Cooking Wild Game: Pan-Fried Stuffed Trout

The hard part is over now that you’ve landed the trout…it’s time to enjoy your fresh catch!

Sometimes preparing harvested protein can seem daunting. That’s why the Federation is creating a series of Field to Fork recipes and cooking videos. We will be showing you how to prepare easy, delicious recipes using harvested meat, as well as quick tips for prepping, cooking, and storing wild game.

With this pan-fried trout recipe, you are sure to be a catch at the dinner table!

Learn from Emily Buck, Director of Communications at our friends Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, on her technique of pan-frying and stuffing trout with our Program Communications Coordinator, Caroline Heggeman when you watch the video below or

Who doesn’t love a home-cooked meal that involves fresh fish? Our pan-fried stuffed trout recipe combines textures and fragrances making it one of the best trout recipes you can find. 

Cooking with a whole trout ensures you enjoy every square inch of this fantastic fish filet. From the moment you take a bite, this dish will have you hooked. It’s wrapped in crispy bacon with a delicious mixture of well-cooked vegetables tucked neatly inside the delicate trout filet. 

Pan-Fried Stuffed Trout

Emily Buck

Revel in your success on the water with this delicious pan-fried stuffed trout recipe. A fresh butterflied trout filet serves as the perfect platter for the stuffing mixture of sauteed leeks, shallots, green onion, garlic, and dijon mustard. Strips of bacon round the trout giving the dish more texture and allow the aromatic stuffing to be absorbed by the tender fish. With this pan-fried trout recipe, you are sure to be a catch at the dinner table!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 Mixing Bowl
• 1 Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

  

Trout

• 2 Trout Filets Butterflied, Skin-on.
• 2 tbsp Butter

Stuffing Mixture

• 1-2 Leeks
• 1-2 Shallots
• ½ cup Green Onion
• 4 cloves Garlic Minced.
• 4 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper

Assembling

• 4 strips Hickory Smoked Bacon Size of the trout filet will determine how many strips of bacon will be used.

Garnish

• 1 Lemon

Instructions

 

Prep Work

• Wash and chop up your leeks, shallots, green onion and garlic. Make sure to clean your leeks well because they are naturally very dirty.
• Heat 1 tbsp of butter on the cast iron skillet over medium heat.

Time to Cook

• Add your chopped ingredients into the cast iron skillet to saute. Cook until onions are soft and translucent.

Assemble

• Remove sauteed mixture from the cast iron skillet and into a bowl. Throw in your dijon mustard, salt, pepper and thoroughly mix.
• Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on the skins of the butterflied trout filets.
• Spread a thin layer of your stuffing onto one side of the trout filet. This will make it easier when folding the trout back together for cooking.
• Fold the filets back together and wrap each filet with 2 strips of bacon to hold the stuffing inside. Size of trout filet will determine how many strips of bacon will be needed.

Time to Cook

• Use 1 tbsp of butter to cover the surface of the skillet and warm to medium heat. Gently lay the trout into the pan and cook each side for 6-10 minutes or until the bacon is crisp.
• Once the fish is done cooking, carefully remove it from the pan and onto a plate. Try to flip the fish cut side up to keep stuffing from falling out.
• To finish, squeeze some lemon juice on the stuffed trout and dig in! A side of rice compliments this dish well and completes this tasty meal!

Keyword bacon, filet, fish, leeks, onions, savory, trout, trout filet, wild game, wild game dish, wild game recipe