Cut open the fish with a sharp knife. Try to cut in a straight line up along the underbelly.^[7]

• Lay the trout flat on a cutting board or other flat surface. Hold the fish down on the cutting board with your left hand.

• Try to cut one clean line through the bottom of the fish. Don’t cut into the guts.

Remove the internal organs. Reach into the body cavity to remove the intestines, heart, and other organs. ^[8]

• Scrape out the organs with a spoon or pull the organs out with your hand. Put your spoon or hand through the cut open fish.

• Try not to let any organs break open as this can spread disease. Throw the organs away when you are done.

Remove the spine. Identify the spine as a blood red line that goes from head to tail on the uppermost part of the fish. ^[9]

• Scrape out the spine with your thumb or a spoon. Scrape from the tail to the gills.

• Take this opportunity to remove any guts that remain. Make sure to wash out all organs and blood. Scrape any organs out that you can’t wash away.

Get your trout ready for cooking. Freeze the trout if you’re not going to cook it right away.^[10]

• Make sure all of the guts are gone before you freeze or cook the trout. Rinse the fish in clean water before cooking or freezing.

• Check to make sure that waters where you fish are free of contaminants. Don’t eat the fish if you’re unsure.

Consider stuffing your trout.

Stuffing your trout will increase the cook time by 10 minutes per inch of thickness. You can use a boxed stuffing mix from the store or create a stuffing recipe of your own using rice or vegetables and seasonings. Simply spoon some stuffing into the center of a fillet and fold the fish to conceal the stuffing.^[4]

Pan fry the trout. Cover both sides of the fillets with flour. Pick each fillet up and gently shake it to remove any extra flour. Season with salt and pepper. You can also try seasonings like dill or lemon. Carefully slip the fillets into a hot frying pan prepared with a shallow depth of olive oil.^[6]

Cook trout over a fire or on a grill.^[5] Lay out a piece of aluminum foil that is larger than your fillets. Put 1 tablespoon (14.8 ml). of butter on the foil. Place your trout on top of the butter. If the skin is still intact, lay the fish with the skin side down. Sprinkle the trout with salt and pepper. Draw up opposite sides of the foil. Press the sides together and fold them down a few turns, creating a seal along the top. Fold the ends of the foil upward. You have created a food-filled pouch to sit on top your prepared fire.

Broil your trout.^[7] Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Season your fillets and set them on the pan. Put the pan into an oven preheated to 400 degrees. You will not need to flip the fish during cooking.