what to do with 25 frozen trout?

[HappyAvocado]

its fishing season up here in northern california, and i was just given about 25 raw frozen trout. i love fresh grilled trout, but i am not fond of the flavor of frozen trout when it is grilled plain. so i am looking for some dishes that involve trout but have enough flavor to make up for the frozen-ness. i was going to make fish stock out of a few of them, and i also had an idea to make my grandmothers Finnish fish stew with some of the trout. after i cook those things i will still have about 19 trout too many. anyone have any ideas for these fishies? gosh, i wish i had a smoker.

[Constance]

Yes! Send them to me!

I like pan-fried trout. Squeeze some lemon juice over the fish and rub it in. Dredge in a small amount of Zatarain's fish fry, and cook in a non-stick skillet that has just enough oil to cover the bottom.

[pdswife]

Or send them to me! We love trout.

I pan fry mine also... only I use butter in the bottom of the pan and dust the fish with either seasoned flour or garlic flavored bread crumbs. Yummy.

Could you bake them with lemons and onions? Like people do with salmon?

[HappyAvocado]

i might try baked. i love pan fried trout, too.. but when they have been frozen they are just too fishy for me.

[AllenOK]

Ask, and ye shall receive. I wish I could tell you that I've made some of them, but I haven't.

Texas Roadhouse Fried Trout
Yields:

1 whole egg
1 c half-and-half
3 or 4 trout fillets
flour
Oil for frying
~ 1 t granulated garlic (to taste)
~ 1 t white pepper (to taste)
~ 1 t Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (to taste)
Salt
Cayenne
Chervil
Coleman's Mustard
For serving:
Lemon butter
Kale (golf ball size)
Lemon wedge
Parsley (finely chopped)

To make the batter: Place a strainer over a mixing bowl. Crack the egg into the strainer. Using a spatula, force the egg into the strainer. Set aside. Place all of the seasonings and half-and-half into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Place the strained egg into the half-and-half and seasonings. Mix until well blended.
Preheat flat griddle to medium heat.
Lightly dust filet in flour and shake off excess. Dip trout into batter, coating the filet. Ladle oil onto the griddle and place trout on griddle. Cook until done, flipping during the process. Remove excess lace skirting from around filet while cooking. Trout should be golden brown when finished. Drizzle trout with lemon-pepper butter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedge.

Bacon and Sage Pan Fried Trout
Serves: 8

24 slices of bacon
3 T minced fresh sage leaves or 1 T dried, crumbled, + fresh sage springs for garnish
8 trout (about 10 oz each), cleaned and boned, leaving the head and tail intact
about 2 c yellow cornmeal for coating the trout
1/3 c olive oil
lemon wedges for garnish

In a large heavy skillet cook 8 of the bacon slices over moderate heat, turning them occasionally, until they are crisp, transfer them to paper towels to drain, and pour off the fat. Crumble the cooked bacon into a small bowl and stir in the minced sage. In the skillet cook the remaining 16 bacon slices in 2 batches until the bacon just becomes translucent and the edges begin to curl, transfer them to paper towels to drain, and pour off the fat. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Rinse the trout under cold water and pat them dry inside and out. Sprinkle the cavity of each trout with one eighth of the crumbled bacon mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Wrap 2 of the whole bacon slices around each trout, using wooden picks to secure the bacon and close the cavities. Mound the cornmeal on a sheet of wax paper and roll each trout in it, coating it completely and gently shaking off the excess. Heat the skillet over moderately high heat until it is hot, add the oil, and heat it until it is hot but not smoking. In the oil fry the trout, not touching each other, in batches for 3 minutes on each sides, or until they are just firm and the bacon is golden, transferring them as they are fried with long spatulas to a shallow baking pan. When all the trout has been fried, bake them for 5 minutes, or until they just flake and are heated through. Discard the wooden picks, arrange the trout carefully on a platter, and garnish them with the sage sprigs and the lemon wedges.

Smoked Trout with Smoked Poblano Salsa and Chipotle Crema
Makes: 8 servings

Fruitwoods or nut woods work nicely for the recipe. The trout is brined so that it does not dry out in the smoking process. Serve this with triangles of warmed flour tortillas and/or blue and yellow corn tortillas. It is also great on your favorite cracker.

4 trout, cleaned
¼ c sugar
¼ c salt
1 qt water
1 lemon, sliced thinly
a couple of handfuls of your favorite wood smoking chips, soaked for at least 20 minutes
1 red onion, sliced thinly, to garnish

Mix the sugar, salt and water to make brine. Put half the lemon slices in the cavity of the fish. Place the fish in a gallon-size recloseable plastic bag along with the brine. Refrigerate for two hours.
Prepare the smoker. When the coals are ready, put the soaked wood chips on the coals. Put the remaining lemon slices on the grill and put the trout on top of the lemon slices.
Close the smoker and let the trout smoke for 1 ½ hours (internal temperature should be 165ºF). Remove from smoker and let cool on a rack, uncovered, for an hour. Serve, or wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Poblano Salsa

4 Poblano chiles
1 # tomatillos, peeled and washed
1 red onion
1 t oregano, (fresh is best but dry is fine as long as it’s aromatic)
1 T olive oil
salt, to taste

Put the chiles and tomatillos in the smoker at the same time you put the trout in. Take them out after an hour. Remove the seeds from the poblanos. Put the poblanos, tomatillos, onion, oregano and olive oil in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse until the chiles, tomatillos and onion are coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chipotle Crema

1 c heavy cream
½ c sour cream
2 T Chipotle from canned chipotle in Adobo, finely chopped (this is available in the Mexican food aisle at most super markets)

Whip the cream. When it is stiff whip in the sour cream and the chipotle adobo.

