Whole grilled trout, stuffed with lemon and thyme, and drizzled with a bright green caper-herb sauce, is perfect for a backyard party.
For trout that’s crispy on the outside and flaky and moist on the inside, grilled whole trout is the answer. The direct heat gives rainbow trout a delectable smoky flavor and sears the skin until it’s nice and crispy.
In this recipe, we stuff rainbow trout with lemon and thyme sprigs to keep the flesh moist and add flavor. Once the trout is off the grill, that’s when you’ll get to show off your skills of filleting the fish. It takes a little patience and practice, but once you master the key techniques, you’ll have the confidence to take on other whole fish recipes, like this branzino recipe.
We finish the fish with a sauce of fresh herbs, garlic, capers, and lemon. Drizzled over the finished fillets, it turns rainbow trout into an elegant summer meal!
Table of Contents
What Do You Need for Grilled Trout?
There’s usually no need to visit a specialty fishmonger’s, as rainbow trout is available at many grocery stores. Here is everything you’ll need:
For the Trout
- Rainbow trout: A freshwater relative of salmon, rainbow trout are silver with black spots, and usually under a pound each. The flesh has a delicate, mild flavor and stands up well to assertive flavors.
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper: Kosher salt is essential for bringing out the flavor of the fish and seasoning the sauce to perfection.
- Lemon: We aren’t wasting any lemon flavor here! Lemon zest and juice add flavor to the Herb-Caper Sauce, while lemon slices perfume the fish from the inside as it cooks on the grill. You’ll need one whole lemon for this recipe; zest it first, then juice half for the sauce and slice the other half into rounds.
- Thyme: Woodsy, peppery thyme sprigs suffuse the fish as it grills. A bit of chopped thyme adds a zesty flavor to the sauce.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Here we are using olive oil to prevent the fish from sticking to the grill and to turn the skin crispy. It’s also the base for the sauce. Choose a high-quality variety like our mild Italian Nocellara or our peppery Spanish Hojiblanca.
For the Parsley-Caper Sauce
- Garlic: Pungent and assertive, garlic gives the herb sauce a bite.
- Parsley is my go-to herb for adding fresh, peppery flavor. It pairs well with the delicate flavor of the fish.
- Capers: Capers are the pickled green buds of a bush that grows wild all over the Mediterranean region. They add a briny note to many dishes, including Chicken Piccata. Here, they add a salty, pickled flavor to the fresh herb sauce.
- Red pepper flakes: Red pepper flakes give the sauce a spicy kick, a notch above black pepper. Feel free to skip them if you’re serving heat-averse diners.
- Fennel seeds: Fennel is a traditional partner with seafood in Mediterranean cuisine, and though they’re optional, I love the subtle, licorice-like flavor that crushed fennel seeds add to the sauce.
How to Grill Trout
Working with whole fish might be intimidating if you haven’t done it before. However, this simple step-by-step will help you master the techniques you need to do it successfully. The first step to remember is: clean your grill. It’s the best way to prevent the delicate fish skin from sticking to the grates. Open your grill and use a cleaning tool to scrape off any burned bits. After your grill is hot, repeat this step.
Once you try it, you’ll find that working with whole fish is actually easier than grilling fillets, which are more likely to stick to the grill and prone to overcooking. What’s more, you’ll save money, even when accounting for the weight of the bones and head, whole trout is more affordable than fillets.
For the Trout
- Heat your grill. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill until very hot, about 15 minutes or 500°F, if you have a gauge. If you don’t have a temperature gauge, hold your hand 4 inches above the grates. If you can stand the heat for only 2-4 seconds, it’s ready to go. If you can comfortably take the heat for any longer than 5 seconds, the grill needs a little more time to come up to temperature.
- Prep the Fish: While the grill is heating, rinse 2 whole cleaned and gutted rainbow trout, each about 10 to 12 ounces, under cold running water to remove any slimy coating or scales, then pat dry with paper towels. Halve a lemon crosswise and cut one half into thin slices. Season the inside of each fish with salt and pepper, and stuff each with 3 or 4 lemon slices and 4 large sprigs of thyme, making sure the stuffing fits completely inside the cavity. Transfer fish to a large, shallow baking dish and season liberally with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Use your hands to turn the fish until completely coated in oil.
- Grill the Fish. Once the grill is hot, lay both fish directly on the grates and close the lid. Let cook until the skin is crispy and marked, about 4 minutes. Using tongs or a thin metal spatula, gently lift the fish on one edge to check if it releases easily from the grate. If it doesn’t release easily, let it cook for another minute or two. If it releases easily, it’s ready to flip.
- Flip the fish. Use tongs or slide two wide spatulas underneath the fish to gently turn it over. Close the lid and cook until the skin is crispy and pulls away easily from the flesh, about another 4 minutes.
- Fillet and Serve with Sauce: See How to Fillet a Whole Cooked Rainbow Trout, below.
For the Sauce:
- Make the Parsley-Caper Sauce. Finely grate the zest from the remaining lemon half into a small bowl, then squeeze its juice and add to the bowl. Remove the leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme, chop finely, and add to the bowl. Stir in 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seed, a large pinch of red pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and season to your liking with salt. After transferring the fish to a serving platter, drizzle with the Parsley-Caper Sauce and serve immediately.
