trout that migrates to the sea, which is why it grows large and develops orange flesh like a salmon. It is leaner and milder than farmed Atlantic salmon and it cooks a few minutes faster, but in the kitchen it can be treated as a salmon fillet in almost every recipe.

Can I use steelhead trout instead of salmon in a recipe?

Yes, at the same weight. Two adjustments: check it two to three minutes earlier than the recipe says, because there is less fat protecting it, and expect a slightly milder, cleaner flavour, which is an advantage if anyone at the table finds salmon too strong.

Does steelhead trout taste fishy?

It is one of the mildest of the orange-fleshed fish, noticeably gentler than sockeye or wild salmon. Removing the dark line under the skin makes it milder still, and a squeeze of lemon at the end cleans up anything left.

Is steelhead trout cheaper than salmon?

Usually a little, since most of what is sold is farmed, which is exactly why it turns up as a salmon alternative at fish counters and in meal kits. Prices vary by region and season, so it is worth comparing rather than assuming.

Can I eat steelhead trout raw or use it for poke?

Only if it is sold for raw consumption, labelled sashimi or sushi grade and previously frozen. A fillet from the ordinary fish case is not intended to be eaten raw. If you cannot confirm that, cook it or cure it with a tested recipe instead.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Steelhead Trout substitute

Other steelhead trout substitutes

2Arctic char

3Coho salmon

4Sockeye salmon

5Rainbow trout fillets

6Cod or halibut