pan fry or bacon grilled trout, you decide…
it appears that the competition between my husband and i, was quite popular among happy happy nester readers. since we are naturally competitive in the kitchen and our home, we did enjoy blogging about our different ways of roasting brussels sprouts. for those of you who maybe missed this post, here is the link: brussels sprouts post i’m hoping i can coax my hubby into making this a monthly feature.
~ a funny note about the nester ~
as a child we went on family fishing trips every summer
and my youngest brother was in charge of driving the boat
and he was a maniac driver scaring every fish in the lake. it was fun
fishing with all four of my older brothers and my dad!
background and setting:
so, while we were vacationing in montana, we went head to head on the best way to prepare stream-caught trout. my husband is an avid fly fisherman and he dreams of cashing it all in for a quieter lifestyle in rural montana. but in the meantime, he has to settle for a couple weeks of the summer. so this month’s competition took place in a log homestead on a sprawling ranch near the blackfoot river, which some of you might know as the place where they filmed the movie, “A River Runs Through It.” so without further ado, here are our two ways to prepare trout – the right way… and my husband’s way.
Mountain Mike’s Bacon-Wrapped Trout
Every now & then, I’m overcome by the Paleolithic urge to venture into the wild in quest of meat for the table. My success at these endeavors (historically, somewhat hit & miss) is intended to prove my worthiness to lead the Clan (my wife, aka the Nester, seems to be under the impression that she’s in charge of things). My quarry of choice, whenever possible, is wild trout. And to shore up my odds of success, I’ve invested a small fortune in fly fishing gear. Plus multi-week stays in creek-side cabins in Western Montana. You know, typical Paleolithic Clan Leader stuff.
So when I finally come limping home with only a half-dozen, half-grown fish to show for my efforts, I need an exceptional trout recipe. A recipe so transportingly delicious that no one will think about their growling stomachs or the fact that they’d been waiting hours and hours for the trout dinner I’d promised. Like so many great Clan Leaders before me, I turn to the sure-fire solution of an outdoor grill and a whole lot of bacon.
Ingredients
· 5 to 7 pan-sized native Montana trout (preferably caught on dry flies in a mountain creek)
· Arrogant Bastard Ale (by Stone Brewing Company)
· Several slices of rustic or sourdough bread
· Sage, rosemary, thyme (whatever spices you like in your stuffing)
· Salt & Pepper
· Butter
· ½ of a large yellow onion (minced)
· 5 or 6 cloves of garlic (minced)
· Olive oil
· Bacon
Step 1
Go to Montana and catch half a dozen pan-sized trout. Brook trout are best if you can find them (high country creeks in the Bitterroot Valley will generally oblige) – brookies are a type of char, so they have no scales to speak of, which makes for better taste & texture. The two trout in the picture below are a brown trout and a rainbow. Both were taken on dry flies from the shaded pools of a spring creek. The way God meant it to be done.
Step 2
Pop open the bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale and pour all but a few tablespoons into a frosted beer glass. The brew in the glass is for mental lubricant while preparing the meal, a non-negotiable essential in the Manly Cooking Arts. The bit left in the bottle will be used to moisten the stuffing.
Step 3
Clean the trout. If they’re brown, rainbow, or cutthroat trout, you’ll also want to scale them. The scales are all cartilage and tend to muddy the flavor.
Here they are cleaned, scaled, and ready to stuff & wrap.
Step 4
Cut the bread into crouton-sized cubes. Then toss them in a bowl with 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous dose of seasonings.
Step 5
Dribble another tablespoon or two of oil into a hot cast-iron pan and fry the seasoned bread-cubes until they’re the golden color of a Montana meadow in a late August sunset.
Step 6
Fry the minced onions & garlic in butter. Plenty of butter. Carmelize the onions if you can without burning them.
Combine the croutons and onions in a sauce pan. Pour in a few tablespoons of the ale – just enough to get the bread to mush up a bit (but not too soggy). Cover the sauce pan and heat at about 300 F for a few minutes to get the stuffing to bake together. Remove from heat and allow the sauce pan to sit covered for a few more minutes while you go outdoors and fire up the grill. Once your stuffing has “set up,” use a fork to scoop out fluffy dollops and fill the cavities of each trout. (NOTE: if you’re a guy, do not actually use the words “fluffy dollops” out loud unless you are expert at the skill of the Ironic Manly Smirk, which is, for me, pretty much second nature).
