Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Simple Sustainable (and very delicious) Rainbow Trout – It's Almost Too Easy

At the end of the voiceover for this super simple, yet very delicious rainbow trout recipe, I mention that it is an earth-friendly fish to eat. Of course I said that before actually checking, so I was kind of nervous as I Googled it after the fact, hoping that my assumptions were correct. Luckily it's true, rainbow trout is considered a great sustainable seafood choice, and I didn't have to redo the narration.

This video recipe has it all when it comes to beginner fish cooks. Trout is a really mild flavored fish, it's readily available, and usually comes cleaned, boneless, and ready to cook. Because it is so thin and delicate, it only takes a couple minutes under a hot broiler and you're ready to enjoy. In fact, I can see some of you novice cooks watching and thinking, hey, this seems too easy…what's the catch? There isn’t one.

The sauce here, if you can even call it a sauce, is a simple brown butter, spiked with a little lemon and parsley. Since trout is such a light fish, this minimalist preparation is perfect. If you are feeling adventurous, try some variations on the Italian parsley – almost any of the tender, sweet herbs – dill, tarragon, chervil, etc., will work beautifully here.

Whenever I post a basic fish recipe like this, I'm always hoping to convert a few of you, "I don't like fish," or "I can’t cook fish," people. You really are missing out, and you only have so many good fish-eating years left. What are you waiting for? Enjoy!





Ingredients:
2 whole boneless rainbow trout
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or other herb

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is too bad so many people are afraid to cook fish. The less you fool with it the better it is which is what you just showed us. And so quick, hardly any time spent in the kitchen. A salad and some of those butter beans you made recently, a wedge of lemon and you are all set.

Vanessa said...

Yum! This looks delicious- I am heading to the store right now to stock up on trout to make it tonight. Thank you for the inspiration! :)
V.

Anonymous said...

Chef,

Can you please teach us how to make Tiramisu?

Many thanks

Your fan..

Jace Tay said...

Hey Chef, this trout recipe looks too easy to be true, perfect for me! But what happens if I don't have a broiler? Can I substitute with an oven and if so, what would be the cooking time and temperature?

Many thanks Chef John!

blogagog said...

Looks tasty. Could the trout be cooked skin-side up so it would become crispy?

Anonymous said...

Whenever I've seen rainbow trout in a store it's been red, but yours is almost white. What's the difference?

Chris K. said...

Q: What do you call a fish with no eyes?

A: Fsh!

Chef John said...

too thin to get crispy skin without over cooking

Chef John said...

i've seen red fleshed trout, but never referred to as rainbow.

jonezy said...

I cheat by using a butter spray, then season and broil. Prep time = about 30 seconds

I use my toaster oven even. I also think thyme is the best herb to include and I usually slice one clove of garlic very thin and place slices on the flesh while broiling...

Jenna said...

Chef John - This looks delicious!
I love your blog I learn so much.
I'm attending culinary school so this kind of stuff is right up my alley.

One of videos taught me how to make apple swans - which turned out to be a big hit at the buffet my Garde Manger class held!

Thanks for the awesome posts

(Check out my blog!)
http://chroniclesofacurlyhead.blogspot.com/

Brooke said...

Trout! Hot Trout! Who needs a fancy name when you can eat Trout!

You are hysterical. Thanks for the great and simple recipe.

Chef John said...

Thanks! you're welcome :-)

tim tebow ad said...

Tried this recipe with salmon and it turned out great. Thank you again Chef John!

Ryan Fitz said...

This recipe will work with just about any fish, as long as it's a relatively thin fillet. Catfish, tilapia, bass, flounder, etc. I've done something very similar to this for years- growing up at the shore you learn how to cook fish at a young age. Thanks for posting it Chef John!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef,

I just bought some tuna steaks cause they were on sale. I have no idea what to do with them. I don't have a grill so I would have to pan fry it or put them in the oven. My food wish would be a good tuna steak recipe......L J :)

Justin said...

I wanted to try this recipe, so I went looking for trout and couldn't find any! I ended up with catfish, and it was delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe!

Amy Lynn said...

I notice that you have your fish on tin foil in the broiler... how do you keep the skin from melting into the foil?

Amy Lynn said...

And thank you :D

Chef John said...

Sorry, not sure what you mean by melt. You mean stick? I didn't have a problem with that.

Amy Lynn said...

Yeah, when I put fish in the broiler, the skin sticks to the foil, and sort of melts into it, so I have to have the fish skinless.

Chef John said...

just oil the foil. good luck!

Anonymous said...

I'm not afraid to cook trout, just not exactly sure how to filet the trout like you have it in the video. Can you help?

Anonymous said...

Oh Man! I made this last night and it rocked! My hubby wasn't super happy with the little bones ( tiny rainbow trout, hard to get them all) but the taste was great! I used the rest this morning on egg & english muffin, like your poached egg "recipe".... yum!

Oh and my farmed but fresh Rainbow Trout was pink, but the wild stuff we get is white. Maybe that's the difference? All good either way!

Anonymous said...

This was by far the easiest fish dish I have ever prepared. And it was so yummy! Thank you!

Orenwolf said...

Chef John,

This was our seventh Foodwishes recipe. We made this alongside your potato pancakes recipe - I had two trout fillets left over from my summer local meat share, and this recipe did them justice (and the sauce was excellent on the potato pancakes, too!).

I really must stress to everyone that yes, you really should try fish with the barest of seasoning, as this recipe allows - especially trout, which, to me anyway, is not remotely "fishy" when cooked.

Thank you for providing such a simple, elegant, and spot-on recipe for a great river fish!

Take care.

Trish Benedict said...

How do you get your fish to open up and lie flat? Mine came from the market with just that little body cavity slit. I cut it completely open, but I ended up with little bones cut off of the spine all through the meat on one side. We were picking bones out of our mouths with every little bite – even after we thought we'd pulled them all out. It was a mess, albeit a delicious mess (I used tarragon that I have to have sitting in the fridge – fabulous! ).
Was yours a special butterfly cut the fishmonger does?

Bodhissatva62 said...

This recipe also works very well for Speckled Sea Trout

Unknown said...

You said, broil “a few minutes”. How much time exactly? BTW. I love your channel, your recipes and how you present them. Thank you.