How to Cook Trout

There are several different species of trout and many different ways to cook each one. Some cooking methods are more common to certain species than others, however. Keep reading if you want suggestions on how to cook rainbow trout, steelhead trout, lake trout, and brook trout.

Ingredients

Rainbow Trout

Makes 4 servings

4 small rainbow trout, boned
2 lemons
8 sprigs tarragon or dill
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Steelhead Trout

Makes 6 servings

1 large steelhead trout fillet
4 Tbsp (60 ml) butter
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 ml) fresh dill, minced
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 lemon

Lake Trout

Makes 4 servings

4 lake trout fillets
1/2 cup (125 ml) grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (125 ml) saltine crackers, crushed
1/2 cup (125 ml) cornmeal
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) garlic salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

Brook Trout

Makes 2 servings

2 brook trout, boned
1 to 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 ml) canola oil
1 to 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 ml) butter
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Rainbow Trout^{[1]
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1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius). Meanwhile, cut four sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- The pieces of aluminum foil should be cut into squares that are 3 inches (7.6 cm) longer than the length of your rainbow trout.
- If you only have light aluminum foil, cut eight sheets. Double up the sheets to create four thicker squares.
2
Oil the aluminum foil. Coat the dull side of each aluminum foil square with a small amount of olive oil.
- The foil should not be dripping wet, but there should be enough oil to make the surface evenly slick.
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3
Place one trout on one foil square. Center each trout on a separate sheet of foil.
- Place the trout skin-side down.
- Consider leaving the head or tail on while cooking. This reduces the amount of skin that breaks, which allows the flavor of the rainbow trout to come out stronger.^{[2]
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- Note that most rainbow trout purchased in a store will be butterflied open. This is actually preferable for this recipe, but you can still prepare the recipe without butterflied trout.
4
Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each trout with salt and pepper, to taste.
- If you need a rough guideline on how much salt and pepper to use, try a total of 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt and 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) pepper, evenly spread over all four pieces of fish.
5
Season the inside of the trout. Open each piece of trout so that they lie flat. Place two sprigs of tarragon or dill in the middle of each fish along with two slices of lemon. Fold the two sides together again.
- You could also use 4 sprigs of rosemary instead of the dill or tarragon.
- If the trout is not butterflied, you can lay the herbs and lemon slices on top of the fish instead of sandwiching them in the middle.
- Drizzle each fish with 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) of olive oil.
6
Loosely fold the foil. Grab the edges of the foil and fold them over the fish, crimping them together tightly to form a packet.
- Make sure that the trout is centered in the middle of the square before folding the square up.
- Place the packets on a baking sheet.
7
Bake 10 to 15 minutes. When done, the flesh of the trout should be opaque. It should also flake easily when pierced with a fork.
- Check on packet after 10 minutes. Continue cooking an additional 5 minutes if still undercooked.
8
Serve warm. Remove the finished fish packets from the oven and transfer each to a plate. Cut across the top and remove the fish from the packet before eating.
- Open the packet carefully to prevent yourself from getting burned by the steam.
- Pour the juices from the packet over the fish on your plate.
- Sprinkle the fish with more tarragon, dill, or parsley. Also serve the fish with lemon wedges, if desired.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Steelhead Trout

1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius). Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.
- Choose a baking sheet with a shallow rim.
- Note that steelhead trout are generally quite large, so you should use a large baking sheet instead of a small one.
2
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the butter to a saucepan or small skillet and heat it over medium heat until it melts and begins to sizzle.
3
Cook the shallot, garlic, and lemon zest. Add the shallots first, cooking them for 3 minutes until softened. Afterward, add the minced garlic and 1 tsp (5 ml) of grated zest from the lemon. Cook for an additional minute.
- If using pre-minced garlic, use roughly 1 tsp (5 ml). You could also use 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) garlic powder.
- Use a hand grater or box grater to produce the lemon zest.
4
Add the lemon juice. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly. Squeeze the juice from one half of the lemon into the pan and stir to blend it in.
5
Transfer the fish to your prepared baking sheet. Place the fish on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper.
- If you are uncertain about how much salt and pepper to start with, try 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) salt and 1/8 tsp (0.625 ml) pepper.
- If the fish is too large to fit across the length of the baking sheet, turn it and let it lay across the sheet diagonally.
- Note that steelhead trout has a taste somewhat comparable to salmon, and the two are often used as substitutes for one another. Steelhead trout tends to be slightly thinner, though, so it requires a shorter cooking time than salmon.
6
Drizzle with prepared butter mixture. Spoon the flavored butter mixture over the trout, coating it evenly and completely.
7
Sprinkle with minced dill. Use half of your minced dill to season the fish before it cooks.
- If you do not have fresh dill, you can use 1 tsp (5 ml) dried dill for every 1 Tbsp (15 ml) fresh dill you might otherwise use.
8
Bake for 12 to 17 minutes. Cook the trout in the preheated oven until it flakes apart easily with a fork.
- Do not turn or flip the fish as it cooks.
- Do not cover the baking sheet.
- A thin fillet will cook in 12 minutes, but thicker fillets may take longer.
9
Serve warm. Use several spatulas to carefully slide the trout off the baking sheet and onto a serving platter. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the fish and sprinkle it with the remaining dill.
- If desired, you could also cut the fish into multiple pieces before sliding it off.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Lake Trout

