The Ins and Outs of Trout

My editor at Distinctly Montana thought it would be a good idea if I wrote something about preparing one of the native fish species abundant in the state. I agreed. But I'm not a fisherman and the folks I know who do fish are catch-and-release fly fishing enthusiasts.

So I had no one that I could dispatch to catch me some legal trout.

One of the difficulties one runs into in a sparsely populated state like Montana -- especially if you don't fish -- is that it's difficult to find a place that sells fresh fish. You can get almost anything you want frozen. But I really wanted to find some fresh trout because I had (read that have) a killer recipe that I know you're going to love.

What you may not love is the filleting part. I will tell you now that it takes time and great care. And you also need a boning knife with a flexible blade that's razor sharp. More on that in a bit.

To my great surprise, I found fresh trout at my neighborhood Costco -- gutted, thank you very much -- and packed four to a tray. And they were cheap, too. I paid less than $11 for the four and they weighed just about a pound each.

I confess that I have never filleted small fish, but I have experience removing the bones of larger species of fish -- salmon to name one. Trout are delicate and their bone structure is quite fragile and very closely attached to the meat of the fish.

I consulted two of the texts I have from culinary school and saw a wonderful illustration on removing the skeleton of a fish in several steps. And since I had four trout and only needed to cook two, I had "practice fish" to massacre -- I mean perfect my technique.

In the top photo, I've begun my filleting at the tail and carefully guided my knife along the rib bones, separating the flesh. You have to do this is small cuts because the bones are so delicate and firmly implanted into the flesh. In the bottom photo, you can see that I've progressed toward the neck (did I mention that you need to cut off the head right behind the gills? No? You have to do that before you start the filleting process).

As you can see in the above photo, after the filleting process is completed and the fish has essentially been "butterflied," lay them skin side down on a rimmed baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Then brush melted butter over the flesh of each filet, followed by salt and pepper.

I then preheated my broiler and moved the top rack of the oven to about three inches from the heating elements. After salting and peppering each filet, I spread the herb and spice mixture liberally over each and placed the pan under the broiler.

Pay attention! These cook fast. It only took about two and a half minutes. For good measure, I turned the pan around for an additional 30 seconds under the broiler and then removed the pan from the oven.

And here they are on my very special artsy fish platter, ready to serve. The herb and spice mixture is a great contrast to the delicate flesh of this breed of trout. My dinner guests and I enjoyed the fish with a chilled Pinot Grigiot from King Estate, an Oregon producer that I've been a fan of for many many years.

Once again, here's the recipe for Herbed Butterflied Trout:

This recipe serves two. I doubled the quantities to make four filets.

Mix together a quarter-teaspoon each of celery seed, dried oregano, paprika, sugar and dried thyme, along with a half teaspoon of garlic powder. Be sure to add some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to the mixture.

Place the butterflied fish filets on a rimmed baking sheet fully opened. Spread a small amount of softened butter over the flesh of the fish or brush with olive oil. Salt and pepper the filets and then pat in the herb and spice mixture.

Broil until golden and cooked through – it should take only two or three minutes.