I need ideas on how to prepare fresh whole trout

Flour the fish, cook in some butter. Make a sauce with browned butter, lemon juice, maybe some white wine. Garnish with caper, small lemon supremes, parsely, and tiny croutons.

Perhaps passe, but I prefer it blackened.  Works better with filets though.

Right out of the lake? Au bleu

Otherwise, here are a few possibilities:

Meuniere -- which is kinda sorta what was described above, but more disciplined and IMO better because not too much going on. No criticism of the other method intended, different styles though -- this one more along the "ingredient driven" line.

Sauteed and served with beurre blanc -- ditto.

Almondine. An oldie but a goldie.

Rolled in crushed corn flakes and fried. Another golden oldie you don't see much anymore. The slightly sweet corn flakes and fresh, sweet trout have a natural affinity.

Grilled, served with lemon. Grilled whole or boned out, butterflied and grilled open-book. Can't beat that.

Wrapped in bacon and grilled whole. Just beat it.

Stuffed with corn bread stuffing, wrapped in bacon and grilled whole. You're killing me.

Smoked. Brine, smoke, fillet, serve on bread spread with dilled cream cheese, as an open faced sandwich. Me want.

BDL
Edited by boar_d_laze - 9/9/11 at 11:51am

My favorite is to crush some garlic, rub it all over and inside the cavity (leaving some little traces of the crushed pieces, then sprinkle with just a little origano, salt and black pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and put on a piece of oiled parchment paper on an oven sheet (low sides not to create steam) in a very very hot oven, with some potatoes around it,  Very simple and very good. 

As soon as the trout is cooked, remove and keep cooking the potatoes till they color and get nice and crispy. 

Season, flour lightly, dip in beaten egg and milk, roll in panko and fry.  Serve with lemon edges.  Or you could bone and butterfly it first and treat it the same.

Smoked....

just like BDL suggest.

Although I dont always brine first and normally I put a couple of slices of lime or lemon in the cavity

And if you don't have a real smoker, you can still do it with just a couple briquets, some soaked fruitwood or other hardwood chips and a Weber kettle.  Low and slow.  I usually brine first.

I find when the primary ingredients, the raw materials, are fresh and wonderful, it's best to go simply, without adding too much flavor.  Is a very fresh fish significantly better when smoked than a bought fish?  I would think the smoke would cover a lot of its intrinsic flavor and juiciness.  When the raw materials are not perfect, then I'd think that's the time we'd have to work hard to make them taste better, no?  Just asking. 

Siduri has a point, but I so much like smoked trout that I would even do that with a very fresh one.

I would really only serve it without any flavourings (au naturel) if I just caught the trout and can throw it straight of the hook into the foaming butter.

 

Such a delicate fish needs indeed simplicity. I would go for the very classic trout with almonds.

Toast some almond flakes in a dry pan. Fry the fish, heads on, skin on (that's how it's usually served) until nicely golden brown. Serve with a tbsp of the cooking butter/oil over it and cover with a small hand of almonds. Simple and delicious.

How about a nice sauvignon blanc to go with it?

Edited by ChrisBelgium - 9/10/11 at 5:23am

Fortunately, for many years, I had friends with a trout farm (their children grew up and they have since sold it and retired to a life of traveling and indolence).  So fresh trout was easy to come by (I could go and catch them myself, or have them delivered when they made their restaurant runs).  Smoked fresh trout is great, although I don't have a real basis of comparison since all the trout was always fresh.  I still buy from the current owner and give the trout farm's smoked trout to my co-workers and friends as a holiday gift.

Siduri makes a good point about a fresh trout. However most trout in the US is fairly recently planted stock from government hatcheries. Even the farmed trout is not any better in my opinion.  If the flesh isn't shaded pink, but rather white/translucent, it's not had sufficient time to develop flavor and texture and you'll want to season it more heavily and give it a cooking method designed to add extra flavor.  And as with salmon, watch out for added color via the food.

 

Farming is important though to feed us all. But I'd lean towards a farmed catfish over a farmed trout personally.

 

Lots of good ideas above, I agree with the simple prep methods.  Pig fat and butter are always good with trout.
 

 

With farmed fish, it also depends on the water temperature.  Colder water makes for a slower growing fish with better flavor and texture.  Fish grow quicker in warm water, but they have a softer texture and IMHO are less flavorful.  My friends' farmed fish were grown in quite cold water and were preferable to other farmed fish.  Took longer to bring them to market, but they supplied most of the better restaurants in our area, so local chefs apparently liked their product.  Color of the flesh can also be affected by what the fish are fed, so it may be, but isn't necessarily, an indicator of quality.