Sunburst Trout Co LLC

I got tired of my local Earth Fare not carrying the Sunburst products I wanted such as the trout roe, I just broke down and ordered and made an account. Charlotte is too far to visit them regularly, and the shipment is fast and fantastic. The ice packs made everything come in chilled and perfect condition. BTW, my Earth Fare carries the cold smoked trout but not the incredible dip or the «caviar.» Do not be afraid to order from them directly! I have developed a habit already.

You can find Sunburst Trout at markets all over the mountains, but it’s worth going out to their farm. First read Caroline S.‘s great review of their products and location. If you go, know that they have filets that are 12 – 16 inches. I think it’s really great to have a piece of trout that big to serve. Definitely makes for a great presentation.

After trying Sunburst’s cold smoked trout at Over Easy Café in Asheville, I was hooked. Soon after I went to Southern Season in Chapel Hill to pick up cold smoked trout of my own — to serve in a sandwich or on top a spinach salad. But I just couldn’t get enough, so I went to the source.
Located south of Waynesville and Canton, a trip to Sunburst makes for a great day trip. The drive is beautiful and a visit to Sunburst is rewarding. Why is it rewarding? By going straight to the source you get a fresher product, without the overhead, and you get to see part of their trout farm. Win.Win.Win.
While finding the location maybe a bit hard (be sure to look up directions ahead of time and don’t be scared off by the steep downhill dirt road), the scenic drive is worth it. Once at Sunburst, go to the large warehouse/​office on the opposite side of the fishery. Don’t be surprised that there is no formal «shop», when you come in you walk into the large working area where they process the fish. This is part of the charm of going directly to the source. When we had a question about the fillets, one of the employees filleting trout, just lifted one up to show us. The fillets we purchased were processed just 45 minutes prior, talk about fresh! As mentioned it’s a deal to purchase directly from the source, the prices are very reasonable and the products are fresh! We purchased a number of fillets, a side of cold smoked trout, caviar and a couple of their smoked trout dip. I would highly recommend picking up the trout dip. I’m usually not a fan of pre-​made dips (opting usually to make my own), but that doesn’t apply to this amazing dip. They did a great job finding the perfect ingredients to make this dip delicious — it has a great balance of sweet and spicy, a perfect offering for a wine and cheese party. The price of the bounty of items we purchased was just a fraction of what they would normally retail for, and it’s directly supporting Sunburst.
From the pictures, it looks like you can walk to the dam and nearby lake, but you can’t. There is a fence prohibiting guests to get to the dam and the lake is effectively owned by the Episcopal church, as they control most of the lake access. No worries, it’s still a pristine location and worth the drive. The trout farm is also neat to check out, but only the older trout reside there — most of the younger trout are grown off site. Also, the trout gets their rich pink color from feed. You’ll do a double take thinking that the trout is salmon, it really takes like a rich piece of salmon, but it’s great to support a NC company that offers amazing trout at great prices!

Sunburst Trout is a farm that provides many restaurants and groceries throughout the South-​East with delectable fresh fish. Many of Asheville’s favorite eateries use their product and it is almost always prepared excellently –Early Girl does a particularly good job. But as I am a wanderer and a cook; I love to drive out to the farm and buy fishes to take home. It’s a different angle to the ‘you pick’ phenomena of many orchards but still the principle is the same: you can visit the farm directly, see where your food comes from and meet the local people that make it all possible. Sunburst is great because it is located in the middle of nowhere, the drive is scenic and curvy, up 215 going toward the Parkway; it is at the bottom of the Lake Logan spillway. The farm is a perfect pit-​stop to swimming in waterfalls or hiking the blue Ridge.

Just received my first shipment. The Rainbow trout caviar is excellent.
The smoked trout was out of this world. I grew up about 10 miles from Lake Logan (in the Sunburst region) and the fish was better than I remembered from the streams surrounding the area. It’s expensive but do treat yourself.