I've grown up in a fishing family so this recipe isn't really a recipe to me - it's just the way we eat our trout. I would say we aren't exactly sport fisherman because we don't like to catch and release. When you are fishing with our family the goal is to catch fish (no matter what size) and go back home to cook it up and eat it that night, in true hunter form. We normally eat it with fluffy gohan (Japanese rice) and nori (seaweed) but I've made it here with a nice healthy arugula and watermelon salad with roasted brussels sprouts.
The trick to this recipe is all in how you fillet the fish after it's cooked. It's super simple and you'll be amazed at how easy the bones come out.
Ingredients:
1 medium sized trout - ask your fish monger to descale it for you as the skin is edible - or catch it yourself and gut it and descale it, it's fun!
flour
salt and pepper
lemon
soy sauce (low sodium preferred)
Directions:
Wash and pat dry the whole trout, inside and out. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Lightly coat the fish with flour, just sprinkle it all over and rub it in - this is to get that crispy skin. Heat a saucepan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil or cooking fat of choice. Make sure the pan is big enough to hold your fish from head to tail. When the pan is heated well, add the trout and you'll immediately hear it sizzling. Don't move the trout or it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Depending on the size of the fish, cook until one side is a nice dark golden brown - in most cases it will take about 5 minutes. Flip it over with a spatula, making sure not to let the skin stick to the pan. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Make sure the fish is cooked through by checking for any real pink areas inside the fish cavity.
Remove the fish from the pan and set on a cutting board to rest. When the fish is still warm but not too hot, use a chopstick on the underside of the fish from the tail and start pulling it apart while pulling up on the tail. The bones should come up very easily. If it isn't easy, the fish probably isn't cooked enough. Then, flip it over and do the same on the other side. Voila, you'll have one filleted fish in about 1 minute. Here's a video on how it's done.
[wpvideo GzAtgMSp]
My husband isn't a fan of the skin, so I easily remove it for him and sprinkle some sea salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of soy sauce over the fish. It's the easiest way to prepare and doesn't over power the clean freshness of the trout. You could leave the skin on if people prefer as it should be crispy and delicious. Serve it with a salad for a good protein and veggie fix or with Japanese rice, roasted seaweed and some steamed broccoli with a bit of sesame oil. Here's how to roast your own seaweed, it's easy peasy - http://youtu.be/4nbZ4g3wFCM