1
Heat oil in a large skillet. Let the oil warm up over medium heat as you prepare the fish.
- Pan-frying is a popular way to cook lake trout. Other common cooking methods include smoking and grilling. Lake trout can be baked, as well, but that method is not quite as typical for lake trout.
2
Combine the cheese, crackers, cornmeal, garlic salt, and black pepper. Mix these five ingredients in a shallow bowl or dish until thoroughly combined.
- For a smokier taste, you could used bacon-flavored crackers instead of standard saltine crackers.
- For a less potent garlic taste, reduce the amount of garlic salt to 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml).
3
Mix the eggs and milk. Beat the eggs and milk in another shallow bowl with a whisk.
- In order to serve as an effective egg wash, the eggs and milk must be combined well.
- The sides of the dish must be high enough to prevent the egg wash from dripping out. The bowl should have a wide mouth, though, so that it is easy enough for you to dunk the fish in it.
4
Coat the fish in the egg wash. Dunk each fish fillet into the egg mixture.
- Hold the fillet over the bowl of egg wash for 30 seconds or so. Let the excess egg drip off.
- If the fillets feel slimy or sticky, rinse them in cold water and pat dry with clean paper towels before dunking them in the egg wash.
5
Dredge in the crumb mixture. After coating all sides of the lake trout in egg, roll the fish in the crumb mixture to coat all sides.
- Each fillet must be rolled in the crumb mixture gently. Otherwise, it could break apart.
- Lightly shake each fillet over the bowl of crumbs once you coat it. The excess crumbs should fall off.
6
Fry for 5 to 7 minutes. Place the trout fillets in the hot oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Fry until crispy and opaque on all sides.
- Turn the fish once during the cooking process using a spatula. The fish must be flipped carefully in order to prevent it from flaking apart.
- Once done, the fish should flake apart easily with a fork. The flesh should also be easy to remove from the bones, if you started with fillets that still have bones in them.
7
Serve warm. Remove the trout from the frying pan and transfer to a serving plate.
- If desired, serve with lemon slices, chives, and parsley.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Brook Trout

1
Heat the oil. Pour the oil into a large skillet and warm it up using medium heat.
- Canola oil works well, but you can also use sunflower oil or safflower oil. All three are good choices because they contribute very little additional taste and have a high smoke point.
- Give the oil 1 or 2 minutes to become hot before pressing forward.
2
Add the butter. After the oil becomes notably glossy, add the butter to the pan. Once it begins to sizzle, stir it into the hot oil already coating the pan.
- Let the butter melt completely before moving to the next step.
- You could also use margarine instead of butter, but butter will have a richer taste.
3
Season the fish with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a small amount of salt and pepper over both sides of each fish. A little will go a long way.
- Brook trout has a slightly more delicate flavor than other types of trout, so many prefer to cook the trout in a way that brings out the flavor of the fish without adding many competing flavors. For that reason, you should avoid using too many herbs or spices when seasoning brook trout.
- Use brook trout that has been cleaned, dried, and boned. You can remove the heads and tails or keep them on. Additionally, you can keep the scales and skin on, since the skin can be crispy and flavorful, especially when pan-fried.
4
Cook the trout for 4 to 6 minutes. Once the trout turns light brown on the bottom side, carefully turn it over with a spatula and continue cooking on the other side.
- Each side should only cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Test the fish for doneness by flaking it with a fork. If the trout flakes apart easily and is opaque inside, the fish is done.
5
Serve warm. Transfer the fish to a plate. Split the fish in half and serve.
- Stick a fork into the area where the dorsal fin is. Lift and slide along the backbone area, splitting the fish apart and opening it up.
- If you did not remove the bones before cooking the trout, splitting the fish open should reveal the bones. The bones should appear on one side and can be lifted out with your fingers.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I need to soak freshwater trout in milk before cooking to rid it of the muddy flavor or is that bass?

Ollieoxenfree

Community Answer

You do not need to soak freshwater trout in milk.
Question

How do I debone a trout?

Community Answer

Refer to this wikiHow article, Debone a Trout.
Question

Does the skin come off the trout when it is cooked?

Michele

Top Answerer

The skin will come off easily, but don't discard it, as it's also some of the best eats.