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How to cook a trout, big or small
By DAVID CAMPICHE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
INGREDIENTS
ennis Battles hadn’t fished for trout
since he was a kid. But when a neigh-
bor showed off a string of fine rainbow
trout, Battles felt his pulse rise.
A little interlude here: Battles loves to
cook. He loves to cook more than his doc-
tor likes him to eat, a truth with most of us
over 60. Somehow, Battles remains rela-
tively fit. Perhaps, he follows the dictate
of the infamous Paul Bocuse, who said,
“Without butter, without eggs, there is no
reason to come to France.”
Battles has a conflict. He has a culinary
degree from Le Cordon Bleu Paris and
spends a lot of time pleasing friends, fam-
ily and neighbors with cuisine that amazes
and delights.
One can easily imagine, then, how Bat-
tles reacted to those lovely lake trout. Rain-
bows, bright and shimmering with bril-
liant spectrums of color, mostly silvers and
blues and touches of ruby and gold. And
tiny organized spots as if God painted each
one individually.
You and I might react to this limit of
trout and think about getting a fishing
license. Battles did that, too, but his stron-
gest motivation was the sauté pan.
A trout is not a salmon, but a close rela-
tive to the steelhead or the steelhead trout.
On his second day of fishing, the mas-
ter chef landed, against improbable odds,
a trout that weighed 7 pounds. Seven
pounds! Praise be.
Generally, we are dealing with a fish
10 to 14 inches long. But the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife was gen-
erous this spring and released some big
ones into Ilwaco’s Black Lake.
Trout are especially splendid with
lemon, butter and chopped parsley. That
holds true for steelhead and salmon, both
larger fishes, at least on average.
A small trout, or three or four, are per-
fect for a 10-inch sauté pan. The trout
are cleaned and perhaps beheaded. Bat-
tles leaves them whole. Into a pan, he
adds the butter and melts it into a hot liq-
uid. He adds a couple tablespoons of vir-
gin olive oil and a small bit (one teaspoon)
of chopped garlic. This adds flavor and
One large or several smaller
Rainbow trout
4 tablespoons of butter or (op-
tional) 2 tablespoons of olive oil
with 2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
or fresh fennel
Splash of white wine (optional)
Italian seasons or chopped fresh
fennel—follow your bliss.
Sauvignon Blanc wine is the
perfect accompaniment.
D
David Campiche
A string of rainbow trout at Black lake in Ilwaco, Wash.
has less tendency to burn. Once the garlic
begins to turn golden, in go the trout. Sauté
each side for about two minutes. Please
don’t overcook. The flesh is delicate. Add a
splash of white wine.
Out of the pan and onto the plate. Small
yellow potatoes are a favorite accompani-
ment, and Battles sautéed Chinese beans
in curry paste, olive oil and Kosher salt.
Over the trout he poured more fresh melted
butter with parsley and 2 tablespoons of
lemon juice. “Voila,” as the French are
fond of saying.
But what about that 7-pond trout? This
is a trout that believes he or she is a salmon
and should be prepared as one. And this
means either filleting the bruiser into two
lovely sides, or, an easier option, baking
the fish whole.
Battles wipes the body with olive oil
then distributes lots of cracked salt and
pepper. Many of us like the skin crispy,
in which case, you might sprinkle the fish
with something more exotic like smoked
paprika, Cajun dust or Italian herbs. You
might go Thai.
Today, for our purposes, the fish is best
laid on aluminum foil and baked at 350
degrees for about 20 minutes. Before serv-
ing, one has the option of curling back the
backbone and leaving two fillets. The same
trio of butter, lemon juice and chopped
parsley (maybe fresh fennel) finishes off
that fish like your mother’s loving touch. CW