Unlike other fish, trout does not necessarily have to be scaled; its scales melt during cooking and add a unique flavour.

Trout does have a tendency to dry out quickly, so the cooking time should be kept to a minimum; add some fat to the pan or steam it;

Skillet-cooking
Sear the fish on its skin on one side using a few drops of oil;

Barbecue
to cook a whole fish on the barbecue, you can add some fat to the inside of the fish: in the old days they used a piece of pork fat, but the taste is not refined enough.

Jean-Paul Jeunet adds a little knob of butter to the inside and protects the flesh by wrapping it in a piece of caul fat before searing it in a skillet.

Pierre Wynants cooks his trout in a 200° C (400° F) oven for five minutes in a foil-covered dish with vegetables and a little liquid - white wine diluted with water - and a sprig of thyme.

Portugal
Fishermen tuck a branch of juniper with leaves attached into the cleaned trout and grill it over a wood fire on the beach. Shortly before the end of the cooking time, they throw a few eucalyptus leaves dipped in sea water onto the coals which give off a great deal of smoke and impart a distinctive flavour to the trout.