As fishing season approaches I have trout and red fish on my mind. In the meantime I like to occasionally eat local farm raised "catches" like the rainbow trout that Costco and my local market often carry. Although farmed raised brings into question responsible methods of farming them, I don't eat enough to worry about any potential problems. I do prefer my salmon fresh, but that's a whole other discussion.
We normally do our rainbow trout three ways; bread and fry, oven bake or smoke. I was in the mood for stuffed and smoked which is what I present here. So the recipe looks like this .....
Troutman's Stuffed Smoked Rainbow Trout
Course: Dinner, lunch. Main dish. Seafood
Cuisine: American
Makes: 2 Servings
Takes: 30 minutes prep, 30 minutes cook time
Ingredients
2 medium sized 12-14 ounce whole farm raised Rainbow Trout
1 large shallot
4 cloves garlic
4 ounces of lump crab meat
1/2 cup of boxed breading (or fine grind fresh in a food processor)
1/4 cup of Sauvingnon Blanc wine
1 large lemon for juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of Tony Chachere's Seasoning (or other Cajun seasoning)
1 tablespoon of dried dill
Stuffing
Bring a medium saucepan up to temperature and add the olive oil. Finely chop the shallot and garlic cloves and saute in the heated oil until softened. Turn down the heat and add the lump crab meat, seasoning the mixture with 1 tablespoon of the Tony C's seasoning. Gently cook while stirring for about 3-4 minutes to combine.
De-glaze the pan with the wine. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon into the mixture. Bring the mixture back up to temperature until smooth while maintaining a fluid consistency. Simmer for about another 3-4 minutes slowly, avoid boiling.
Add the breading to the mixture and combine until it becomes a soft but not dry consistency. Adjust with more breading if the mixture does not bind and hold together. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
Fish Prep
Rinse the fish and dry with a towel. Apply some of the seasoning to the inside of the cavities. Take the cooled mixture and stuff the cavities of the fish. The mixture should be soft and pliable and hold together within the cavity.
Rub the outside of each fish with olive oil and the remaining lemon juice as a binder. Apply the remaining seasoning along with the dried dill generously to the exteriors. Refrigerate while you prepare the smoker.
Cooking Method
1) Fire up. Prepare a grill for indirect cooking by placing about 3/4 of a chimney of pre-heated charcoal briquettes on one side of the grill’s charcoal grate or in an SNS in order to create an indirect cooking zone. Add one 4 ounce chunk of fruit wood like cherry to the coals. Do not add too much wood, fish is delicate and can't take on too much smoke.
Adjust the grill vents to bring the temperature to about 350°F on the indirect side. On a gas grill, adjust the temperature knobs so that one half of the grill is off and the other half is heated enough to maintain a temperature of approximately 350°F on the indirect side.
It's recommended that you cook the fish on some form of Phatmat or similar product to avoid sticking. Cooking over foil would be another option. Try to avoid cooking directly on the hot grill grates.
2) Cook the fish for 30 minutes holding your temperature as close to 350°F as possible. Fish should look crisp on the skin side and flaky and moist inside.
3) Serve. Hot off the pit with rice or your favorite sides. Enjoy !!!
The crisp, smokey outer skin, moist flaky inner meat and the creamy smooth crab meat stuffing makes for a fantastic entree. We served it with basmati rice and grilled veggies...delicious !!!!
Troutman Steve is going out to wet a hook and catch some more !!! Later ....
We normally do our rainbow trout three ways; bread and fry, oven bake or smoke. I was in the mood for stuffed and smoked which is what I present here. So the recipe looks like this .....
Troutman's Stuffed Smoked Rainbow Trout
Course: Dinner, lunch. Main dish. Seafood
Cuisine: American
Makes: 2 Servings
Takes: 30 minutes prep, 30 minutes cook time
Ingredients
2 medium sized 12-14 ounce whole farm raised Rainbow Trout
1 large shallot
4 cloves garlic
4 ounces of lump crab meat
1/2 cup of boxed breading (or fine grind fresh in a food processor)
1/4 cup of Sauvingnon Blanc wine
1 large lemon for juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of Tony Chachere's Seasoning (or other Cajun seasoning)
1 tablespoon of dried dill
Stuffing
Bring a medium saucepan up to temperature and add the olive oil. Finely chop the shallot and garlic cloves and saute in the heated oil until softened. Turn down the heat and add the lump crab meat, seasoning the mixture with 1 tablespoon of the Tony C's seasoning. Gently cook while stirring for about 3-4 minutes to combine.
De-glaze the pan with the wine. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon into the mixture. Bring the mixture back up to temperature until smooth while maintaining a fluid consistency. Simmer for about another 3-4 minutes slowly, avoid boiling.
Add the breading to the mixture and combine until it becomes a soft but not dry consistency. Adjust with more breading if the mixture does not bind and hold together. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
Fish Prep
Rinse the fish and dry with a towel. Apply some of the seasoning to the inside of the cavities. Take the cooled mixture and stuff the cavities of the fish. The mixture should be soft and pliable and hold together within the cavity.
Rub the outside of each fish with olive oil and the remaining lemon juice as a binder. Apply the remaining seasoning along with the dried dill generously to the exteriors. Refrigerate while you prepare the smoker.
Cooking Method
1) Fire up. Prepare a grill for indirect cooking by placing about 3/4 of a chimney of pre-heated charcoal briquettes on one side of the grill’s charcoal grate or in an SNS in order to create an indirect cooking zone. Add one 4 ounce chunk of fruit wood like cherry to the coals. Do not add too much wood, fish is delicate and can't take on too much smoke.
Adjust the grill vents to bring the temperature to about 350°F on the indirect side. On a gas grill, adjust the temperature knobs so that one half of the grill is off and the other half is heated enough to maintain a temperature of approximately 350°F on the indirect side.
It's recommended that you cook the fish on some form of Phatmat or similar product to avoid sticking. Cooking over foil would be another option. Try to avoid cooking directly on the hot grill grates.
2) Cook the fish for 30 minutes holding your temperature as close to 350°F as possible. Fish should look crisp on the skin side and flaky and moist inside.
3) Serve. Hot off the pit with rice or your favorite sides. Enjoy !!!
The crisp, smokey outer skin, moist flaky inner meat and the creamy smooth crab meat stuffing makes for a fantastic entree. We served it with basmati rice and grilled veggies...delicious !!!!
Troutman Steve is going out to wet a hook and catch some more !!! Later ....
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