Grilled Whole Trout
Grilling whole fish is easier than you would think, and this Grilled Whole Trout recipe is the perfect summer meal to pair with a refreshing wine.
Wine Pairings For Summer
It's pretty easy for us to think about wine as a refreshing summer beverage. A fruity white or a chilled rose are the perfect, cooling drinks for sipping as we sit outside waiting for the grill to heat up.
And, then there's sangria!
There are few things more refreshing on a hot summer day than a a slightly fizzy sangria packed with summer berries.
But, I digress.
We're talking pairings here.
What's a wine lover to do if you crave those light wines (or wine drinks) with dinner?
Fit the food to the wine!
Pairing Seafood With Summer Wine
Seafood is the perfect choice for those refreshing wines.
Today, we're pairing Lewis Station Winery's Sparkling Waters White with our grilled trout.
Sparkling Waters White is a Tropical Fruit Viogner: a bright wine with notes of melon and peach and a hint of pineapple. To pair with these tropical flavors, we added some citrus to our trout before heading out to the grill.
The citrus brightens the meat, while the dark, searing from the grill gives depth that acts as a wonderful contrast to all the light flavors.
Our Grilled Whole Trout Recipe: It's Really Not Scary
Don't be intimidated by the whole fish thing. Grilling whole fish is way easier than you would think.
The fish comes cleaned and 'prepared.' Which means they've done all the dirty work for you. All you have to do is stuff the open cavity with your choice of seasonings, salt and pepper the outside, and get that grill hot and ready.
General rule of thumb is 10 minutes on the grill per inch of fish thickness. Since our fish was about an inch thick, that meant roughly 5 minutes per side, over medium heat.
Do resist the urge to constantly check the fish though. When it is ready to be flipped, the skin will release easily from the grates. (Just be sure they're CLEAN before you start!)
Grilled Whole Trout
Ingredients
- 1 whole Rainbow Trout (roughly 1 lb), de-boned
- ½ lemon
- 1 lime
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- Salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium. (You should be able to hold your hand 4 inches over the cooking grate for 5-6 seconds.
- Prepare the fish by sprinkling the cavity and exterior with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with lemon and lime slices and the sprigs of fresh thyme.
- Place the fish on a hot, clean grill grate. (Both hot and clean are very important here for making sure your fish doesn’t stick to the grill!)
- Cover and grill 5 minutes. When the fish is ready to flip, the skin will release easily from the grill grate.
- Flip, cover the grill, and cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Serve warm with a green salad or rice.
Nutrition
More perfect summer food and wine pairings!
- Culinary Adventures with Camilla posted "Green Fig Ice Cream + Cambiata Albariño"
- Vino Travels -- An Italian Wine Blog shared "Orzo salad and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo"
- Curious Cuisiniere posted "Grilled Trout paired with a Tropical Fruit Viognier"
- ENOFYLZ Wine Blog paired "Ceviche and Tablas Creek Picpoul Blanc"
- Take a Bite Out of Boca shared "Grilled Mango-Sriracha Shrimp, Pineapple and Peppers paired with Burg Layer Schlosskapelle Spatlese Kerner"
- foodwineclick shared "Steamers and Cava on the Porch"
- Confessions of a Culinary Diva blogged about "Aperol Spritz"
- Cooking Chat paired "Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa and a White Burgundy"
David of Cooking Chat started this event in June of 2014, and every month since then this group of wine and food lovers have had a great time! For more background, check out the original post announcing Wine Pairing Weekend. You can see the full list of past and upcoming #winePW events here.
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Seeing the whole fish reminds me of my dinners in Italy. I always find it a little scary, but it's interesting to know that you can get it all cleaned out for seasoning. Thanks for sharing! Especially the timing of how long to cook fish on the grill.
Tim's a fisherman, so whole fish don't bother him. This was the first time I've dealt with anything bigger than the palm of my hand. It was a bit scary!
Love this - I've not tried that particular vigionier but will look for it at my local wine stores. Also, the fish looks amazing! Oh, and I'm a sangria lover too!
wow looks delicious.. love trout - definitely a recipe i see myself making. thanks for the inspiration!
Great recipe and pairing Sarah! I must confess, I've never done a whole fish on the grill, so I appreciate your tips! Thanks!
I LOVE whole fish. This looks sweet...as in 'awesome' not as in 'dessert.' Cheers, Sarah!
Thanks Camilla!
I've got to look for a bottle of this wine, it sounds like one I would absolutely love. Melon, peach, and pineapple!?! Totally my taste. I bet it works perfectly with any fish!
It is such a fantastic wine!
Definitely can be a good approach to start with the wine you want to drink, then find food to suit. I love trout, but haven't had it in a while. Your pairing sounds like a winner!