by One Pan Annie –
When you have a friend who likes to fish for rainbow trout but doesn’t like to eat them, you are a lucky person. That is, if you know how to cook them. I am one of those lucky people.
Rainbow trout
Don’t like the smell of fish? Eat them fresh. When you fix them before they even know they’ve left the lake or stream, there is no odor. Don’t put them in the freezer, because after you thaw and cook them they smell. I believe that’s one of the reason people don’t like fish. If I have more than I can eat at a sitting, I cook the fish all at once, take the meat off the bones and then freeze the cooked meat (still only short time in the freezer). If you are buying it from the fish market, you need to know your seller so you can find out if its fresh.
I clean them myself (after all, my friend is kind enough to catch them for me). I remove the head, because I don’t like looking at it but I don’t remove the bones until after they are cooked. I put the entrails in a zip lock bag and freeze them before putting them frozen in the garbage can on garbage day.
I cook the trout in my teflon-lined frying pan rather than my beloved cast iron skillet because it is easier to clean. Brown them on both side and put a lid on it to finish cooking – it doesn’t take all that long.
I love good pure food but I’m a lazy cook so I don’t make cooking trout into a big deal. For me, a little olive oil, salt and pepper in the pan is all I need. You can add, a little butter, chives, parsley or thyme to the olive oil if you like. Myself, I just like the fresh crisp flavor of the trout.
My favorite way to eat the cooked meat I’ve frozen, is to thaw it, add some mayonnaise (or whatever you would add to make a sandwich) and eat it on raw celery. Oh my! Wish I had some right now.
The trick is, if you come by some fresh rainbow trout, don’t agonize over what to do with it. Just get out the frying pan and throw it in it. Mighty fine it is, mighty fine.
Bon Appetit
