Pan-Fried Mountain Trout
Fresh trout dredged in cornmeal and pan-fried in bacon grease until the skin turns crackling crisp. It's a quick campside or creekbank meal for anyone lucky enough to pull fish from West Virginia's cold mountain streams.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 340 kcal
Equipment
- •Cast iron skillet
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- fat
- 19
- carbs
- 12
- protein
- 30
- calories
- 340
Instructions
- 1
Dry the trout inside and out using paper towels.
- 2
Mix the cornmeal, salt, and pepper on a plate.
- 3
Coat each trout in the cornmeal mixture. Press gently so the coating sticks.
- 4
Heat the bacon grease in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
- 5
Place the trout in the skillet without crowding the pan. Fry 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and crisp.
- 6
Drain the fish briefly on paper towels. Serve hot with lemon wedges.
Chef's tips
Pat the trout completely dry before coating it so the cornmeal crust sticks and crisps evenly.
Storage
Best eaten fresh; leftovers keep refrigerated up to 2 days but lose crispness.
Reheating
Reheat in a hot dry skillet a few minutes per side to recrisp the crust.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Crowding the skillet, which steams rather than crisps the fish
- •Flipping the fish too soon before the crust sets
Serving suggestions
Cooked Pan-Fried Mountain Trout?
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