trout
Trout
Trout is the mildest of the salmonids and the thinnest — a fillet is often under an inch, so it cooks through in about four minutes and overcooks in five. Steelhead is a rainbow trout that migrated to salt water, which is why it has salmon-colored flesh and a much bigger fillet.
In one line
Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same fish. One of them went to sea.
Buy it if
You want something salmon-shaped on a weeknight, cooked skin-side down in one pan in under five minutes.
Steelhead is rainbow trout. Same species, Oncorhynchus mykiss. A fish that stays in fresh water its whole life is a rainbow; one that runs to the ocean and comes back is a steelhead — bigger, with deeper orange flesh from a marine diet. The label changes; the animal does not.
Arctic char is not a trout at all. It is a char, a separate genus (Salvelinus), sitting between salmon and trout in flavor and fat. It gets shelved alongside them because it cooks the same way, not because it is one.
The fillet is thin, and that governs everything. Skin-side down in a hot pan, nearly all of the cooking happens through the skin — flip for the last thirty seconds, or don't flip at all. Pull at 125–130°F.
It has an unusually clean farming record. US rainbow trout is raised in freshwater raceways and tanks, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch currently rates it a Best Choice — one of very few farmed fish that gets there.
Where it comes from on the animal
| Species | trout |
|---|---|
| Subprimal | fillet, butterflied, and whole |
What else it’s called
How to cook Trout
| Best methods | Pan sear Oven roast Grill Smoke Poach Deep fry |
|---|---|
| Cook to | 125–130°F. A half-inch fillet is done in roughly four minutes, and the difference between right and dry is about sixty seconds. |
If Trout is sold out
Cooks like
Salmon
The other salmonid — thicker and richer, with more fat to protect it. Sear, roast or smoke it the same way, just for longer.
Common questions
Is steelhead the same as salmon?
No, though it looks like it on the plate. Steelhead is a rainbow trout that spent time in the ocean, and its pink-orange color comes from the same diet-derived pigment salmon get. It is leaner and thinner, so treat it as salmon that cooks in half the time.
How do you keep trout skin from sticking?
Dry the skin thoroughly, salt it, and lay it into a pan that is already hot with a thin film of oil. Press it flat for the first ten seconds. It releases itself once the skin has crisped — if it sticks, it isn't ready to move yet.
What temperature is trout done?
125–130°F. On a half-inch fillet that is about four minutes total. Go by the flesh turning opaque at the thickest point rather than by the clock, because fillet thickness varies enormously.
What else is trout sold as?
Rainbow trout, steelhead and steelhead trout are all the same species. Arctic char is usually sold next to them but is a different fish — a char, not a trout — with a little more fat and a slightly firmer flake.
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