Grilled trout

I haven't grilled trout for a couple of years, for no particular reason.
It's one of the tastiest fishes out there, is very pleasant to look at, raw or cooked, is widely available, doesn't cost anything, and is easy to grill. It's even easy to eat when served whole (as compared to other fish).

The only reason I can give for not cooking trout for so long is that most of my dinner guests don't want any farmed fish, and they don't go into the details. Farmed fish is bad, period. They don't want to know that trout farming doesn't really harm the environment, and that the farmed trout are pretty happy fish, and they taste almost as good as wild, if not better.

Anyway, this weekend I wanted to grill fish, and everything in the local store, wild or farmed, looked stale, except the trout. And the trout looked wonderful. And I had R. as my only guest, and he would eat anything I cook, even if it's farmed. So this is how I did it:


Wash and towel-dry two store-bought dressed trouts. Season with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper inside and out. Pick 4 sprigs of rosemary, wash and towel-dry them. Slice 1 lemon.
Place a few lemon slices and a sprig of rosemary inside the fish, and a lemon slice and a rosemary sprig outside. Tie with kitchen twine. Brush with olive oil.

Preheat the gas grill to 400 degrees.

Grill ove indirect heat 7 minutes per side, turning once.


Serve with sharp scissors to cut the thread, a heirloom tomato salad, a bowl for thread and bones, and a mojito (or a glass of California Sauvignon Blanc).