Smoked Trout

[maodiver]

Just thought I would pass along my first experience with smoking trout.

It's as good as smoked salmon...at least if you use Eagle Lake Rainbows in the 18-20 inch range. Meat looks like salmon, too.

First time ever smoking fish (light the tail, smoke the mouth ) and it came out durned good. Happy with this one.

Mike

[Lotech]

I had some just yesterday. Darned good eatin'.

[TB Wannabe]

What's your brine recipe? I use about equal parts brown sugar, salt and Rooster sauce. Brine for four or five hours, let the filets dry a bit and then smoke. I use apple and alder mostly.

[Mike Thomas]

Nice glad you enjoyed it.
I use equal parts brown sugar and salt, and some dill, a few knobs of butter and a pinch of pepper, Yum! Any fruit wood is good as is Oak, Tea Tree etc. Some dried herbs in the wood chips can add a bit of flavor as well.
I only keep fish from areas that I know do not produce trout with a muddy taste, Don't like that at all.
All the best.
Mike

[JohnScott]

... is another possibility.

About a dozen years ago, a friend took me fishing on Cummings Lake just south of Ely NV. Similar size rainbow trout on a diet of scuds so the fishies had flesh that was a salmon pink. Excellent eating.

While I still had a good number in the freezer, I decided to try dehydrating them. Thawed them, baked them for about 45 minutes at 350F, and then put them in a food dehydrator set on high ( around 140F as I recall ) for something like 12 hours. Kind of a rainbow jerky, but without any seasoning so it was more like concentrated salmon flavor rather than smoked salmon or trout jerky.

The dehydrated trouts were a major source of nutrition during a five day, four night backpack to .... where else .... Rainbow Bridge National Monument. A quart bottle full of the dehydrated trout lasted all five days with no spoilage, with enough left over for a celebratory snack for all seven people on the backpack.

John

[Kaboom1]

I like to smoke trout...IF I can find papers big enough....

Brad

[JeffHamm]

I use brown sugar and salt and smoke over manuka chips. Very nice. If you know that the area produces a muddy flavour trout, soaking the fish in brine overnight should help reduce, or even remove, that flavour. It's not actually mud in the fish, but is a protein they produce and the salt helps break it down apparently.

- Jeff

[maodiver]

Brine was saltwater for about 20 mins while the fire got hot. Smoked over pear wood chunks, 150 deg for 30 mins, then 225 for 30 mins. At least I tried for 225... The fire got away for a few mins and it got a little hotter...I am still a noob ith my smoker...and a total noob on fish

[JeffHamm]

I've got a recipe book for smoking fish (The Kiwi Smoker, by Carl Scott). It's just a little paper back booklet, but full of neat ideas. Here's what he suggests for trout and salmon:

Brine:
3 litres water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pickling salt
1/2 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp bay leaves

Immerse the fish in the brine for 5-6 hours and refridgerate. (If this amount isn't enough to completely cover the fish, then increase proportionally)
Remove the fish from the brine, rinse, and pat dry. Place in the fridge for another 6-12 hours.

Then, smoke your fish (time depends upon size of the fish, temperature, what kind of smoker you have, etc).

I've not actually tried this yet, but it would be worth a go if I can think to prepare the fish the day before!

- Jeff

[desertman]

Yesterday we went to a event where the Indians (Umatilla Tribe) were smoking salmon on sticks using Alder logs. I don't believe that they brine them. tasted like Salmon with a slight smoke flavor. It was good.