I tried my hand at rainbow trout fly fishing this past weekend. I would not call it a success in the sense that I did not catch an actual fish, but I would not call it a failure for a handful of other reasons. Besides the fly fishing, I also got to dine on this Basil, Fennel, and Rosemary Grilled Trout.
“Things fishermen know about trout aren’t facts, but articles of faith.” ~ John Gierach
First, no one actually showed me how to cast. Our little group of four piled out of the car in the late afternoon, everyone who had waders (which did not include me) pulled them on, tied on their flies, and took off in different directions.
Someone had tied a fly on my rod, but I can’t tell you if it was a dry or wet fly. I can’t even actually tell you the difference of a dry or wet fly. Two of the group headed downstream and one headed upstream. I stayed by the car. Turns out wading the stream in Chaco sandals is not easy.
I spent about an hour flipping my pole back and forth, in what I decided was a ten-to-two motion, which by the way is the only fly fishing term I actually know. I don’t know that term from an experienced point of view, but rather I know it from hearing it in movies. Basically all my fly fishing knowledge stems from reading A River Runs Through It and watching a few movies.
After an hour or so of whipping my fly around in the air and trying to not create giant knots, a member of our group stopped by to share some advice. They showed me a quick roll cast and explained I should try to gently land the fly in to the stream and then let my fly follow the weaving current downstream a bit before pulling my line back up and starting again.
I practiced my roll cast for another hour before deciding I was fly fished out for the afternoon. But as I said before, the day was not a complete failure for me. I never popped my fly off my line. I didn’t fall in the mud. While I got stuck under a few rocks, I never had to take the walk of shame to pull my fly out of a tree top. I had a magnificent time just spending some time with my feet in the cool stream and mountain air filling my lungs. And the rest of my group did catch fish, so I got to experience this delicious basil, fennel, and rosemary grilled rainbow trout recipe!
The Anchovy Butter
I think what really makes this dish is the anchovy butter. It seemed odd to add fish to fish, but in the end the dish would not have worked without the anchovies. I used the anchovy filets packed in oil that come in the little tins.
Set out a stick of unsalted butter to soften to room temperature. You want to make sure to use unsalted butter because the anchovies are very, very salty. Using a fork, mash up the butter a bit, add in three anchovy filets, and continue breaking up the fish into the butter with the fork.
Once you have broken the filets up and evenly mixed them into the butter, place the mixture in the fridge to harden back up a bit. And there you have it: Fancy Anchovy Butter. I think this butter would be amazing on salmon or even steak. In fact, as I am typing this I am realizing I need to make a steak with this butter right now!
The Herbs
One of my favorite reasons for working with fish is you can dress up a dish with the simple addition of just herbs. Many meals are drenched in sauces or gravies, require lots of seasonings or additional fats, or have many ingredients. Don’t get me wrong, I love all those dishes too! But sometimes it is refreshing to create a very simple meal with very few ingredients and have something that begins and ends with simple flavors.
Something where you can actually taste the delicate deliciousness of the meat. This basil, fennel and rosemary grilled trout recipe is very much one of those dishes.
For this meal, I used fresh basil, fennel tops, and rosemary. I did not mince the herbs, and instead created a foil packet for grilling the fish. Cut a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap the entire fish. Lay down a few pieces of the fennel tops and a couple sprigs of rosemary. Rip the basil leaves up a bit, this helps release their flavor, and place them on top of the other greens.
To the herb pile, add the fish. I left my fish whole but with the skin removed. I also stuffed a few more twigs of rosemary inside the fish. Slather on a generous spoonful of the anchovy butter to the top of the fish.
Cooking the Grilled Rainbow Trout
Wrap the foil around the fish bundle, creating a little packet. Make sure that the foil is sealed really well and there aren’t gaps for steam to escape. I find folding the foil rather than crumpling it helps to create really good seals.
Put the packets directly on the preheated grill and allow to cook for fifteen minutes. The packets will puff up, which is a great indicator that the fish is done cooking.
Once finished grilling, rip open those packets, take in a deep breath and enjoy all those beautiful aromas put off by the grilled fennel, rosemary, and basil, and plate your fish up to enjoy a delicately simple, but flavorful, dinner.
It is amazing how much flavor the herbs add to the fish through just steaming in the foil packets. The anchovies also create a great salty addition to the fish. As I said in the beginning, I found adding fish to fish kind of an odd concept, but this dish has changed my mind. I will be adding anchovies to many more dishes.
I hope you enjoy this basil, fennel and rosemary grilled trout recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!