Trout Meuniere may sound fancy, but it's a simple, rustic dish that is delicious and easier to make than you might think!
My son caught his first fish recently. We went trout fishing with my dad and came home with 10 trout! My son (age 8) caught six fish, my daughter (age 5) caught four fish.
The kids had a blast! And my son, who had never been interested in ever eating fish, actually asked me to make fish sticks the other day.
This is another example of how kids are more interested in eating food when they not only know where it comes from, but when they have a hand in bringing it home!
Trout fish sticks
So I made some classic fish sticks out of one trout for the kids. They gobbled it up!
While I made trout fish sticks for my kids, I decided to make a trout meuniere for myself.
How to prep a whole trout
If you've never cooked with fresh-caught trout, it takes practice to fillet them. Each trout has so many little bones.
Yet for Trout Meuniere, the prep work is much simpler. All you have to do is clean the fish and gut the fish down the middle. Once cooked, the meat slides right off the bones and makes it an easy fish dish to enjoy.
First, you'll thoroughly clean the fish. The trout farm we went to cut a slit down the center of the fish's underbelly for us. This way, all I had to do when we got home was rinse it under cold water for several minutes.
How to make trout meuniere
After cleaning the fish, soak it in a milk bath in a glass baking pan for 10 minutes. Be sure to flip the fish over to the other side halfway through.
Toward the end of the time, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Then added the trout and cooked for 5 minutes on each side. You'll know trout is done when it's opaque inside.
Depending on the size of your skillet, you might want to cook the trout in batches, two at a time.
Once all of the trout are cooked, remove them from the skillet and set aside.
Then, create the simple sauce by pouring out most of the fat in the skillet. Add lemon juice and butter to the skillet and cook until foamy. Finally, stir in parsley.
Pour the sauce over the plated trout, and top with additional parsley and sea salt if you desire.
Voila! Pretty simple, very easy, extremely delicious.
How many people does this recipe serve?
I found that one 7" fish would easily serve two people. So this recipe can serve anywhere from 4-6 people depending on the size of your fish.
What wine to pair with trout
This elegant trout meuniere recipe would be complemented well by a crisp white wine.
Try pouring a Sauvignon Blanc to pair with this dish. This full-bodied white wine usually has notes of citrus, melon, and often a characteristic grassy green, herbaceous flavor and/or aroma. Perfect wine pairing for trout!
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Trout Meuniere
Ingredients
- 3-4 small-to-medium size rainbow trout or brook trout
- 1 cup skim milk
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- sprinkle of sea salt optional
Instructions
- Rinse trout inside and out with cold running water; pat dry with paper towels
- Soak trout in milk 10 minutes, turning the trout over halfway through this time.
- On waxed paper, combine flour and salt. Remove trout from milk and coat evenly with flour mixture, shaking off excess.
- In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat until very hot. Add 2 trout and cook until just opaque throughout, about 5 minutes per side.
- Transfer to platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and remaining fish.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat remaining in skillet.
- Return skillet to heat, and add lemon juice, then add butter. Cook until the butter and lemon juice are slightly foamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in parsley, pour the butter sauce over fish. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
recipe adapted from Good Housekeeping
This post was originally written August 24, 2012. It was updated June 4, 2020.
Lina Jayme says
I like your "Trout Meuniere" recipe. I will try it on Chilean Sea Bass that we bought from Seafood City this last weekend! Thank you!