Here I’m going to share a few recipes that I believe to be some of the best ways to cook fresh-caught trout. These recipes are versatile, as are the types of fish that can be used. I’m using rainbow trout, but brook and brown trout are also acceptable. For transparency’s sake, I’ll be using farm-raised trout because most of the places I fish are strictly catch-and-release. Be sure that all fish have been cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit before serving.
Trout baked in foil
A riff on a classic and simple recipe that can easily be assembled on a busy weeknight. For this recipe, you’ll want whole-dressed trout. Deboned or as is, both work just fine.
Ingredients:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Rainbow trout (amount depends on how many you plan on serving)
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Salt
- 2 lemons, one sliced, one cut into wedges
- 4 sprigs dill
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Chopped chives for garnishing
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut four sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil into adequately-sized rectangles. Lightly oil one side of the aluminum foil and place trout skin-down. Season both sides with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Once seasoned to your liking, stuff the inside of the trout with dill, rosemary and sliced lemon, fold together and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
Next, with the trout assembled on the foil sheets, crimp sides of tin foil and form into a packet, ensuring no juices will run out during the baking process. Place foil packets onto baking sheets — no more than two per sheet — and bake for 10-20 minutes depending on the size of your fish. Now is a good time to chop your chives and set them aside for serving.
Once the trout is cooked through, take it out of foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove dill, rosemary and lemon from the inside, plate, sprinkle chopped chives and spritz with lemon juice to your liking.
Trout Almondine
Cooking fish in a pan can be a fairly daunting task. Have a non-stick frying pan? If so, you’re already in good shape. Trout Almondine is a hearty, minimum-ingredient meal suitable for any night of the week. This recipe serves two.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. green beans
- 1/2 lb. fingerling potatoes
- 1/4 oz. fresh parsley
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Trout filets
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped almonds
First, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Halve fingerling potatoes ensuring that they are all roughly the same size. Place halved potatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Roast potatoes for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and tender.
After placing the fingerling potatoes in the oven, bring a pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Rinse green beans under cold water and chop off the ends. Blanch green beans in water for 1-2 minutes and submerge in ice bath to stop the cooking. Set beans aside. They will finish cooking when added the brown butter sauce.
Next, cut small incisions, about an inch long and no more than 1/4 inch deep on the skin side of the trout filet. This will ensure that the trout doesn’t curl in the pan. Season both sides of filet with salt. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil to a nonstick pan and set burner to medium heat. Once the pan is up to temperature, place filets skin-side down and cook.
While the trout filets cook, add butter to a separate pan and turn the burner on medium to start the brown butter sauce. Gently cook down the butter, stirring frequently, until it becomes brown but not burnt. Add lemon juice and let reduce for one minute.
Add green beans and chopped almonds to brown butter and lemon sauce and mix thoroughly. Once mixed, add 1/4 cup of hot water to the pan and stir frequently on stovetop to emulsify the sauce. Reduce heat to low.
Once the trout is cooked almost all the way through on the skin side, flip the filet and cook for one minute and remove from heat.
Assemble the plate starting with potatoes. Place trout filets on top of potatoes, then top filets with brown butter, green beans and chopped almond mixture. Top with lemon zest and chopped parsley.
