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Trout fillets, skin-on
Trout Fillets with Brown Butter, Lemon and Capers
Skin-on trout fillets crisped in a skillet and finished with nutty brown butter, capers and lemon.
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- 20 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Skill
- Some experience
Cooks on: Stovetop · Dinner
Ingredients
- 1½ lbTrout fillets, skin-on, 4 to 6 skin-on fillets, pin bones removed
- ¼ cupFlour
- 4 tbspButter
- 1Lemon, halved
- 1 tspSalt, kosher
- ½ tspBlack pepper, ground
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided
- 2 tbsp capers, drained and patted dry
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
You'll need
- Large skillet, ideally cast iron
- Stovetop
- Instant-read thermometer
Contains
Fish, Gluten, Dairy.
Method
- Pat the trout fillets very dry and season both sides with the salt and pepper. Just before cooking, dredge them lightly in the flour and shake off every bit of excess; flour that sits turns gummy.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay in as many fillets as fit without touching, skin side down, laying each one away from you, and press each flat with a spatula for 10 seconds. Cook the rest in a second batch with the remaining oil.
- Cook without moving them until the skin is crisp and golden and the flesh is opaque most of the way up the sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook just 30 seconds to 1 minute more, until the flesh is opaque, flakes easily, and the thickest part reads 145°F. Trout fillets are thin, so the flesh side needs very little. Move the fish to warm plates, skin side up so it stays crisp.
- Wipe out the skillet and set it over medium heat. Add the butter and swirl until the foam settles and the solids turn nutty brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the capers and cook 30 seconds, until they pop and crisp. Take the pan off the heat, add the juice of half the lemon (it will spatter) and the parsley, swirl, and taste for salt.
- Spoon the brown butter over the fish and serve with the other lemon half cut into wedges.
When it's done: 145°F
Federal guidance: 145°F, or until the flesh is no longer translucent and separates easily with a fork.
If it goes wrong
- Butter burnt and bitter
- It goes from brown to black fast. Pull the pan off the heat as soon as it smells nutty, and start again with fresh butter if it turns black.
- Fillets curling
- Press them flat for the first 10 seconds, or score the skin twice lightly before cooking.
- Skin stuck
- Wait until it releases on its own; it lets go once it is crisp.
- Skin soft by the time it reaches the table
- It sat skin side down or got sauced on the skin. Plate it skin side up and spoon the butter around and over the flesh.
Leftovers. Serve right away. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to 165°F.