Cornmeal-Crusted Trout Fillets with Creamed Corn & Tomato Relish

Ready-to-use boneless fillets cook in minutes, making them the quickest and easiest way to enjoy freshwater trout. A dusting of seasoned cornmeal adds crunch and flavor, and a quick turn in a hot skillet keeps them lighter than fried fish. Be sure to use finely ground cornmeal. Coarse meal makes great cornbread, but it won’t lose its grittiness and turn tender in the short time it takes for the trout to cook through.

I love to pair the trout with this amazing creamed corn, but you can serve the trout separately, such as in fish tacos. And, for that matter, you can serve the corn as a wonderful side dish in many meals. When serving them together, I like to tumble on a quick relish of herbed cherry tomatoes, for color and a final burst of fresh flavor.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

For the creamed corn:

• 4 ears very fresh sweet corn, freshly shucked 2 tablespoons butter
  2 tablespoons instant flour (such as Wondra) or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed
• Ground black pepper, to taste

For the relish:

• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (such as parsley, basil, and/or chives)
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

For the trout: 

• 4 boneless, skin-on freshwater trout fillets, such as rainbow or brown (about 6 ounces each)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1/4 cup instant flour (such as Wondra) or all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay or paprika
• 4 tablesppons butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or as needed
• Garnish with lemon wedges

Directions

For the creamed corn:

Cut the top half of the kernels off the cobs into a large bowl. Use the back of the knife or a spoon to scrape the remaining kernels and every drop of the milky liquid into the bowl.

Warm the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it foams. Whisk in the flour and cook until smooth. Whisk in the cream. Stir in the corn, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup milk. Simmer until the corn is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add a splash more milk if the mixture turns dry before the corn is tender. When done, each kernel should be coated in thick sauce, similar to risotto. Season with pepper and taste for salt. Keep warm over very low heat. If it gets too thick before serving, stir in a little more milk.

For the relish:

Toss together the tomatoes and herbs in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until needed.

For the trout: 

Place the fillets in a shallow dish and submerge in milk. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Stir together the cornmeal, flour, and Old Bay on a plate.

Remove the fillets from the milk and let excess drip off. Discard the milk. Season the trout on both sides with salt and pepper and then lightly coat them in the cornmeal mixture.

Add half the butter to a large skillet along with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Warm over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the fillets skin-side up to the pan. (Unless your skillet is huge, you’ll likely have to cook 2 at a time, adding more oil and butter, as needed.)

Let cook undisturbed for 3 minutes. Carefully flip the fillets (a slotted fish spatula really helps), reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking until the cornmeal is golden brown and the fish is cooked through, about 2 minutes more. (When cooking multiple fillets in batches, you can transfer the cooked fillets on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven to keep warm until all of them are ready to serve.)

To serve, spoon the warm corn onto serving plates. Top with warm fillets. Garnish with the Tomato Relish and lemon wedges, and serve at once.

Sheri Castle, award-winning food writer and cooking teacher, is known for melding culinary expertise, storytelling and humor, so she can tell a tale while making a memorable meal. Her creative, well-crafted recipes and practical advice inspire people to cook with confidence and enthusiasm. She's written a tall stack of cookbooks and her work appears in dozens of magazines. In 2019, the Southern Foodways Alliance named Sheri among Twenty Living Legends of Southern Food, calling her The Storyteller.

Sheri says that she's fueled by great ingredients and the endless pursuit of intriguing stories, usually about the role that food plays in our lives, families, communities and culture.

When she steps away from the kitchen or a local farm, Sheri enjoys spending quiet time at her home near Chapel Hill. She hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.