Healthy: Pan fried rainbow trout with crispy skin

Growing up most of my fish consumption came in the way of burnt fish sticks. Not just fish sticks, which are bad enough, but fish sticks baked in the oven past their prime so they were hard and dry. Disgusting. I still harass my parents about it. One time when I was nine we visited my grandparents in New Mexico and my grandfather took us out fishing in the middle of a lake where we caught some rainbow trout. Some of it came home with us where my dad fried it up for us. It was one of the few times we ate fresh fish. It was wondrous. It was a really nice memory of grandparents and I think about it every time I see rainbow trout.

I enjoy rainbow trout although it's not always easy to find. It works well with a number of sides and it's a fairly lean fish so it is a good option for a healthy diet. It's also easy to cook and holds up to everything from frying to baking to grilling. My favorite way is pan fried with the skin crisped with a little oil. It's such an easy way to cook the fish but pan fried fish with crispy skin always looks like it took impressive skill. It's actually not that hard to do as long as you can commit yourself to not messing with the fish while it cooks. All you need to do is put the fish down and flip it once. Then it's done. I like rainbow trout with just a little salt and pepper but you can be adventurous with it and play with different herbs and spices.

When you buy rainbow trout it may or may not have been descaled. Personally I like to descale the trout if it hasn't been descaled ahead of time but the scales on trout are not so unpleasant that it is an absolute necessity. It's not impossible to eat like salmon scales but I think it makes the texture of the skin more enjoyable.

Pan Fried Rainbow Trout with Crispy Skin

Serving size: 4
Prep time: 5-10 minutes (30 minutes if trout needs to warm to room temperature)
Cook time 4-5 minutes

Equipment:

• Cutting board and knife
• Pan
• Fish slice or spatula
• Stovetop

Ingredients:

• 4 rainbow trout fillets
• salt
• pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Use a sharp knife to descale the fillets (optional) by holding up the fillet by the tail end and running the knife down the fillet at a 25 degree angle. Rinse.
2. Let trout come to room temperature
3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in pan over medium-high heat.
4. Pat trout fillets dry and rub skin side of fillets with a light coating of olive oil.
5. Place trout skin side down in pan. Gently slide the fillet in the pan to make sure it isn't sticking.
6. Season with salt and peper.
7. Leave fillet alone for 3 minutes, 4 if the fillet is thick.
8. Flip over and fry for an additional minute. 
9. Remove and serve.