TroutVery Easy

Campfire Trout — the One-Skillet Woodshed Dinner

Prep: 5 minCook: 12 minServes: 1-2

This is the recipe every angler needs in their back pocket. You caught trout from a mountain stream, you've got a fire going, and you're hungry. One pan, a few pantry ingredients, and dinner is ready before the fire burns down. No fancy technique — just honest camp cooking.

Ingredients

2 whole trout, cleaned and scaled (or fillets)
2 tbsp butter or bacon fat
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
Fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, or dill (whatever you found or brought)
Optional: 2 slices bacon, chopped

Instructions

1
Build a good campfire and let it burn down to hot coals. Place a grate or cast-iron skillet over the coals.
2
If using bacon, render it in the pan first until crispy. Remove bacon, leave the fat.
3
Season trout inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with lemon slices and herbs.
4
Add butter (or use the bacon fat) to the hot pan. Place trout in the pan.
5
Cook 4-6 minutes per side, depending on size. The skin should be crispy and golden.
6
Add sliced garlic in the last minute — it burns fast. Spoon butter over the fish.
7
Test doneness: the meat should flake easily near the backbone.
8
Eat straight from the pan with your hands. This is how trout was meant to be eaten.

💡

Pro Tip

Catch-and-cook doesn't get better than this. If you're backpacking light, wrap the seasoned trout in foil with butter, lemon, and herbs, and bury it in the coals for 15 minutes — 'en papillote' style, no pan needed. Rainbow, brown, or brook trout all work perfectly.

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