Recipes

Crispy-Skin Trout with Three Sisters Chow Chow

Photo by Rick Cortez

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yields

Serves 6

    For the chow chow:
  • 2½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seed
  • 1 tablespoon dill seed
  • 4 garlic cloves smashed
  • 1 jalapeño halved lengthwise
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 pound zucchini diced
  • 1 pound corn kernels
  • 1 cup cooked purple hull peas
  • For the trout:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 6 skin-on trout fillets
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
steps
  1. Make the chow chow: In a medium saucepan, simmer 3 cups water with salt and sugar until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. In a separate container with an airtight top, combine bay leaves, coriander, dill, garlic, and jalapeño. Combine onion, zucchini, corn, and peas and add to the container with spices. Cover with roomtemperature brine and seal airtight. Ferment at room temperature for 3 to 14 days. Refrigerate when the mixture stops bubbling to slow the fermentation.
  2. Make the trout: In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Thoroughly dry trout on both sides (to help reduce sticking) and season with salt and pepper. Place two fillets skin-side down and sear until crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes, depending on thickness. Flip and cook the other side for an additional minute. Keep warm while you cook remaining fillets in 2 batches. Serve fish with chow chow.
  • Recipe by Steve McHugh of Cured at Pearl in San Antonio, Texas

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