The Common Grilling Mistake That Causes Trout To Stick Every Time

There's something uniquely nerve-wracking about sliding a whole trout onto a hot grill. It's a high-stakes culinary gamble where everything has to go perfectly. You need crispy skin that doesn't char. You need tender flesh that hasn't dried out. And you need the entire fish to come off the grill without falling apart. The good news? This is not impossible.

There's actually a straightforward checklist to nail the perfect grilled trout, and it starts with avoiding this very common mistake: slapping frozen or cold fish straight onto hot grates. The one thing that helps your fish come off the grate easily is the protective layer that forms when the skin sears. Letting your trout reach room temperature before it hits the grill ensures it starts searing immediately upon contact, forming a protective crust. This is also why you want to make sure your grill is nice and hot before you slide the fish on (around 400 degrees Fahrenheit). High heat ultimately creates an immediate sear and forms a natural barrier between the fish and the grates.

There is one other reason you absolutely should not be grilling frozen seafood — you risk cooking the outside of the fish while leaving the center stubbornly raw. This uneven cooking happens because the frozen interior prevents heat from penetrating evenly throughout the fish. So, while the surface chars and potentially burns, the core remains cold and uncooked, creating an unappetizing texture. This is an essential tip for grilling any meat, not just fish. The closer you bring your raw meat to room temperature, the more evenly it will cook, allowing heat to distribute uniformly.

Here are two ways you can thaw your fish, depending on how much time you have. You can either move your trout from the freezer to the refrigerator and leave it to thaw overnight, or you can keep it submerged in lukewarm water for an hour or so. Either way, make sure you pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels before seasoning it and transferring it to your grill. Do make sure your grill is thoroughly clean. If you don't have a stainless steel brush handy, two basic kitchen ingredients — salt and vinegar — can get the job done.

The last thing you need is patience. It's important not to turn your fish too soon (this is equally true about grilling any meat). Moving the fish, or any piece of meat for that matter, before it's fully cooked breaks that protective sear and exposes the delicate flesh to the grates.