Roast Trout With Bacon and Herbs

- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3slices smoked bacon or speck (about 2 ounces)
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2brook trout, about 1 pound each, gutted, left whole
- Salt and black pepper
- 1lemon, peel sliced off down to the flesh, seeded and diced
- ½cup chicken stock
- ⅓cup finely chopped herbs: rosemary, tarragon, parsley
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut bacon lengthwise in thin slivers, best done by rolling the slices as for a julienne, then slicing through the rolls. Put butter and oil in a baking dish large enough to hold fish. Place in oven until butter melts and starts to color. Lay bacon slivers in baking dish (don’t worry if some break), return dish to oven and cook until bacon is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bacon to several thicknesses of paper towel, leaving fat in baking dish.
- Step 2
Pat trout dry and season with salt and pepper. Place in baking dish and baste with hot fat. Roast for 10 minutes. Baste again. Break bacon into 1-inch pieces and scatter, along with lemon bits, over fish. Add chicken stock to baking dish. Roast for 5 minutes. Baste again and scatter with herbs. Roast 2 minutes more.
- Step 3
Serve directly from dish, cutting along the back edge of the fish with a sharp knife, then lifting the top fillet off the bones onto a platter or dinner plate. Spoon pan juices over the fish. Remove the bones, head and tail. Serve bottom fillet, then repeat with second fish. Before discarding the heads, check to see if anyone wants to pick out the cheeks.
Private Notes
Comments
I didn't have a whole trout, just some fillets. Modified cooking method substantially & was very pleased with the results -Sliced bacon as recommended & cooked in skillet until crisp. Removed & degreased - Seasoned fillets w/ salt & pepper and cooked 2 min/side on med heat in ~2 tbsp of bacon fat that I left in skillet pan (no butter needed). Added a few splashes of chicken broth. -Added herbs, crumbled bacon, and lemon to fish and pan after turning fish to 2nd side Yum!
One of my favorite trout recipes.
I used two lemons because they were small, and added some garlic to the chicken broth to boost the flavor as it cooked down. 100% good response even from the picky eaters.
This is delicious! I made half recipe using two rainbow trout fillets, adjusting cooking time. We had fresh turnips from the garden so I served the fish on sautéed turnip greens and made David Tannis’ carmelized turnips and farro to go with. Nice meal.