Cooking trout in a pan may seem like an easy task, but there are a few things to consider to ensure you get the best out of your fish and make it delicious every time.
Although trout might seem to be an odd fish to cook in a pan, it actually makes for a tasty and simple dish. In this post, we are basically talking about how to prepare and cook trout in a pan.
So, after you’ve caught your trout using any one of the many ways of catching trout, the first thing you’ll need to do is clean the fish. Cleaning trout is quite simple.
You can flay a trout and cook the fillets, which is in fact the fastest and easiest way to cook delicious trout. It is quite simple. Just chop off the head, slit the belly, and remove the guts. That’s all you need to do.
Trout scales are normally very tiny and you can even cook and eat the fish with scales on. Remember to chop off the head just behind the gills, slit the fish down to the tail, and remove the guts.
After you remove the guts take note to get rid of the kidney or what people call the bloodline. This is actually a dark stripe along the spine that can easily be scraped out using your thumbnail.
You can then wash your fish and prepare to fry it on a pan. Alternatively, you can leave the kidney and cook it if you don’t mind its strong flavor.
Do You Cook Trout with the Skin On?
You can cook the trout with skin. No need to descale or anything. When it comes to cooking trout in a pan, you should always leave it on their skin. This is because they don’t have very much fat so once they are cooked there will be little in order to help keep them moist and tender.
It may sound gross at first but it isn’t as bad as you might think. Just remove it before eating and when you season your fish make sure to do so without touching or rubbing any of that skin directly onto your food.
If you want to know how to pan fry trout with skin, there are many ways to do it. You can cook it in the oven, on a stovetop, or on a grill. You can even foil pack if you don’t have a grill.
Foil packing is actually rolling the fish in foil and covering the edges tight after you’ve added your seasoning and basically steaming the fish. However, not many things taste better than pan-fried rainbow trout.
How Do You Know When Trout is Cooked?
You also need to know how long to pan fry trout. This is because cooking fish can be tricky because they can become dry, flaky, and flavorless if you don’t cook them correctly.
One of the best ways to know when your trout is cooked is by poking it with a fork. If it flakes easily, then it’s done. Make sure to use plenty of oil to prevent the fish from sticking to the pan.
Does Trout Have Lots of Bones?
If you’re concerned about bones, take a look at your trout before cooking. If it has no scales and its head is still attached, it’s definitely not a fish that has many bones to contend with.
The best method for removing all of these little bones is to cut your trout in half lengthwise and then remove them with your fingers. That way you won’t lose any of your fish in the process.
Conclusion
As most anglers will tell you, the best way to cook trout is on a stovetop. This method cooks the skin really well.
Pan fried trout also smells invitingly great when done outdoors on a cast iron skillet on an open fire. Make sure to get a large whole trout cast iron skillet for the best results.
