Miso Pecan Baked Trout is a variation on a classic dish. Baked fish marinated in Miso is a Japanese favorite. In many traditional and modern restaurants chefs prepare this dish with sablefish and salmon. Due to it’s very rich, creamy, and powerful flavor profiles it can take on a substantially strong fish. It works best with steak-like flavors and textures of seafood. Some examples are salmon, chilean seabass, mackerel, marlin, and swordfish. It is both velvety smooth and rich at the same time due to it’s balance.
What are the key ingredients for Miso Pecan Baked Trout?
Beside the trout, you really don’t need much! It’s also SUPER easy to make. The result it is a high end restaurant style dish with little effort.
- The fish. Trout works well here since it is light but can handle a lot of buttery flavor. You can easily substitute with any of the fishes above, such as salmon.
- White miso. We are actually going for a butterscotch theme here. A lot of chefs refer to this style of sauce as butterscotch. Raw miso on it’s own has distinct aromas of butterscotch, and we will enhance those with the process.
- Brown sugar. This sounds crazy, but miso is often used in conjunction with sugar to balance its saltiness. It also works well with trout as it is often a vehicle for sweeter sauces with chefs.
- Sake. The cooking wine proves depth. If you don’t have sake you can substitute with mirin (another cooking wine), soju, or white wine. If using white wine, make sure to get a delicate, steel tank varietal and stay away from stronger oaks such as chardonnay.
- Cream and butter. These help to “calm and tame” the pungency of miso. They round out the butterscotch effect. They also work as a binding agent and keep the sauce velvety.
- Pecans. Substitutes may work such as cashews or hazelnuts.
What are some good side items to serve with Miso Pecan Baked Trout?
This dish makes a wonderful pan sauce that you won’t want to let go to waste! It is best served with something that can soak up some of the creamy goodness. If you are looking for vegetables and starches, here are some great accompaniments!
- Chefs tend to like greener vegetables here. Especially if finished with some lemon to balance the butter effect. Think of asparagus, broccolini, spinach. Green beans and sno peas, and English peas are other great options.
- Starches that may work are mashed potatoes, oddly enough. Or try simple plain steamed rice. Daintier noodles such as rice noodles, or somen noodles work well.
- Lighter grains and pastas such as orzo, pearled cous cous, quinoa, and barley.
- Other soupy starches such as congee or grits can also work, just be careful with the amount of fat those contain as they may clash with too much going on when combined.
MIso Pecan Baked Trout
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Trout or salmon, or fish of choice
- 3 ounces White miso
- 2 tbsp Brown sugar
- 3 ounces Sake or similar cooking wine
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Peccans broken into pieces
- 3 ounces Heavy cream
- 2 tbsp Scallion chopped
Instructions
- Prep the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small sauce pan, bring the sake to a boil. Allow to flame if it wants to and allow some alcohol to burn off. Then add the brown sugar and allow to dissolve.
- Add the cream and bring back to a simmer, then add the miso and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the butter until incorporated.
- Spray the baking dish and lay the filets skin side down. Pour the sauce while still hot over the fish. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until lightly caramelized.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with the toasted chopped pecans and chopped scallion.
