Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Start with a
fillet from a 6-8 pound or bigger trout. Place the fillet, skin side down.
With your filet knife, carefully slice down to the skin on both sides
of the pin bones. Do not slice through the skin, but remove the entire
row of bones, creating a lengthwise pocket in the fillet. Continue the
pocket to within an inch or so of the tail end. Place in buttered shallow
baking dish or cookie sheet with sides.
Remove all crabmeat from shells and combine with breadcrumbs, mayonnaise,
and Old Bay, do not add additional salt. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
You can adjust the amount of crabmeat and shrimp to the size of fillet
you have. Don't use too much mayonnaise or bread crumbs, these are only
binders.
Make a row of shrimp along the fillet by placing the tail ends into the
pocket and draping the body of the shrimp along the thin side of the fillet
with the head end of the shrimp pointing toward the fillet's thick (front)
end. Carefully stuff the pocket with all of the crabmeat mixture, mounding
any extra on top. This will anchor the tails of the shrimp into the fillet.
Make a second row of shrimp by placing one between each shrimp in the
first row. Tuck the middle of the shrimp in the first row.
Sprinkle the entire creation with Old Bay and fresh ground pepper, then
drizzle 2 to 4 tablespoons of butter over the top. This is very important
to keep the moisture inside of the fish. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately
30 minutes. Do not overcook.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh lemon and serve immediately.
Cut the fish into serving portions, slipping the spatula between fish
and skin to serve.
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