The word "meunière" is a reference to the miller of wheat, whose wife (acccording to French lore) cooked everything coated with flour. The original French style of trout meunière, then, was seasoned and floured, sautéd in butter, and then topped with the browned butter from the pan. This is still more or less how the dish is done in some restaurants—notably Galatoire's.
There is a New Orleans twist on this, however, and I think it's better than the French classic. It was invented by "Count" Arnaud, who, while trying to standardize and stabilize the sauce so the fish could be fried instead of sautéd, added a bit of stock and roux to the butter and lemon. At its best, this sauce is incredibly good and works not just on trout but also on other fried seafood, notably oysters.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
1. Combine the flour, Creole seasoning, and salt in a wide bowl. Rinse the trout fillets and pat dry. Dredge the fish in the seasoned flour and knock off the excess.
Step 2
2. Make a medium-brown roux by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, add the remaining seasoned flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns a medium brown.
Step 3
3. Put the stock into another saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk the roux into the stock until dissolved. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar, and simmer for 3 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Keep the sauce warm while you prepare the fish.
Step 4
4. You can sauté the fish in butter if you like, but it's more common in New Orleans to fry it in abut an inch of oil heated to 375 degrees. Either way, cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).
Step 5
5. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve with lemon wedges.
