How to Cook Sea Trout

How to Cook Sea Trout
Written By
Michelle Kerns
Michelle Kerns
Published: May 23, 2011
Updated: Jan 10, 2019
2 minute read
...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Sea trout is also known as weakfish and spotted or speckled seatrout. Found primarily in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, sea trout is a small, white-fleshed fish that has thick, mild-flavored fillets similar in texture to red snapper or pollock. In the South, sea trout is traditionally served battered or breaded and deep-fried. For less fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, choose a preparation method such as broiling, poaching or steaming. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, sea trout may contain high levels of mercury and should be eaten only occasionally by certain people.

Broiling

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Preheat the broiler. Position the oven rack so that it is about 4 inches from the heating element.

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Brush a broiler pan or baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Place the sea trout fillets on the pan. Brush each fillet with oil and season them with salt, pepper and other seasonings, if desired.

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Broil the fish approximately eight to 10 minutes for sea trout fillets that are approximately 1 inch thick.

Poaching

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Saute minced garlic in olive or vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add about 1 cup of liquid, choosing from broth, water, wine, soy sauce or a combination.

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Bring the mixture to a boil. Add your choice of seasonings.

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Place the sea trout fillets into the liquid, put the pot's lid in place and turn the heat down to medium. Poach the fish for about eight minutes.

Advertisement

Steaming

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Fill a large saucepan with approximately 1 inch of water. Put a steamer basket or insert into the pan.

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Bring the water to a boil. Put the sea trout fillets on the steamer insert and cover the pan.

...
Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Allow the fish to steam, planning on eight minutes for fillets that are 1 inch thick.

Tips

Use a thin-bladed knife to check the doneness of sea trout fillets, advises cookbook author Mark Bittman. The fish is done when the blade slides easily into the thickest part of the fillet. In addition, the inside of the fillet should appear white with only a small amount of translucence.

Freshly caught sea trout may be infested with small worms, often called spaghetti worms, which are the larvae of a species of tapeworm. Texas Parks and Wildlife assures that these worms cannot survive in humans and won't cause illness, though you may want to remove the worms before cooking and eating the fish.

Warnings

Young children and women who are nursing, pregnant or planning to become pregnant should limit themselves to six or fewer servings of fish such as sea trout per month to keep their mercury intake low. Other moderate-mercury fish include bass, snapper, mahi mahi, halibut and cod.

Photo Credits

Alex Kemp/Demand Media

Michelle Kerns

Michelle Kerns writes for a variety of print and online publications and specializes in literature and science topics. She has served as a book columnist since 2008 and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Kerns studied English…

Sponsored
Our Everyday Life Logo

Explore our everyday life, the best source for food and drink tips, health and general wellness, healthy relationships and much more.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.