Kennet Fried Trout
Pan-fried trout with crispy bacon, toasted oatmeal, and brown butter with lemon. A classic British river fish recipe with peppery, golden-crisped skin and a nutty butter sauce.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
40 minCOOK
15 minREADY
55 minThis is proper British river cooking. Whole trout get rubbed with pepper, dusted in flour, and fried in butter until the skin crackles and turns golden. The bacon and toasted oatmeal scattered over the top add smoky crunch, and the brown butter sauce with lemon ties everything together in about 30 seconds flat.
The sequence of building flavors in one pan is what makes this special. Toast the oatmeal first, set aside. Fry the bacon snippets, set aside. Then cook the trout in butter in that same pan, picking up all those rendered flavors. Every layer builds on the last.
Pressing the fish flat against the pan is key. Any spots that aren’t touching the surface won’t crisp, and the crispy, peppery skin is the whole point. Four to five minutes per side in bubbling butter gives you that shatteringly crisp exterior with flaky, moist fish underneath.
The final brown butter sauce takes seconds. Wipe the pan clean, melt fresh butter until it goes golden and smells nutty, then hit it with lemon juice and pour immediately.
Chef Tips
- Dry the trout thoroughly with paper towels before seasoning. Wet skin steams instead of crisping.
- Use a pan large enough for both fish to lie completely flat. Crowding causes steaming and kills the crisp.
- Watch the brown butter carefully. It goes from golden and nutty to black and bitter in seconds. Add the lemon juice the moment it reaches a rich gold color.
- Serve immediately. Fried trout loses its crunch within minutes of plating.
Variations
- Almond trout: Replace the oatmeal with toasted sliced almonds for a classic trout amandine approach.
- Herb butter finish: Add chopped fresh parsley and chives to the brown butter along with the lemon.
Ingredients
Directions
Rub the skins of the cleaned and dried trout very gently with a good grinding of pepper - this makes the rich skin deliciously piquant when crisply fried - then dust lightly with flour and salt.
Warm a frying pan large enough to take the two fish.
Toast the oatmeal in it, or, for a richer dish, fry it.
Remove and reserve. Cut the bacon into snippets; fry gently until the fat runs, then increase heat to crisp the bacon a little.
Remove and keep hot.
Dice the butter and add 1½ oz of it to the pan.
When the butter foam dies down add the fish.
Press them down lightly to ensure they lie very flat, touching the pan base everywhere.
After 4 to 5 minutes steady cooking in the bubbling butter, the skin on the underside of the fish should be crisp and golden brown.
Turn them carefully and fry on the second side in the same way.
Put the cooked fish on to warmed plates, scatter the bacon and oatmeal over them and keep hot.
Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper.
Melt the remaining butter and cook to a rich shade of gold.
Quickly add generous 1 teaspoon lemon juice and a little salt and pepper.
Swirl to mix well, pour over the trout and serve immediately with wedges of lemon.
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