Anyone know how to pan fry whole fish?

[gbackus]

Specifically how to pan fry whole rainbow trout in butter? I hear it's very good, but I've never pan fried ANYTHING.



Any suggestions?

[Ajaxus]

umm, i would recommend removing the skin if there is any, and either some lemon juice or lime juice so it isn't so "fishy" in flavor, otherwise the fish flavor will be overwhelming.

now im not to sure on what you mean by pan fry, are you asking if you can just melt the butter and fry the fish in that? because yes that would work.

you also can never go wrong with the foodnetwork website when it comes to cooking and recipes...i usually use them for ideas though or walkthroughs on methods, and then do my own expansion upon what i find.

[gbackus]

Originally Posted by Ajaxus

umm, i would recommend removing the skin if there is any, and either some lemon juice or lime juice so it isn't so "fishy" in flavor, otherwise the fish flavor will be overwhelming.

now im not to sure on what you mean by pan fry, are you asking if you can just melt the butter and fry the fish in that? because yes that would work.

you also can never go wrong with the foodnetwork website when it comes to cooking and recipes...i usually use them for ideas though or walkthroughs on methods, and then do my own expansion upon what i find.

I like my fish whole. When we go fishing I usually just gut and skale them, and throw them on the grill. My friend just got back from a fishing trip and brought me a bunch of trout(about 4 lbs, each one weighs 1/3-1/2 lb) and said I should try frying them in butter as opposed to grilling them.

I've never fried anything, so was really just asking advice for frying, but if you had experience frying fish, that'd be more relevant foor my situation

[Black240SX]

Yeah, there's really nothing to it. Just heat some butter in a pan then put the fish in. Turn over after a few minutes.

The fish should be gutted and scaled, but leave the skin on.

[DFTowel]

So easy it's silly, like frying eggs... and good too! Under medium heat melt 1/3 stick salted butter in a frying pan, add the juice of 1/4 lemon and a tablespoon of olive oil. You can add salt and pepper to taste. When the buter begins to bubble add the fish. You can cook it with or without the skin but with the skin is usually better. Be careful not to overcook the fish or use too high a flame. You want the butter to turn slightly brown as this gives the fish a very nice nutty flavor. If you like capers you can add a few towards the end. Place the cooked fish on a platter and add thhe brown butter as a sauce.

[gbackus]

Thanks a lot guys! I posted this in a few other places as well and have saved the recipes on my HD

It's that time of year where I'll be going fishing myself pretty soon, so I'll be looking forward to trying them out

[Ajaxus]

ah, see my main experience is with grilling, only a few times have i cooked fish in a pan and never with butter, thats why i was no help

[Spilchy]

Be sure to score the skin as it will curl under the heat of the hot butter and pan. To truly fry the fish you would need clarified butter as regular butter burns at the constant high temparatures required for frying. Clarified butter has a much higher smoke point.

Clarified butter is the remains of melted unsalted butter that has been strained. The white foamy stuff on top is the whey proteins which includes water and milk proteins. What is left is the golden butterfat that you can fry with.

What you can do is fry the fish in the pan with clarified butter until desired crispness and texture, and finish off in the oven for a few minutes to cook it through just until done.

In my opinion, with fresh caught fish, the idea is to use less ingredients so you get the taste of the fish. Usually a little white wine during cooking (allow the alcohol to burn off) and lemon (inside the fish), salt and pepper should be enough.

Enjoy!!