Trout Meuniere

This will forever be the dish that gave me the severe hot oil burns on my hand. My culinary school battle wounds if you will. This fish was so amazingly good that I was willing to try it once again at home (being much more precautious this time of course)!

This was also the first time that I've gone to a grocery store and ordered fish with its skin and head still attached. Luckily the sales associate was nice enough to chop off the head for me before wrapping it up to take home. Not sure why, but the head and the eyes staring back at me always grosses me out a bit, but I just try not to think about it too much because the end result is flaky, tasty, and oh so good!!!





Trout Meunière
Source: The Foundations of Professional Cooking: A Global Approach (textbook)

Fish:
4 Rainbow trout fillets
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Seasoned flour, as needed
4 T. Butter (you can also use oil)

Garnish:
4 T. Fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 T. Fresh lemon juice
2 oz. Butter

Rinse off the trout fillets and pat dry. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess flour.

Heat the butter (or oil) in a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Place the fillets in the hot pan, skin side up. Cook until crisp and golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the fillets over and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, until crisp and golden-brown. Remove the fillets from the pan, transfer to a plate or platter, and keep warm.

Wipe out the sauté pan with a paper towel and place the pan over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and heat until it froths and smells nutty, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Add lemon juice, stir, and remove from heat. Spoon the hot butter mixture over the trout. Serve immediately.