How to Fillet a Grilled Whole Trout
Prepare to filet your fish first by assembling some key tools! It’s helpful to have a bowl for collecting waste as you work. You will also need a cutting board, a sharp paring knife, a spoon, a few paper towels, a platter for the finished fillets, and a sheet of foil to keep the fillets warm. Don’t worry if your fillets harbor a few bones—it’s nearly impossible to do it perfectly!
- Discard stuffing: Place one fish on the cutting board. Scoop out the lemon and thyme and discard.
- Remove fins: With your non-dominant hand, use a spoon to hold the fish as you gently scrape away the fins with your paring knife. They should detach easily. Discard.
- Make two cuts: With a sharp paring or boning knife, make a crosswise slit at the edge of the tail, without cutting all the way through the fish. Make another crosswise slit just behind the head. Working from the head, slice a shallow cut along the black line that runs down the middle of the fish to the tail. Using the spoon, nudge the fillets away from the knife.
- Remove the top fillets: Using the spoon as a spatula, carefully pull the top fillet away. Push the second fillet off the bones. Scrape away any small bones that stick to it.
- Remove the spine: Grasp the tail and pull the spine and head slowly up and away from the fish, and discard. Use your fingers to pluck out any bones you spot. It’s practically impossible to remove every bone, so don’t worry if you miss a few.
- Transfer the fillets: Use a spatula to transfer the top and bottom fillets to a platter, and cover with foil. With a paper towel, wipe the board and repeat steps to fillet the remaining fish.
What to Serve with Grilled Trout
Because this recipe requires some focused time to fillet the whole fish after they come off the grill, I like to keep the sides very simple, or make them in advance.
My old-school recommendation is to pair the fish with whole, baked potatoes. Instead of the usual pat of butter or sour cream, I like to top piping hot potatoes with this tangy Creamy Whipped Feta Dip. For something fresh and crunchy on the side, try our Lemony Fennel Salad, which echoes the hint of fennel seed in the Parsley-Caper dressing.
More Fish Recipes
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Grilled Trout with Parsley-Caper Sauce
Ingredients
For the Trout
- 2 whole rainbow trout (about 10-12 ounces each), cleaned
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 lemon, sliced into rings
- 10 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the Parsley-Caper Sauce
- 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley,
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed (optional)
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon capers, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat your grill. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill until very hot, about 15 minutes or 500°F, if you have a gauge. If you don’t have a temperature gauge, hold your hand 4 inches above the grates. If you can stand the heat for only 2-4 seconds, it’s ready to go. If you can comfortably take the heat for any longer than 5 seconds, the grill needs a little more time to come up to temperature.
- Prep the fish. While the grill is heating, rinse the trout under cold running water to remove any slimy coating or scales, then pat dry with paper towels. Season the inside of each fish with salt and pepper, and stuff each with 3 or 4 lemon slices and 4 to 5 sprigs of thyme, making sure the stuffing fits completely inside the cavities. Transfer fish to a large, shallow baking dish. Drizzle the fish with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Use your hands to turn the fish until completely coated in oil. Season the fish liberally with salt and pepper
- Make the Parsley-Caper Sauce. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, garlic, parsley, capers and, if you like, fennel seed and a large pinch of red pepper flakes. Whisk in extra virgin olive oil and season to your liking with salt.
- Grill the fish. Once the grill is hot, lay both fish directly on the grates and close the lid. Let cook until the skin is crispy and marked, about 4 minutes. Using tongs or a thin metal spatula, gently lift the fish on one edge to check if it releases easily from the grate. If it doesn’t release easily, let it cook for another minute or two. If it releases easily, it’s ready to flip.
- Flip the fish. Use tongs or slide two wide spatulas underneath the fish to gently turn it over. Close the lid and cook until the skin is crispy and pulls away easily from the flesh, about another 4 minutes.
- Fillet the fish. Place one of the fish on a cutting board. Scoop out the lemon slices and thyme and discard. Use a spoon to hold the fish still as you gently scrape away the top and bottom fins with a paring knife and discard them. Then, using a sharp knife, make a crosswise slits at the edge of the tail and just behind the head, without cutting through the fish. Working from the head, slice along the black line that runs down the middle of the fish to the tail. Use a spoon to pull the fish away from the knife. Carefully, pull the top fillet away from the bones. Push the second fillet off the bones and scrape away any small bones that stick to it. To remove the skeleton, grasp the tail and pull it up and away from the fish. Trim away any remaining extra skin or fins from fillets, and remove any remaining bones. Transfer fillets to a platter and cover with foil. Repeat steps to fillet the remaining trout.
- Finish and serve. Drizzle the fillets with the Parsley-Caper Sauce and serve immediately.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil used in this recipe.
- Prep your grill! The best way to prevent the delicate fish skin from sticking to the grates is to start with a clean grill. Use a grill brush to scrape off any burned bits. After your grill is hot, repeat this step.
- Assemble your tools: Prepare to filet your fish first by assembling everything you’ll need. It’s helpful to have a bowl for collecting waste as you work. You will also need a cutting board, a sharp paring knife, a spoon, a few paper towels, a platter for serving the finished fillets, and a sheet of foil to help keep the first fillets warm while you work on the second fish.
Nutrition
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