Preparing good fish can seem like a real challenge - and all too often I've found online recipes to be either too involved and grandiose or require a laundry list of expensive ingredients I won't use on anything else. I simply don't have the patience for those kinds of things considering the frequency we have fish at our home. In an effort to find the perfect fish recipe I cooked a wide variety of different recipes - all the while trying to convince my wife that trout is good. While I may never fully win that war, I have won many battles with this recipe. Best of all, these are ingredients every kitchen is likely to have - nothing too unique or obscure here. After trying many different things I found a common denominator - how the fish was filleted and prepared prior to cooking greatly determined the outcome. Here are a few tricks I have learned over the years to ensure your fillets are in top shape before seasoning them:
- Rather than using a filet board (which I've ALWAYS had trouble keeping a fish on), spread out an old towel on the counter and fillet the fish on that instead. You'll find that the cloth grips slippery fish far better, and it absorbs the slime so cleanup in much easier. Just drop it in the washer by itself afterwards.
- When possible, leave the skin on the filet. Removing the skin (for most recipes) results in dryer meat with less flavor - and is impossible to grill without foil. The skin also protects the meat from burning - a major plus. This refers to trout only - other species are different.
- After removing a fillet from the fish, never lay it meat side down in your working space. Try to avoid getting any unnecessary fish slime anywhere on the fillet - especially the meat. If you're unable to cook the fish the same day you fillet (doing so makes the fish taste even better), wrap up the fillets with the meat touching and skin on the outside - or even better wrap them individually.
- Lightly run the fillet under cool water vertically to help get any residual slime off. Pat dry both sides with paper towel prior to seasoning. If you haven't caught on yet, fish slime is the #1 reason for fish tasting overly "fishy."
Honey Glazed Grilled Trout Recipe
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| For this example I cooked an early Spring-run Steelhead, typically a challenging fish to cook. The result was undeniable - this is THE spring steelhead recipe. |
INGREDIENTS:
2 Trout, filleted - skin on
McCormick Smokehouse Maple Seasoning
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
1/4 cup Honey
Lime Juice, to taste
First lightly drizzle lime juice over the fillet, just enough to dampen the meat. Lime juice (similar to lemon juice) is naturally acidic and helps the seasonings penetrate the flesh resulting in more even flavor.
Second - apply liberal amounts of the Smokehouse Maple seasoning, this is the primary seasoning desired. Afterwards lightly dust with lemon pepper. I discovered this blend accidentally when I ran out of the Smokehouse Maple seasoning halfway through seasoning a fillet and found the two complimented each other very well.
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| This is the fillet prior to grilling to show the amount of seasoning applied. |
Third - grill on medium high for about 10 minutes. Don't turn the fillet over! This helps the fillet stay juicier and the skin protects it from burning, allowing to cook clear through on just one side. If it's a very thick fillet (say over 1.5" in the thickest part) move the filet to the upper tray and turn the grill to the hottest possible temperature. The most common mistake with fish is overcooking. Trout should flake easily off the skin when cooked, but still be moist. Texture is the name of the game - if it looks rubbery give it a couple more minutes, but watch closely.
Remove from grill and place in a tinfoil tent. Next microwave the honey until it begins to boil - typically about 30 seconds. Baste the meat with honey and close tinfoil tent - this will allow the honey to seep into the meat while it's still hot, essentially letting the honey cook into the meat while in the foil - this makes an outstanding compliment to the Smokehouse Maple flavor. Let it sit for about 2 - 3 minutes, then serve. I typically reheat any remaining honey and place it on the table for anyone that wants more - most people don't believe honey is good on fish until they try it! Enjoy!
