March 6, 2009

Trout Amandine

My gardener is also my fishmonger. I was happy when he stopped by the other day with these beauties which he caught while ice fishing. No, this isn't my gardener/fishmonger... it's a picture I found on a Google image search so you could see how much fun this ice fishing thing looks. If you look real close and use your imagination, you can see a smile on this guy's face. Fun!
My gardener/fishmonger said he'd give me a discount on the fish if I'd clean them myself. With the tough economy these days, I jumped at the chance of saving a few pennies and asked him to put the rest on my bill.

The first thing we do to get these babies cleaned up is to scale the trout. It's just a matter of taking a knife and scraping against the scales until it's clean.

Next, cut right in back of the gills down to the backbone. Turn it over and same thing... cut right in back of the gills, but this time all the way through. If you're lucky, when you pull the head off the guts will come with it. If not, no worries... we're going to have to clean out the insides real good anyway.

So now take your knife and insert it into the vent and simply cut up the middle of the belly of the fish. Clean the fish under running water to make sure you get all the blood and guts. You can leave the tail on or cut it off, whatever you prefer, but leave the top and bottom fins on. After the fish has been cooked they'll help with removing the bones.
This recipe for Trout Amandine turned out to be very good. The trout was flaky, tender and was topped with a buttery, nutty sauce. Delicious!

So, there you go. Now when you visit your fishmonger (or he visits you) you can clean the trout yourself! (Be sure to ask for a discount.)

14 comments:

  1. Oh Karen! I adore Trout prepared this way ~ it has been ages since I've had it.

    I never see it in the stores up here ~ and I don't know any trout fishermen. :(

    But I can enjoy your photos, and imagine I'm eating it! It looks soo good. Nice job!

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  2. I feel like I learned so much from this post. Ive never cleaned a fish by myself. You make it sound so easy.. And the sauce you described on top of the fish sounds delightful!

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  3. You are so very lucky...you have a friend who ice fishes and shares their catch!

    Fish caught in winter are the tastiest, higher (good) fat content.

    The final plating looks delish.

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  4. I haven't had trout since I was a kid. I should remedy that.Heh. Looks great!

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  5. I love fish photos :)

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  6. Such beautiful trout! I recently also made a trout amandine with a Steelhead trout - we love this preparation.

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  7. I love trout but I doubt I've ever had it as fresh as these! Where can I find a gardener/fishmonger, too?

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  8. I don't know about the whole ice fishing... cold, alone in the snow... I prefer, warm, together, in the kitchen, making this delicious fish!

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  9. I haven't had trout since I was a kid either. It makes me sad...my grandfather was the fisherman. My "gardner" does some bass fishing once in a while. I'm going to ask him to think of trout.

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  10. I've never had trout amandine, but I hear it's delicious. You've just confirmed this. It looks fab! And it doesn't get any fresher than this.

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  11. Trout and walleye are my favorite fish. I'll be sure to make this when we get some fish.

    We don't ice fish, so I'll have to wait a couple of months. Fishing opener is in May.

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  12. Karen Your Trout looks great it is my favorite. Can't wait to get out the float tube and catch my own.

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  13. I honestly thought it was you the one who fish in the snow. Anyway, love the classic amandine sauce for the trouts.
    Cheers,
    elra

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  14. That just looks like a very cold hobby heehee. Dinner is served!

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