Smoked Trout

Many, many years ago, my dad, an avid trout fisherman, went on a fishing trip to Canada...Kamloops region. He came back with smoked trout that was absolutely wonderful!  I've hunted forever to find something close to, or like that smoked fish, to no avail.  The fish he brought back was extremely salty, very dry, with a bit of a smoky taste, but no flavoring or seasonings, other than salt.  When you took a bite of that fish, all you wanted was a cold beer to wash it down.

I've experimented and this time, I hit on the recipe I've been trying to duplicate!  This fish is awesome!  I really wanted to share the recipe....the fish I remember goes back to about 1951....and I've found nothing to duplicate it since!  It's very simple to prepare and few ingredients are needed!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds fresh Rainbow Trout
2 Quarts water
1 Cup Kosher salt
Handful of Hickory wood for smoke (or your choice of smoke flavoring)

First, fillet the trout.  Trout are full of small "pin bones," which you can remove at this time, or leave in, as I did...carefully removing them when you eat the fish.  Wash the fillets with water.

BRINE
Use a non-metallic dish.  I use a Pyrex baking dish to brine the fish.  Pour the water into the baking dish, then add the Kosher salt. (Kosher salt, as it's a bit coarser and it dissolves well in water).  Gently stir the water until all the salt has dissolved and is no longer visible.

Lay the trout fillets into the dish of water, skin side down.  Put the dish into the refrigerator and leave it to brine for 3 hours.

When the brine has finished working, remove the fillets and rinse them in cold running water.  The longer you rinse, the more salt will be removed.  As I wanted very salty fish, I rinsed the fillets well, but did not continue rinsing so as to remove too much of the salt.

CURE
When finished rinsing the fillets, pat them dry to remove the water and moisture.  I pat them well between paper towels to absorb as much moisture as possible.  Now, place the fillets on a rack, skin side down once more, back in the refrigerator with something under the rack to catch any dripping.  Let the fillets stay in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  When you remove them from the refrigerator, the fillets should be shiny, a bit tacky and be quite firm.  If they are as salty as mine were, you'll probably see a bit of white on the fillets, which will be salt residue.

SMOKING
Soak your hickory chips in cold water for about half an hour, so you get a good smoking when in the smoker.  You may use a metal box, made to hold the wood chips, or just wrap them in aluminum foil, poking holes in the package so smoke can escape.

Get a good bed of coals going in the smoker, remembering you don't want a real hot fire.  You are going to want to keep the smoker temperature at about 160 degrees.  Place the package of wood chips on top of the hot coals.  I use a water smoker, so put some water into the smoker pan to help the moisture level.  Open or close vents, as necessary to get the smoker temperature at 150 - 170 degrees and place the fillets on the racks...skin side down.

My trout fillets were thin, so 2 hours on the smoker was just right.  If you have thicker fillets, you will require more time....around 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the smoker.  The fillets are ready when they have a nice dark color from the smoke and are dry appearing, with just a slight bit of fish oil visible on the flesh.

That's it!  Trout fillets are ready to enjoy!  They are going to be mild and salty, so be sure to have cold beer handy!!  I would also say that the fish would be great with some mild pieces of good cheese and a glass of good, chilled wine, as well!

If you have questions, please feel free to email me at: stan.kain@gmail.com