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Trout with a Nutty Brown Butter Sauce

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A friend cooked something similar to this a few years back while on a weekend fishing trip using fresh caught catfish. I prefer trout over all else so I made some changes and spiced it up a bit for my tastes, using some fresh caught Rainbow trout (just about any fresh or frozen fish will work, but won't be quite as good as fresh caught).
I never leave home without some cooking essentials. I have a hand crank blender and lots of cast-iron cookware and always have a Dutch oven and a couple of skillets in my truck. Directions are for cooking over an open firepit with a grate (I have an 18 x 24 inch grate I also keep in my truck.
Serve this with a salad of foraged greens (dandelions, purslane and water lillies), morel mushrooms and a tomato cut in wedges from the store with a very simple vinegar and oil derssing (I don't recommend this unless you are experienced in foraging for wild foods) and a couple of Idaho potatoes wrapped in foil and cooked right on the fire coals, top with a little butter and some grated cheese.
I used some foraged pine nuts and store bought almonds, lemons and limes for the butter. These are also very good with some fried potatoes or grits and a heap of scrambled eggs for breakfast. If eaten for dinner, I like icy cold beer with meal and if for breakfast, some strong, freshly brewed coffee.

Rate this recipe 4.2/5 (18 Votes)

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 whole trout or 4 fillets
  • Sea or kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup fine ground nuts
  • 1 lime juice and grated zest
  • 1 lemon juice and grated zest
  • Lime wedges
  • Lemon wedges

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large cast-iron skillet over campfire. Combine salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons paprika, cayenne and parsley, season trout. Lightly coat fish with flour. Add to skillet and cook over fire, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes or so, depending on size of fire. Put fish on plates, tent with foil and keep warm.

Step 2

Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet. Add ground nuts (any will do, I had almonds and the pine nuts I foraged) and 1 teaspoon paprika
and cook over fire til the butter is browned and quite fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon and lime juice and zest, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3

Spoon the nutty butter over fish and serve immediately with lemon and lime wedges.

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If desired, this can be prepared on a stove, but it will lose the great flavors
and ambiance you get cooking over a open fire in the great outdoors.

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