| 2 filets of trout, not too thick | 1/2 lb. slab (or thick cut) bacon |
| 2 shallots, chopped finely | Worcestershire Sauce (a Tbl or three) |
| Tabasco Sauce (1/2 - 1 tsp) | about 1/4 nutmeg, grated |
| lemon juice (a Tbl or three) | parsley, chopped |
| sour cream | chives |
| spices (salt, pepper, cayenne) |
Chop a reasonable amount of chives, and mix into sour cream. Set aside in the fridge.
Cut bacon up into moderate-sized pieces: 1/2" on a side if slab bacon, or 1" slices if thick cut. Saute until mostly done, but not yet crisp. Drain, but reserve a little fat if possible.
Shake a pinch of each spice onto each side of the trout. Don't be afraid of the spices, but don't shake on too liberally either.
Heat a skillet good and hot. Add enough oil to cover the bottom. Put in the fish, skin side down; be careful not to splash yourself with the hot oil. Sear until brown, lifting once or twice to keep from burning if necessary. When brown on bottom, it should be mostly cooked; flip and cook on top until fully done. Remove from heat.
While the trout is cooking, put the bacon back on the heat; add a dash of bacon fat or oil, and add the shallots and nutmeg. Saute until shallots are ready. Add Worcestershire, Tabasco, lemon, and cook a minute or two to reduce slightly. Add parsley.
Serve immediately, spreading the bacon sauce over the trout. Serve with chive sour cream to garnish to suit.
The ingredients are all wildly imprecise, because this was prepared strictly on the "some of this, some of that" basis; use what looks like a sensible amount. This is probably excessive in the bacon department, but we both adore bacon. Original calls for slab bacon, but that's hard to find. Thick cut works reasonably well.
No, there isn't any vinegar in it. Hey, that's what it was called on the show. The lemon juice provides the very slightest sour edge, to cut the Worcestershire.
Original also calls for oysters, dipped in buttermilk, dredged in walnut flour, and deep fried; these are mixed into the sauce at the very end. I decided that the walnut flour was too much hassle, and omitted the oysters. We served it with steamed Japanese Shumai, which happened to be convenient and which proved to go extremely well.