Fresh-caught trout, plain and simple

No pix this time, but definitely next time; this is so easy, it probably doesn't need to even be posted, but results are among the best possible.

Step 1: Save your bacon fat somewhere, keeping it covered, cold and away from any wife who might find it and throw it away.

Step 2: Take a kid fishing. If you want to catch and release, that's fine, but if you're reading this post, keep at least two, cleaning and scaling them as described here:

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For top quality flavor, all fish should be field dressed as quickly as possible by removing the gills, guts and kidney, all of which spoil fast in a dead fish.

Field dress fish that are to be cooked whole or steaked. It is not necessary to field dress fish if they are to be filleted within an hour or two. Scale fish that are to be cooked with their skin on. Scaling fish is quick and easy with a scaler, though a dull knife or spoon can be used. Wet the fish and scrape off the scales, working from tail to head. This job should be done outdoors, because scales can fly in all directions; or, line the kitchen sink with newspapers and scale as carefully as possible.

When field dressing and scaling at home, place your catch on several layers of newspapers to ease cleanup. Before field dressing, wipe the fish with paper towels to remove slime. This makes it easier to hold the fish firmly. If you puncture the guts, wash the body cavity with cold water. Use water sparingly, because it softens the fish.

The head can be removed after dressing. Paper towels are excellent for wiping off scales and blood spots, and for drying fish.

Field dressing is easier if you have the right tools, and if you clean the fish in a convenient location. Practice different cleaning techniques until you can clean fish quickly and with little waste.

To field dress trout and small salmon:



• Slice the throat connection, the tissue that connects the lower jaw and the gill membrane.

• Insert the knife in the vent, run the blade tip up along the stomach to the gills, taking care not to puncture the intestines.

• Push your thumb into the throat; pull gills and guts toward the tail.
Scrape out bloodline with a spoon, then rinse out cavity.

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Step 3: Keep them cold without soaking them in water until you get home.

Step 4: Put a large cast-iron skillet on the stovetop, drop in enough bacon fat to cover the bottom of the pan when melted - and then a little more - and heat it up over medium heat. While the pan and fat are heating, season the trout with your favourite seasoning, which can be as simple as salt-and-pepper or as elaborate as any dry seasoning/herb/spice mix that you enjoy. Dredge the outside trout in a 50/50 mix of flour and corn meal, and shake off any excess.

Step 5: When your skillet and fat are hot enough to have a light haze hovering overhead, back off the heat a bit and lay your trout in the middle of the pan, with the back-side of each fish to the middle of the pan, facing in opposite directions, so that the thicknesses are evenly distributed, yet also with the thickest parts in the middle.

Step 6: Cover the skillet with a heavy, tight-fitting lid and cook the fish, undisturbed, for 5 or 6 minutes, depending on thickness, then carefully turn the fish over (with the backs still facing the middle of the pan), cover again and cook for the same length of time. Your trout will be done when a fork inserted into the thickest part of the back twists easily, exposing flaked meat that is opaque, rather than mushy and raw-looking.

NOTE - A good, general rule of thumb is to cook a fish 10 minutes total for each inch of thickness; for instance, cook a whole trout that is 1 inch thick for approximately 5 minutes on each side.

Step 7: Transfer the fish to a plate (heated, if possible), along with a side dish or two.

Step 8: Serve the fish with a wedge or two of lemon and watch your youngster enjoy a great taste experience that will spark his or her interest in fishing for a lifetime. The skin (preferably scaled), can be eaten or discarded, according to your preference. Kids (and many adults) are leery of bones, so to eliminate that problem, simply do this: lift out the meat off the backbone and ribs along one side, leaving the bones behind, then lift out the backbone - with ribs attached - and set it aside, exposing a perfect, boneless fillet underneath.

This is as simple and as good as it gets ~

Actually, I've come to a conclusion: the above-referenced method is SECOND "good as it gets."

Absolutely "good as it gets" is to put the skillet over a fire as soon as the fish comes out of the water. By the time you gut & gill it the pan will be ready. Then proceed as above. There is absolutely nothing to match a beautiful morning in the middle of nowhere, with trees all around, on the banks of a babbling mountain stream or crystal-clear mountain lake, with a crackling fire going and the wonders of the outdoors hitting each and every one of your senses ~ a perfect setting for this meal.

Poach, steam , broil ,bake, smoke ,fry , all done GENTLY !

You're right, any fresh caught fish cooked as close to the place of catcing is sublime. We were in Northern Saskatchewan fishing on Delaronde lake and there was a horrible downpour, so we found a trappers cabin on the shore, went inside and cooked some fresh pike in foil. It's all we had for a meal but who needs more? I was all of 5 years old, 40 years ago but I can still taste that fish.

What you show for cleaning them is the customary way it's done. And, on guided trout trips to the Ozarks your recipe is basically what they do for noon time lunches. Usually done over a grill or in a pan on a grill on the bank or a picturesque island with your cold, clear river water rushing by.

And, back when I was doing a lot of this, we'd typically return back home with a limit of nice eating size rainbows and browns and some small mouth bass found in those same waters. Then we invited the whole family and the gals supervised the cooking, which generally was baked trout with whatever sides that seemed to go with it.

But, I'm going to throw you a little bit of a curve here.

The truth is, I thought freshwater trout OK to eat, but overly boney and not remotely of the same order as table fare as the other kind of trout - speckled sea trout. Those imo are the best eating fish what swims. So good it doesn't matter how you cook it.

Down at Grand Isle, it was generally just quick pan frying the filets in lots of butter. Real butter. Recommended sides were shrimp right from your throw nets, blue crabs from your crab pots and oysters fresh from the bottom of Barataria Bay. Plump and salty tasting with sauce you swish together with lemon juice, Crystal hot sauce (best for eating I think), horseradish, a drop or two of Worcestershire and a tangy cajun tomato sauce. And don't forget the boiled crawfish. A little slaw is good with it too.

Washed down with an ice cold Abita. Or even better, invite the Count de Sazarac for dinner.

I hope this all isn't too Off Topic, but you see I did try to keep it "trout"...

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- speckled sea trout. Those imo are the best eating fish what swims.

They're a good fish but not the best, that distinction would go to the louvar, which is a pelagic fish we get as bycatch in our swordfish nets. Very rarely caught and even more rarely sold since fishermen keep them and eat them, which is what we did.

Firm, white flaky flesh, all succulent and sweet that is unlike anything else. Excellent eating.