CAMPFIRE TROUT: Maybe it’s because we’re finally going to get out trout fishing this weekend, but a recipe we ran across sounded awfully good.

The recipe is for “grilled campfire trout” and is in a booklet that the Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation is offering on its website, www.paparksandforests.org, free for the downloading. The booklet includes recipes for which the ingredients can easily be put together in advance, then cooked over a campfire.

Presumably, you would do this in one of Pennsylvania’s many state parks or state forests, which the foundation has as its mission to promote and support.

The recipe we hope to try out calls for one or two trout per person, depending on size. (The recipe says that refers to the size of the fish, not the person, though we guess it could go either way.)

Other ingredients that you’d need to take along include olive oil, salt and pepper, whatever dried herbs or spices you prefer such as parsley, oregano, basil or red pepper, lemon juice (optional) and enough 12-inch square sheets of aluminum foil to accommodate the number of fish you plan to grill.

 The recipe says to get your campfire “going good” while you clean the trout, removing the innards and washing inside and out. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. 

Take a trout and place it in the middle of an aluminum foil square and sprinkle olive oil both on the inside and outside of the fish. Drizzle lemon juice inside and out, if desired, then season with salt and pepper and your choice of herbs and spices.

Tent the foil slightly above the fish and tightly seal the edges.  Don’t wrap the fish tightly. 

When your campfire has burned down to about four inches below whatever cooking surface you have over the fire, it’s time to cook the fish.

The recipe says to grill them for about five to seven minutes per side.

The name of the booklet, by the way, is “Happiness Over a Flame, Easy Recipes for the Trail, Camp or River.”

The booklet leaves the cook to his own devices on the best places to catch the trout. We’re not too proud, however, to take suggestions from our readers.