Is Trout Fishy Tasting?
Including more fish in your diet is a great way to get the absorbable and delicious protein that is typically faster and easier to cook than meat from poultry, pork, beef, and lamb.
While we have all likely heard about the health benefits of salmon, there’s another fish that you may want to try.
Trout is a smaller, more affordable cousin to salmon.
They are from the same family and have many similar nutrients, but trout are generally not as expensive, which makes them a great addition to a budget-conscious shopper.
However, you might be wondering if they taste as fishy as salmon.
So, is trout fishy tasting? If your trout is fresh, it shouldn’t have a strong fishy taste. It does have a slightly stronger fishy taste than white fish, but it is still quite a mild fish. There are also ways you can cook it, such as marinading and baking it, that can make it taste even less fishy.
Read on to learn more about whether trout is fishy tasting, tips and tricks to cook your trout the best, how to make a delicious marinade to cover any potential fishy taste, and more!
What Is Trout?
First off, it’s important to know what trout is so that you can get a sense of whether it will be a fishier fish than something like salmon.
Trout is a freshwater fish that is in the same family as salmon, but they are typically smaller and milder in flavor.
You can find trout in lakes, rivers, and streams all across North America and Eurasia.
Its flesh ranges in color from a light orange/white to a deep red or orange. Trout are typically fattier than white fish like tilapia, which tends to give them a slightly stronger flavor.
However, most trout are actually quite mild. They can be a great addition to the diet if you’re looking for some new fish to try that won’t be too overwhelmingly fishy or strong-tasting.
Is Trout Fishy Tasting?
When it comes to figuring out where trout fall on the scale of fishy to non-fishy tasting fish, it tends to fall somewhere in the middle. It is not the fishiest tasting fish, but it’s also not the mildest tasting either.
Because trout contains a good amount of healthy fats, it does have a stronger fishy taste than white fish, which are very lean.
The flavor of the fish also depends on where it was caught, what it was eating, how long it has been sitting in the fridge, and how it is prepared.
In terms of fishiness, trout is much milder than salmon. So if you enjoy salmon, it is pretty much guaranteed that you’ll also enjoy trout.
With that said, there are a few types of trout that you might see at the store, so we will list them below in order of mildest to strongest tasting:
- Rainbow Trout: They have a mild, slightly nutty flavor. The flesh is generally a very pale orange and sometimes even white. This fish is great for people who don’t enjoy a strong fish taste or who want to cook a filet to let the fish shine.
- Speckled Trout: Another mild and delicious trout. It’s very tender and tastes great with citrus notes like lemon, lime, or orange. You can also make a lovely beurre blanc (lemon and butter sauce) to serve with it. It also tastes great with wine sauces.
- Steelhead Trout: This trout is very close to salmon in flavor, but it’s slightly milder. The flesh is tender and flaky and typically a pale orange color. While it’s not the mildest trout on the list, it is definitely not overpoweringly “fishy” tasting.
- Acrtic Char: While arctic char has a nice fat content, it isn’t greasy like some other fish on this list. The flavor is closer to salmon, but still not quite as strong and the texture has been described as creamy with a darker colored flesh (pink to red). It’s truly a special fish!
- Lake Trout: The two strongest tasting trouts are Lake and Brown (we’ll discuss brown below). Lake trout can have a slightly greasy, fishy flavor, so it’s not the best one to choose if you’re looking for a mild taste.
- Brown Trout: Like Lake trout, Brown trout have a much stronger, fishier, fattier flavor than the milder trouts on this list. The fat content gives it a much stronger flavor and since they are larger trout, they tend to taste like whatever they have been eating, which can be strong.
How To Prepare Trout To Make It Less Fishy
When it comes to preparing trout to remove some of that fishy taste, there are really only a couple of types that need a lot of work beforehand.
Lake and Brown are both fishier and oilier types of trout that can use a little help to make them taste mild and delicious.
1. Try Soaking Lake And Brown Trout In Milk
Many chefs will actually recommend soaking these two types of fish (fillets- not the whole thing!) in milk overnight.
