New Orleans Trout Amandine (Pan-Fried Trout with Brown Butter Almonds)

Why you’ll love it

• Restaurant classic at home: the famous New Orleans dish with simple pantry ingredients.
• Ready in 30 minutes: one skillet for the fish and the sauce.
• Big flavor, mild fish: brown butter, toasted almonds and lemon make even picky eaters love trout.

Quick facts

Ingredients

For the trout

• 4 skin-on rainbow trout fillets (about 6 oz / 170 g each), pin bones removed
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning (or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter

For the brown butter almond sauce

• 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup (60 g) sliced almonds
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 pinch fine salt
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Step-by-step method

1. Prepare the fish. Heat the oven to 200°F (95°C) to keep the cooked fish warm, and put a platter or 4 plates inside. Pat the trout fillets very dry with paper towels and season both sides with the salt and pepper.

2. Set up the dredging station. Pour the milk into a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish, whisk together the flour and Creole seasoning.

3. Dredge the trout. Dip each fillet in the milk, let the excess drip off, then press it into the flour mixture to coat both sides. Shake off the extra flour and place the fillets on a plate.

4. Heat the skillet. In a 12-inch (30 cm) cast iron or heavy skillet, heat the oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat until the butter foams and the foam starts to subside.

5. Fry the fillets. Add 2 fillets, flesh side down, and cook 2 to 3 minutes without moving them, until golden brown. Turn carefully with a fish spatula and cook 1 to 2 minutes more on the skin side, until the fish flakes easily. Transfer to the warm platter in the oven and repeat with the remaining fillets.

6. Clean the pan. Pour off the fat and carefully wipe the skillet with a paper towel to remove any burnt bits of flour. Return it to medium heat.

7. Brown the butter and almonds. Add the 6 tbsp butter and the sliced almonds. Cook, stirring and swirling the pan often, 3 to 4 minutes, until the almonds are golden and the butter turns a nutty light brown with little brown specks.

8. Finish the sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat and immediately add the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce (stand back, it will sizzle). Stir in the parsley and a pinch of salt.

9. Serve. Spoon the hot almond butter sauce over the trout fillets and serve right away with lemon wedges.

How to know it is done

The trout is ready when the coating is evenly golden and crisp, the flesh has turned from translucent pink to opaque and flakes easily with a fork at the thickest part, and an instant-read thermometer reads 145°F (63°C). Thin trout fillets cook very fast, usually in 4 to 5 minutes total. The sauce is ready when the almonds are light golden brown and the butter smells nutty, like toasted hazelnuts; if it turns dark brown and smells bitter, start the sauce again.

Tips for the best result

• Dry the fish very well before dredging; moisture is the enemy of a crisp crust.
• Cook only 2 fillets at a time so the pan stays hot and the fish browns instead of steaming.
• A thin, flexible fish spatula makes it easy to turn delicate fillets without breaking them.
• Brown the butter in a light-colored or well-wiped pan so you can see the color change.
• Ask your fish counter to remove the pin bones, or pull them out with clean tweezers.

Variations and substitutions

• Other fish: use speckled trout, catfish, flounder, tilapia or redfish fillets of the same thickness.
• Whole trout: use 2 whole boneless butterflied trout (about 12 oz / 340 g each) and fry them 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Pecan meunière: replace the almonds with chopped pecans for a Southern twist.
• Gluten-free: dredge the fish in fine cornmeal or a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend.
• Extra lemony: add 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest and 1 tbsp drained capers to the sauce.

Make ahead

Trout amandine is best cooked right before serving, but you can get almost everything ready ahead. Up to 4 hours before dinner, remove the pin bones, pat the fillets dry, wrap them well and refrigerate. Mix the seasoned flour, chop the parsley and squeeze the lemon juice in advance. You can even toast the almonds in the butter earlier in the day; reheat the sauce gently and add the lemon and parsley just before serving.

Storage and reheating

Refrigerate leftover trout and sauce separately in airtight containers for up to 2 days. Reheat the fish on a baking sheet in a 325°F (165°C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until heated through to 145°F (63°C), and warm the sauce in a small pan over low heat. The microwave makes the coating soggy. We do not recommend freezing the cooked fish.