Happy Oktoberfest, friends! To celebrate the occasion, I teamed up with the good people at Craft Beering as well as eight other fabulous bloggers to bring you a collection of amazing Oktoberfest recipes, which you can find below. Every recipe looks amazing, and I can’t wait to make my way through the list over the next couple weeks. For my recipe, I put together a traditional German pan-fried trout with a side of butter-beer sauce, and I hope it gets you into the Oktoberfest spirit.
How to Make German Pan-Fried Trout
Let’s start cooking. If cooking a whole fish looks intimidating, I get it. I used to feel that way until I decided it was time to get over it and learn. And you know what? Cooking a whole fish is so simple that I’m almost embarrassed this used to intimidate me.
As it turns out, King Soopers, which is part of the Kroger chain and my local store, sells trout gutted, scaled and cleaned. If you shop at a store from the Kroger brand, I suspect it would also offer whole trout ready for cooking. Even if it doesn’t, you can ask the person at the seafood counter to gut the fish and prepare it for cooking. The idea of gutting a fish makes me squeamish, so I’m happy to skip this step.
Now that you have trout ready for cooking, simply dredge it flour, salt and pepper and fry it in oil for about five minutes per side. I love using a cast iron skillet for this and find it gives the trout the perfect crust.
While the fish cooks, go ahead and make the butter-beer sauce. Melt the butter in a sauce pan and give it a whisk once it starts to melt. After the butter melts, stir in some freshly grated garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds. Then, add the beer, lemon juice and a pinch of salt if needed.
By the time your butter-beer sauce is ready, your trout should be done. Garnish the trout with chopped parsley and lemon. You can dunk each bite into the butter-beer sauce or spoon it all over the trout.
Perfect Pairing for German Pan-Fried Trout
For this pan-fried trout, you need a weissbier, which is a German-style wheat beer. After all, what kind of Oktoberfest celebration would it be without a good German-style beer? Weissbier is one of those beers that pairs nicely with so many foods, and I especially love it with this trout. Wiessbier’s body is light enough that it doesn’t overpower the trout with plenty of lively carbonation to refresh the palate after a buttery bite.
While Oktoberfest is known for beer, a dry German riesling is also delicious with this pan-fried trout. Germany is known for its white wines as its cool climate makes it a better environment for white grape varietals. Typically, Germany rieslings make people think of a sweet wine, but German winemakers also produce plenty of dry rieslings. These dry rieslings are citrusy with high levels of acidity to help cut through the butter sauce and brighten the fish.
Along with this German pan-fried trout, I hope you try these other delicious recipes to celebrate Oktoberfest and enter the contest to win a case of Prost Brewing Märzen.
- Aromatic Currywurst made by Marvellina from What to Cook Today
- Hot Cheese Dip with Onions and Gruyere made by Julie from Cooks with Cocktails
- Bratkartoffeln (German-Style Pan Fried Potatoes with Bacon) made by Annie from Ciao Chow Bambina
- Bratwurst Burger made by Brittany from Beyond the Bayou
- Schnitzel Platter made by Milena from Craft Beering
- Cinnamon Streusel Muffins with Hefeweizen Drizzle made by Kelly from Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats
- Gebrannte Mandeln (Roasted Candied Almonds) made by Dawn from Dawn the Gourmand
- Danube Waves Cake made by Kelsie from The Itsy Bitsy Kitchen
- Bavarian Cream Donuts made by Camila from Pies and Tacos
Please let me know how you enjoyed this recipe in the comment section and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter.
Prost!
Love Cooking With Beer? Try These Beer-Infused Recipes From Burrata and Bubbles.

German Pan-Fried Trout
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This crispy traditional German pan-fried trout with a butter-beer sauce is easy and quick to prepare — perfect for an Oktoberfest celebration.
Ingredients
For German Pan-Fried Trout
4 whole trout, gutted and prepared for cooking
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 lemons, divided
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
For Butter-Beer Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1–2 tablespoons beer, preferably a wiessbier or something similar
1/2 lemon, juiced
Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Rinse the inside of the trout and pat dry.
- Mix together the flour, salt and pepper and spread on a large plate. Dredge both sides of each trout. Cut four lemons into slices and tuck the slices into the fish.
- Heat the canola oil over medium-high in a large skillet until it shimmers. Carefully place two trout in the skillet and cook for about five minutes on one side. Flip the trout and cook for another five minutes on the other side. When the first two trout finish cooking, either keep warm in a 200-degree oven or cover with tinfoil. Repeat with the remaining trout. If necessary, you can add more oil to the skillet.