Bacon Wrapped Trout
Stuffed with Balsamic Onion Compote in Rosemary Cream Sauce
Serves: 6

¾ c balsamic vinegar
1 ½ c water
2 large onions, sliced thin (about 4 c)
1/3 c sugar
4 t chopped fresh rosemary leaves plus 12 sprigs
2 c chicken stock
1 c heavy cream
six 10 oz trout, cleaned, leaving heads and tails intact
24 slices bacon (about 1 ½ #)
1 T olive oil

In a heavy saucepan boil vinegar, water, onions, sugar, and 2 t chopped rosemary, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes, or until onions are slightly softened. Remove pan from heat and let stand 15 minutes. In a coarse sieve set over another saucepan drain onions, reserving cooking liquid. Transfer onion compote to a bowl and cool. Boil reserved cooking liquid with remaining 2 t chopped rosemary until reduced to about ¾ c. Add broth and boil liquid until reduced to about 1 ½ c. Stir in cream and boil sauce until reduced to about 2 c. Reserve sauce in pan. Preheat oven to 450°F. and lightly oil a large shallow baking pan. Rinse trout under cold water and pat dry inside and out. Fill cavity of each trout with onion compote and season with salt and pepper. Wrap 4 slices bacon around middle of each trout, overlapping them slightly and leaving head and tail exposed. In a 12” heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown trout, 2 at a time, until bacon is completely browned, about 5 minutes, pouring off excess fat between batches and transferring trout as browned with a long spatula to oiled pan. Top each trout with 2 rosemary sprigs and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Pour off remaining fat from skillet and deglaze skillet with reserved sauce over moderate heat, scraping up any brown bits. Strain sauce through a fine sieve into saucepan. Season sauce with salt and pepper and keep warm. Divide sauce among 6 plates and top with trout.

Trout with Fruit Stuffing
Yields: 4 servings

4 dressed trout
2 T butter, melted
1 T lemon juice
Fruit Stuffing:
1 c croutons, herb-seasoned
1 c dried fruit (apricots, raisins, cherries, cranberries, prunes, etc), diced
1 shallot, diced
2 T butter, melted
2 T chicken broth or white wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease baking dish, set aside. Mix stuffing ingredients together, adding more liquid if necessary. Stuffing should be moist but still slightly firm.
Stuff fish with stuffing. Use toothpicks to hold edges of fish together so stuffing does not spill out. Place fish in baking dish and drizzle with melted butter and lemon juice. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Trout with Spicy Tangerine Sauce
Yields: 2 servings

6 shiitake mushrooms
8 water chesnuts, preferably fresh
3 green onions
¼ c cornstarch, for dusting
2 trout, ½ # each, with bones in
½ c peanut oil
1 T minced gingerroot
1 T tangerine zest
1 c garlic, minced
For the Sauce:
¾ c chicken stock
3 T dry sherry or sake
1 T light soy
1 T sesame oil
½ t salt
½ t Chinese chile paste
¼ t sugar
2 T cornstarch mixed with 2 T water

Prepare the vegetables. Soak the mushrooms until soft, about 20 minutes. Trim and discard the tough stems, and cut the caps into quarters. Thinly slice the water chesnuts. Cut the green onions diagonally into 2” pieces. Pet the vegetables aside. For the sauce, combine the stock, soy, sherry/sake, sesame oil, salt, chile paste, and the sugar in a small bowl. Place the trout on a layer of newspaper. Dust with ¼ c of cornstarch, shaking to remove the excess. Place a wok or skillet over high heat just until it smokes. Add the oil. When the oil is very hot, add the trout. Shake the pan to prevent sticking and pan-fry the trout for about 3 minutes per side. Trout are cooked when the end of a chopstick is easily inserted into the flesh. Remove the trout to a layer of paper toweling and pour off the oil from the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add the ginger, tangerine zest, and garlic. Stir for a few seconds, then add the mushrooms, water chesnuts, and green onions. Sauté until the onions brighten, then add the sauce mixture. bring to a boil and tighten with the cornstarch lightly. Return the trout to the pan, flipping a couple times to coat with the sauce. Remove to serving plates and spoon the sauce over the trout. Serve at once.

[amber]

Originally Posted by HappyAvocado

i might try baked. i love pan fried trout, too.. but when they have been frozen they are just too fishy for me.

I have an idea. If you have some family and friends, you can give them each two trout, and ask them all to make a dish out of it and join you for a feast at your house Could be a fun and interesting party to see what everyone came up with for a dish. Of course you would have to do this soon since fish is perishable, but hey, some might be up for the challenge.

[pdswife]

Allen the bacon wrapped trout sound perfect!

Can't wait for next fishing season to try it out.

[Constance]

Allen, all those marvelous trout recipes have my mouth watering.
Amber, the community trout cook sounds like fun. Of course I'm always looking for some excuse for a party.

I had a friend, long passed, that was an expert canner. She and her husband had a huge garden, chickens, fruit trees, etc, and were quite generous with there produce, eggs and such. They always had a lot of people giving them panfish (catfish, bass, bluegill & crappie), and Virginia never let anything go to waste. Her husband had a lot of health problems, and she didn't do much frying, so whenever she got a bunch in the freezer, she'd thaw them out and can them in pint jars. They were excellent! I liked them on crackers with a bit of mustard.

[htc]

Coat w/ flour & seasoning salt and pan fry. Eat with prepared fish sauce and rice. Yum yum yum. Pickled carrots/diakon & sliced cucumbers on the side.

[AllenOK]

I've got more, but I didn't think they qualified for the purpose of covering up the frozen taste HappyAvocado mentioned.