This soaking process draws out some fat and oil, which can help them taste milder. It also tenderizes the meat for a moist and flaky.
Just place your fillets in milk overnight in the fridge, then remove them from the milk and pat dry. Cook as directed in your recipe.
2. Make A Marinade
Another great way to balance out any fishy flavors of your trout is to make a delicious marinade.
Most trout will taste delicious with a marinade that combines some sort of wine or citrus with some sugar, salt, and maybe a couple of herbs and spices.
When it comes to fish, you don’t want to marinate them for too long or it can actually make the fish tough. For a soft trout filet, we don’t recommend marinating for longer than 30-60 minutes.
Remember to always discard any leftover marinade to prevent any contamination!
3. Make A Sauce
Another great way to balance out any fishy flavor in your trout is to make a nice sauce. We like to pour our sauce over the trout after it’s been cooked.
Sauces like beurre blanc or anything zesty and citrusy or sweet would taste amazing with trout.
4. Make Sure Your Trout Hasn’t Gone Bad
While this suggestion isn’t technically a tip on how to prepare it, it is important nonetheless.
The reason a fish like trout would taste really fishy or strong is because it has gone bad. That’s why you always want to buy fish from the market that doesn’t have any smell.
You can also buy frozen trout fillets and let them thaw in the fridge overnight before using them. Buying frozen fillets is our favorite way to make sure the fish is as fresh as possible, so there is no strong fishy odor or flavor.
How To Pan Fry The Perfect Trout Filet
One of the simplest ways to prepare trout is to pan fry it in lots of butter. This cooking method gives you a lot of control over the doneness of the fish and will let you crisp up the skin (which is often the best part!).
After you pan fry your trout, you can serve it with a delicious sauce, add it to risotto or other rice dishes, pop it in a taco or wrap, and serve it over or with a salad, or side veggies.
Follow these steps for the best pan-fried trout:
Ingredients
- 1 skin-on trout fillet
- salt
- 1 tablespoon of butter (have more handy)
Directions
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat.
- Pat your fillet dry with a paper towel and season the skin side of your trout with salt.
- Once the pan is hot, add the butter and let it melt.
- Place the trout fillet into the pan, skin side down, and press it into the butter with a spatula.
- You might want to til the frying pan to let the butter pool around the fillet. Let the trout cook for about 2 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and crispy and the flesh along the bottom of the trout starts to brown.
- Sprinkle the top of the trout fillet with more salt and flip it over flesh side down into the butter.
- Cook for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet and your doneness preference. Trout is great served medium rare!
- Remove your trout from the frying pan and place it flesh side down on a plate (skin up!) and let it rest a minute before enjoying.
What Are The Mildest Tasting Fish?
Typically, white fish will be the least fishy because they have such a low fat content. Some species that have the mildest flavors include:
- Cod
- Haddock
- Tilapia
- Mahi Mahi
- Halibut
Fish aficionados typically describe these species as mild and slightly sweet in taste. They go with virtually any flavor profile and are the perfect fish for people who think they don’t like seafood.
Pan-Fried Trout
This pan-fried trout is super rich, flavorful, and guaranteed to impress your dinner guests!
Ingredients
- 1 skin-on trout fillet
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon of butter
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat.
- Pat your fillet dry with a paper towel and season the skin side of your trout with salt.
- Once the pan is hot, add the butter and let it melt.
- Place the trout fillet into the pan, skin side down, and press it into the butter with a spatula.
- You might want to tilt the frying pan to let the butter pool around the fillet. Let the trout cook for about 2 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and crispy and the flesh along the bottom of the trout starts to brown.
- Sprinkle the top of the trout fillet with more salt and flip it over flesh side down into the butter.
- Cook for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet and your doneness preference. Trout is great served medium rare!
- Remove your trout from the frying pan and place it flesh side down on a plate (skin up!) and let it rest a minute before enjoying.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 447Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 159mgSodium: 76mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 39g
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