Campfire Herb & Lemon Stuffed Trout
Kyle and I managed to make our way out of the house on Saturday, without any children, and I managed to bring a package of fresh trout home with me. This tends to be a trend with me. Grocery shopping has never felt like a chore to either me or my husband, so our idea of a good time is usually a stop at a grocery store or two before we make our way back to the farm. While I was not planning to purchase any trout on this particular day, after a little chat with the sweet human behind the counter, I found myself placing a brown paper package full of fish into my shopping cart.
Trout is generally available in Iowa during April through October, which I was not aware of! We have never been big fish eaters in our family, and fishing itself is a completely new hobby that we are teaching ourselves how to do. Kyle is more knowledgeable about fishing, so it has been fun to learn something new from him. This is our second summer with our boat, so I am looking forward to spending the next few months out learning how to catch some fish and cook them up over the fire. That has been the dream since last summer! But first, I have to practice, right?
the method:
The art of cooking over an open flame is so primitive, this recipe could easily date back thousands of years. It feels incredibly satisfying to build a fire and patiently wait while the heat builds. I wandered out to the campfire circle in the early evening and gathered up all of my logs, kindling, and fuel. Finding fuel tends to be where I get caught up, as now that we have entered the thick of summer there aren’t many dried plants available considering everything is lush and green. I was happily surprised to come across some dried wheat growing along the outside of the corn field and gathered up a handful of stalks to bundle into a little nest.
This nest went inside of my log cabin structure and began our fire. My oldest son sat with me while we watched the flames build and turn into a nice hot fire for cooking. He helped me gather smaller sticks and find the perfect log to feed into the young flames. I situated our cast iron cooking stand in the center of the flames. Then, I began to prepare the fish.
The fish itself is the easiest part to prepare and the cooking of said fish is altogether simple. The part that takes the longest amount of time is building the fire so that it is hot enough. Each time I cook over the campfire, I learn something new and add another skill to set. For this recipe, I learned that you must have a consistent hot and lively flame to cook the fish quickly in a hot pan, such as you would over a grill or over the stove. For the past recipes that I have made, it has been more suitable to have a low flame or hot coals so as not to scorch the food or cook it too quickly, where the outside is overdone and the middle is still raw. It is all such a learning curve for me! I suppose, in the end, this will help to make me a better cook overall.
So, as this dish needed a constantly fed flame, I had to hustle and find sticks to feed the fire while the fish was cooking. So that you are not scrambling around like me - have a steady supply of small logs and sticks to feed your fire while you cook.
Because I cooked this over a stand, I had to weave the sticks into the cast iron bars of the stand so that the fire would travel up and make direct contact with the pan. I felt like I was feeding Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle, and he was quite hungry!
The fish is seasoned with salt and pepper. You could use a whole fish, with the belly sliced to stuff. I did hot have access to whole fish, so I used 2 fillets to stuff. Lay out your stuffing, lemons and herbs, and then tie the fillets closed.
The fish is fried in hot pan filled with hot butter. The sounds are glorious, with the fire crackling and spitting, and the hot bubbly butter popping in the pan. There is nothing sweeter to the cook’s ear then the sound of the fish being flipped over. I loved cooking this dish because it was so easy for me to watch and see when the fish was ready to flipped and pulled from the pan.
the results:
This was such a fun supper to make. I was not planning on making this, but I am glad that I found the time to prepare it for my family. The final meal was so tender, flaky, and buttery. I absolutely loved the flavor of the trout! The lemon was just subtle enough, too. I usually try to avoid lemon flavored meats as I think they are overpowering. This was just the right amount of acid to flavor the meat. The fresh herbs from our garden put a personal twist on the final meal, which was served with homemade cornbread from our cookbook and coleslaw.
Alternatively, you could easily make this over the stovetop and have similar results, or grill the fish instead. It’s a very versatile and easy dish! I hope that you enjoy giving it a try.
xoxo Kayla
Campfire Herb & Lemon Stuffed Trout
Ingredients
- 2 fresh trout fillets, about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 lemon, sliced thinly
- 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3-4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
- 2 garlic scapes, chopped
- 4-6 tbsp salted butter
Instructions
- Build and heat a moderately sized fire to about 400° F. For this particular dish, you will be cooking over an active flame rather than a low flame or over hot coals. Place a cast iron stand or grill over the fire so there is a place to put your skillet. Alternatively, this recipe can be made over the stove.
- Pat the fillets dry and season the flesh side with the salt and pepper. Lay out 3 pieces of kitchen twine, about 6-inches long, on a cutting board. Place one fillet, skin side down, over the twine. Then lay out about 3 slices of lemon, the herbs, 3 more slices of lemon, and the chopped garlic scapes over the fillet. Lay the second fillet, skin side up, over the filling. Tie the twine around the top of the second fillet. It does not have to be tied very tightly, just enough to hold the pieces together.
- Place the skillet over the fire and heat until very hot. Add in 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet, melting until bubbly. Lay the fish in the skillet, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and cook about 5 to 7 minutes on each side. You will want to make sure that you are constantly controlling the flame of the fire, so have some kindling on hand to continue feeding the fire. Otherwise, it will not have that direct heat that you want to really fry the fish quickly.
- Alternatively, if you are cooking over the stove, place the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fish in a similar fashion, about 5-7 minutes on each side.
- The fish is ready when the flesh is a beautiful light pink rather than red and the fish flakes when tugged at with a fork. Fish should be cooked to 140 to 145° F to be consumed safely.
- Serve the fish right away with your sides, such as cornbread or coleslaw. A little extra squeezed lemon over the finished fish is quite tasty as well!
