Crispy Trout With Creek Sauce
A delicious and easy-to-make dish featuring perfectly fried trout with a creamy creek sauce.
Ingredients
Creek Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s
- 1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons minced dill pickles
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) to taste
Trout and Coating
- 1 1/2 pounds steelhead or rainbow trout fillets cut into strips
- 3 cups Canola or grapeseed oil, for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup rice flour not sweet rice flour
- 1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon Tajin seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
For Serving
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
Make the creek sauce
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, dill pickles, minced parsley, grated garlic, paprika, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Prepare the trout
- Pat the trout fillets dry with a paper towel and slice them lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips. Season evenly with 1 teaspoon of salt.
Heat the oil
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, pour in about an inch of oil and heat over medium heat until it reaches 375°F.
Make the coating
- Mix the all-purpose flour, rice flour, cornmeal, Tajín, sage, dried parsley, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large shallow bowl. Whisk until well blended.
Dredge the trout
- Take four of the trout strips and coat them in the flour mixture, pressing gently so the flour sticks. Shake off the extra flour.
Fry the trout
- Carefully lower the coated trout into the hot oil, working in batches of four. Cook until crispy and golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to drain and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining trout.
Serve
- Enjoy the trout hot with a side of creek sauce for dipping and lemon wedges to squeeze over the top.
Notes
Make sure the oil is hot enough before frying to achieve crispy texture. Don’t overcrowd the pot when frying; fry in batches to keep the oil temperature steady.