That’s right, I’m down with the fisherman lingo! Actually, Christian is the fisherman, and he’s the one who caught the fish, I just sat and drank on the boat while he caught it. The cooking though, that was all me. I have always grown up with catch and release with fishing, but when Christian finally caught a fish that was big enough to eat, we decided to go for it. I’ve watched enough pro chefs filet a fish on TV, so I figured I could do it. Spoiler: the TV chefs make it look easy.
Prepping the fish
From the moment it came out of the water, we kept the fish on ice to make sure it wouldn’t go bad. It still didn’t smell the best and halfway through the trip I wanted to give up on taking it home, but we went through with it. I wanted to get all fancy with it and stuff it with lemon and some herbs, but once I cut it open, I knew I didn’t have the knowledge to get it clean enough for that. Instead, I took off the filets as best I could.
Pro tip from a non pro: do not try to use a paring knife to fillet a fish. It didn’t work well and you definitely have to have the right tools to get the most out of the fish. As you will see in the final product later, we ended up with fish nuggets instead of filets because it was so hard to get the skin off with my paring knife/lack of skills.
Making the sauce
What you need:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ cup white wine
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
After Googling what goes best with sea trout, I thought a lemon, butter, and white wine sauce would be delish. I started by sauteing the garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil and butter. Once you can smell the garlic, deglaze the pan with the white wine to prevent the garlic from burning. Let the wine cook off in the sauce for about 2 minutes over medium heat.
Next, add in your lemon juice and chicken stock and let that cook down for 5-7 minutes over medium heat. The sauce should start to thicken and if you want it thicker, add more butter. If you want it thinner (weird, but ok) you can add more chicken stock. Add in your salt and pepper accordingly and voila! You have a delicious sauce!
Cooking the fish
As I mentioned earlier, my filleting skills were not the best. Since we ended up with small fish nuggets, the fish cooked very quickly in the sauce, which was a bonus for me after taking so long to cut up the fish. We served the fish over couscous and green beans, to round out the dish and make up for how little fish I got off of it (oops).
Overall, we had a filling meal for both of us from one fish! Did I mention the fish was free?! I thought it was crazy that we got to eat a super fresh fish just because Christian reeled it in. I would definitely do this again, but I need to invest in a filet knife first. Stay tuned for more fishing adventures!
That sounds like a wonderful experience all around, and looked wonderful,when you were done preparing. I’ve never filleted a fish but Uncle Dave ageees that a filet knife would make the job easier. Nothing like a fresh catch!