Step 7
Wrap the stuffed trout in bacon. 1 strip per trout will do if the fish are small enough (7- to 10-inchers). If you’re a guy, you’ll be tempted to double-wrap the bacon for extra bacony goodness. Don’t do it. This will oversaturate the stuffing with bacon grease as the fish cooks… and yes, in this case, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
Here’s what the trout look like all stuffed and wrapped and ready for the grill.
Step 8
Grill your bacon-wrapped trout over medium heat. For best results, your grill should be situated behind a log cabin on the banks of a Western Montana trout stream, where you intermittently recline in a pine rocking chair, nursing a frosty glass of ale in the swooning twilight. (NOTE: don’t get too distracted by the trout rising to flies in the river below – bacon fat tends to burst into flames without warning… so you’ll need to move the fish now & then unless your family has a pallet for cinders). When the bacon on the underside is browned, flip the fish and grill until all of the bacon is cooked medium-well.
Step 9
Here’s what your bacon-wrapped trout should look like when it’s done – shown here served alongside grilled zucchini.
Step 10
Share with your Clan. Try to blush with modesty when they tell you it’s the best damn meal they’ve ever tasted.
the nester’s recipe for trout
now for the best way to pan fry trout!
two trout (cleaned and scaled)
1 package of ritz crackers
2 whisked eggs
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
salted butter
scale and clean trout. blot dry with a paper towel and then salt and pepper the trout to taste. next, finely crush ritz crackers in a plastic ziploc baggie, add herbs at this point if you want. then place on a plate. whisk eggs in a shallow bowl with the milk. now coat the fish in the egg mixture and then dredge through ritz crackers. place in a hot skillet with melted butter. cook until golden brown and flip when meat is cooked.
silly me ~ you have to start out looking fresh and have a clean kitchen! actually that isn’t a requirement. don’t you just love this country kitchen?
simple ingredients ~ you can’t beat the simplicity of the recipe. the butter and crackers make this a rich and crispy dish!
make the bread crumbs ~ i used a potato masher since this is all they had at the cabin. i usually use a rolling pin to mash up my bread crumbs, but i found this masher worked nicely and efficiently.
bread crumbs ~ this is about how fine you want the crackers crumbs.
reality ~ ok, my husband took this photo, i have a huge water spot on the front of my shirt! i’m the messy, messy nester when i cook!
final fish fry ~ and the winner is? let us know who you vote for, our marriage may depend on your participation! well, we sure had fun with this post and i think we came up with great recipes. i hope this has inspired you to take up flyfishing, book a trip to montana and at the very least make a trout dinner. thanks for hanging with us and i hope to see ya for my next post!
cheers,
janine
I named my blog Happy Happy Nester because I love everything related to the home. I’ve always enjoyed decorating my surroundings. Get cozy and stay for a bit, thanks for visiting!
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Cats Galore
I vote for the ritz cracker method. I prefer my fish to be less embellished. Bacon seems like a BIG flavor for fresh fish.
COCO JZ
First of all, I love your smile!
Secondly, Mtn Mike's Rx looks irresistible.
But, your in the skillet is so neatly composed….plus I'm wild about Ritz crackers.
Guess where I'm going for lunch today?
Target! Where they have loads of Ritz.
xoxo
Janine Waite
Hi Coco,
Thanks so much for the kind comment! I wrote a comment earlier, but not sure if you got it. Anywhoo…. thanks, I think my smile is my biggest feature! Michael always draws me with a big smile and basically no other features!
Have fun cooking and eating the ritz crackers! I hope you enjoy the recipe!!!
Cheers my friend,
J
Janine Waite
Coco, ok, testing… 123
J
Lisa @ Texas Decor
First of all, I'm still laughing at "fluffy dollops!" Lol! He cracked me up with his commentary! But, if I had to pick, I'd pick yours. I'm all about simple instructions in the kitchen these days and everyone loves Ritz crackers. 🙂
Janine Waite
Hi Coco,
You are way too funny! Gosh, I wish you lived nearby! Yup, both recipes are delicious. I hope you enjoy it! Michael will just have to come up with more tasty recipes!
Cheers,
Janine