Trout with pecans

Last night I decided to try something from the first cookbook I ever purchased, Tom Fitzmorris's New Orleans Food. As has been the case with quite a few of his recipes, I skipped a couple steps. Because two sticks of butter for enough fish for two was already way too much. The actual recipe, intended for six, requires about a pound of the stuff. I guess it is not that bad since a lot of it is lost in clarifying the butter.

Here is my version:

Trout with Pecans

First, you need to make some clarified butter. Put a stick of butter in a small saucepan on medium heat until it melts and then turn to low and wait about 10-15 minutes for the milks solids to fully separate. Spoon the solids from the top and pour the clarified butter into a small bowl or cup for frying the fish later.  Some of the solids will sink so make sure those don't get poured in. You will only get about a 1/3 cup worth but that it only needs to cover the pan later. This stuff turned out to be an awesome way to fry fish! Mainly because it can get hotter than regular butter without smoking.

Get yourself a nice trout-like fish. I had black drum because it was on sale at Whole Foods. One 9 oz. filet was enough for two with sides, although I will get two next time. Cut the filet into smaller pieces so you can fit it all in the pan at once and for more even and quicker cooking. Now get two large bowls, one for the egg mixture and one for the flour mixture. First bowl,  whisk one egg with 1/4 cup of milk. Second bowl, mix 1 cup  of flour with 2 Tbsp. of Prudhomme's Meat Magic (or Tony's or any creole seasoning) and 2 Tbsp. salt. Set all of this aside for a bit and make the sauce.

The Sauce: Stir 1 Tbsp. flour and 1 Tbsp. of water together in a heat proof bowl until they make a nice smooth paste. In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup of shrimp stock, 1/4 cup of Worcestershire, and 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice to a light boil. Whisk 1/4 cup of this into the flour paste and then whisk that back into the saucepan. Finally, whisk in a stick of softened butter. Keep sauce warm while you fry the fish.

Almost there: Now toast some pecans. Pour about a tbsp of the clarified butter (or use olive oil) on a large frying pan on med heat (same one you will use to fry the fish if you dont want to dirty two); throw on 1/2 cup of pecan pieces and stir around for about 5 minutes. I poured them directly into the sauce at this point. Tom says to wait until plating it all and add the pecans after the sauce.

Now, fry the fish. Heat the clarified butter in a large frying pan on med-high heat. Take a piece of fish, sprinkle with seasoned flour, dip in milky egg, dip into flour, shake off excess, place in pan of hot butter. Repeat. Cook 4-5 minutes, turning once. Fish should be an appetizing golden color. Set on a paper towel for a minute before plating.
 

Not too bad for the first crack at it! I served the sauce on the side because I was not sure about it. The fish tasted perfect and we wanted more. Nice thick cuts of wild caught fish with a light batter is so simple and makes a happy diner. The sauce was a little too heavy on that bite that comes from the Worcestershire but I still ate it and liked it.

Sorry for the bad lighting.

 I served the fish with a nice simple salad and some black eyed peas that I made in the slow cooker. A very delicious dinner but I dirtied every bowl and pan in the house so it will be a while before I do it again. It was also nice introduction to sauces, which I want to learn more about.