No. 1299

Trout, Fried-Small

Petites Truites Frites

Have some small two ounce trout, split open the bellies to empty, scrape lightly and wipe them on a cloth; season with salt, score and roll them in flour. Shape them into rings by passing the tails through the gills and tying; plunge a few at the time into hot frying fat, let cook for eight to ten minutes, then salt, remove the strings, and dress them on napkins with fried parsley on top, and slices of lemon around.

← No. 1298 Trout, Cooked in Court Bouillon and Served w Salmon & Trout No. 1300 Trout, Lausanne Style →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's tiny ring-shaped trout are a classic deep-fry presentation, but the timing in the original will overcook them badly. A two-ounce fish is done in a matter of minutes.

The frying time is the hingeEight to ten minutes will turn a two-ounce trout to dry fibre inside a burnt crust. At 350-375F a fish that size is cooked through in about 3 minutes; pull it when the crust is set and pale gold.
Fat and temperature"Hot frying fat" in this book means a deep kettle of rendered fat, lard or beef fat; Ranhofer gives no temperature. Modern deep-frying practice puts it at 350-375F, and any neutral high-smoke-point oil works; what matters is enough depth for the rings to float free and a thermometer to keep the temperature from crashing when you add fish.
Sourcing the fishTwo-ounce trout may fall below the minimum take size where wild-trout size limits apply; check local rules. Farmed brook or rainbow fingerlings are sold in some markets; failing that, whole smelt or small sardines take the same treatment, though only fish with intact gill openings can be shaped into rings.
Shaping the ringFixing a small fish into a ring is a familiar French fried-fish presentation, close to what is called en colere, though that name usually attaches to whiting with the tail set in the mouth rather than passed through the gills. Fine cotton butcher's twine works; a wooden pick through tail and jaw is easier.
ScoringTwo or three shallow diagonal cuts through the skin on each side, no deeper than the bone. They help the heat penetrate and stop the skin from contracting and buckling the ring.
Fried parsleyCurly parsley must be bone dry before it goes into the fat or it will spit violently. Drop it in for 10-15 seconds, until the sizzling stops and the leaves are crisp and still green, then lift out immediately.
"Dress them on napkins"A folded linen napkin on the platter was the period's way of absorbing fat and keeping fried food from steaming. A rack or paper towels does the same job; if you want the look, drain first, then transfer to the napkin.
SaltingThe instruction to salt after frying as well as before is deliberate. Salt the drained fish while it is still hot so it adheres to the crust.
YieldRanhofer gives none. Allow three to four fish per person as a first course, with lemon and nothing else.

A Little History

This is No. 1299 from Charles Ranhofer's The Epicurean (1894), the vast compendium of the cooking he oversaw for some thirty years at Delmonico's in New York. The trick of threading a small fish's tail through its gill to make a ring is old French practice, and a related treatment, whiting with its tail in its mouth, is often called en col u00e8re -- "in anger" -- the fish supposedly biting its own tail in a rage. Whitings were the usual subject; Ranhofer applies the same treatment to small trout, which arrived in quantity in eastern American markets in the late nineteenth century, a period in which commercial hatcheries were expanding. The fried parsley and the ring of lemon slices recur as the garnish for fritures in this book, and the fish is sent out on a napkin.