- While the second fish cook, melt the butter. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in the beer, lemon juice and salt. Start with 1 tablespoon of beer and if you want a stronger beer flavor, add another tablespoon.
- Garnish the trout with fresh parsley and sprinkle the juice of the remaining lemon over the fish. Serve with a side of butter-beer sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: German
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 filet
- Calories: 245
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 1,870
- Fat: 20
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 8
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 7
- Cholesterol: 16
Keywords: German food, trout, pan fried fish, fish, beer sauce, cooking with beer
I love this dish Amanda! I am a huge fan of fried whole fish, love trout and the lemony garlicky beer butter sauce is absolutely complimentary… I know what we are having for dinner this weekend:) The photos look gorgeous! Prost to fine German beer and food!
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Thank you! It really is such a fun way to eat fish. Super excited to start the festivities with all these delicious recipes!
Totally perfect for Oktoberfest! Your pictures are mouth watering 🙂 PINNING!!
Thank you! It’s such a fun way to celebrate. With a beer, of course. 😀
I love a whole-fish recipe. Perhaps because I grew up eating lots of whole fishes because that’s how they are usually prepared in Asia. This German pan-fried trout looks delectable! and that beer sauce…!!
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Thank you! You’re so lucky. I didn’t grow up eating whole fish, but after I figured out how to make it, I was hooked. So many lost years of no whole fish. 😀
Ive never cooked a fish like this, but I will have to try. I love how its all crispy. For me thats the only way!
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oh my goodness your pictures are so perfect!! absolutely love the recipe! Pinning for later!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it. Prost!
Wow! How perfect would this be with my bratkartoffeln!!! This is a perfect entree for Oktoberfest!! Prost!
Totally! I wish I would’ve had your amazing potato recipe when I made this. 😀
I love Prost and I agreed that it would go really well with this fish, perfect pairing!
Totally — thank you!
We have only cooked a whole fish a few times. It does make for an interesting presentation (except for the eyes…they always freak me out). I do not like to drink beer, but I do like cooking with it. Looks like a great and fun dinner for the weekend.
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LOL, I totally get that. The flour coating definitely helped.
These pictures have me hungry for German food and beer. The butter-beer sauce looks so tasty! Can’t wait to give this a try.
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Thanks! Hope you enjoy.
Whou would have thought that fish and beer would go so well together! 🙂 My favorite snack when I am out is fish’n’chips. And even though this is a completely different type of the meal I am sure I will love this recipe a lot!
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I think so! Hope you give it a try. 😊
I really love trout and it’s been a long while since I’ve eaten it. This way looks fantastic! That sauce sounds absolutely delicious. I’m used to seeing trout prepared similarly to catfish wuth cornmeal in the coating, but I want to try it this way as soon as I can. Lovely photos too! 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks! Hope you get a chance to try it and enjoy.
It’s great to see that whole fish is becoming more common in US grocery stores! I used to be squeamish with fish that’s been filleted because the meat of the fish is exposed to elements. Maybe because I’m from the Philippines where fish is sold and cooked whole. This German Pan Fried Trout looks so good. We live close to a Kroger so I’ll keep my eye out for whole trout. I must try that butter beer sauce!
That’s a good point, and I never thought of it that way. Hope you enjoy it!
Looks so perfect! Must try. Love trout. Prost!
Thanks, Dawn! 😀
Fish and butter beer sauce… you’ve already won me over! I’ll have to pick up some trout next time I am at the market.
Yay! I hope you do and enjoy.
Gorgeous photos! And I think that garlic butter beer sauce sounds absolutely delicious. This looks perfect for Oktoberfest.
Thank you! I think so. I always love a good Oktoberfest celebration. Prost!
This look so good!! Such a well written post! Trying this super soon.
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy.
What an amazing dish ! This recipe has so much flavor. Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome! Glad you like it. 😀
We love trout, but I don’t make it very often. Your photos are amazing, and make my mouth water! I can’t wait to make this recipe, it’s going to be so much fun!
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy it. 😀
I love whole fish. I actually had it over the weekend. but I didn’t make it. It was something we ordered at a restaurant. Anyway, the butter beer sauce sounds amazing! I love a good fish recipe. Bookmarked!
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It’s so good, right? Hope you love it!
I grew up eating fresh trout, and it is delicious, pan-fried is my favorite way to cook it and then to pair this dish with beer is perfect, I am in! German beer is one of my favorites, I say “prost”
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This looks like a great way to prepare fish! I bet even my hubby who’s a little picky would love this!
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Thanks! I hope you both enjoy.
I love fish and always say I have to eat it more often – after all it’s brain food right! This is my kind of dinner!
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That’s a good point on the brain food. 😀