Smoked Trout recipe

[negoc8]

After a number of attempts I have combined a few recipes to come up with what I think has turned out to be some fine smoked trout!


1/2 Gallon of water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
2 Tablespoons Garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chili powder
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
10-12 trout
soak over night in brine in a glass cake pan, pat dry and lay out on smoker racks for about an hour, preheat and get the smoke going good in the smoker, smoke until desired firmness, Sunday was hot and dry, so I only smoked em for about 4 hours using two pans of alder chips in a little chief smoker. The family all agreed that this was the best trout recipe!

[Oregon_Lass]

We have a Big Chief, will have to try that recipe, they look great, thanks for posting
Did you freeze the trout first or throw them in fresh?

[Chesapeake]

Not trying to hijack, just thought I would add mine to an existing post.

I tried a recipe last week with a brown trout and was surprised at the results. I've never tried it in the oven, or with liquid smoke but the wife was out of town. I was buisy with a 6 month and a 3 year old. The fish was getting old in the fridge, so I gave it a shot. Nodody I had taste it new it wasnt out of the smoker until I told them. Even my Dad didnt notice.

4 cups brown sugar
1 cup salt
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs black pepper

Mix dry ingredients in bowl and then sprinkle in a good amount (maybe 2Tbs) of liquid smoke while you mix so it doesnt clump the sugar.

Layer the filets of fish and dry brine and leave covered in the fridge over night. Rinse fish, let dry on broiler pan rack, then place in oven (still on broiler pan) set at Warm (175) with door cracked (I closed an oven mit in the top corner of the door) for 4 hours.

This recipe came out quite well and it was a brown trout. I think with a kokanee or salmon, and an adjustment of the sugar/salt ratio to 3:1 it could be a great way for those without a smoker, or smoker skills to make a decent smoked fish.

[negoc8]

We had some frozen and some fresh fish, couldn't tell the difference when they came out of the smoker.

I love the no smoker recipe. I use a similar one in the winter when the little chief takes tooooo long to cook em.

[Cannon]

here are a couple of recipes that I like

With this one I cut back on the salt.

2qts H2O
3 cups browm sugar (Cane, not the molasses type)
1 cup rock salt (non-iodized)
Heat water to disolve, and add while heating:
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
Cool before adding fish. I put the fish in overnight, then put on
racks without rinsing.

and my favorite:
SPICY SWEET
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup rock salt
1 Tbl sp chilly powder
1 Tbl sp onion powder
1 Tbl sp garlic powder
1 Tbl sp white pepper
1/2 Tbl sp cinamon
2 Tsp allspice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger

Mix ingedients lay fish skin side down in glass container pour brine over fish
cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. Rince, pat dry & let sit for 2 to three
hours. Smoke to desired texture.

Both of these recipes came from:
Smoking Salmon & Steelhead
Scott & Tiffany Haugen

[Fishtail]

I just put 12 large Diamond Lake trout in brine, so we'll see later today how they smoke up. I used the spicy sweet recipe just to be a little different. Later today, I'll be brining some duck breast for jerky

[Chukar Chaser]

I have one that is simular as one above. Works great. I use it with salmon and kokanee.

3 cups brown sugar
1 cup non-ionized salt
1 Tbs garlic salt
1 Tbs onion salt
1 Tbs celery salt

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Place a layer of filets in a plastic or glass bowl and sprinkle dry ingreidents over a layer of filets. Continue to layer the filets and place covered in the refridgerator for 4 to 8 hours depending on how thick the filets are. Rinse fish with cold water to remove all brine, dry with paper towels. Place filets on smoker racks until the filets get a glazed shiny look to them, then smoke until done.

[StickFish]

All Very simular

2lbs (one package) Brown Sugar
1 cup Kosher salt
4Tbls Dry Mustard
1Tbls White Pepper
1Tbls Garlic Powder
1Tbls Cayenne

Filet fish skin on
Score meat to skin
layer meat down in dry brine for one day, flipping and shaking every few hours
1 1/2 hour on the traeger at 275 with Alder

[deeptrout]

grandmas recipe, about 100 years of use in our family. dates back to a time when smoking was a necessity for food preservation.

water

enough pickling salt to make an egg float , about a dime worth of diameter showing above the water level- thats enough

molasses to taste, I like it when the brine looks like clean pennzoil, not quite 30w havoline

a shot of good brandy, put some in the brine too

put meat in, take it back out same time tomorrow

No metal, ever. none.

smoke till firm, flavor the meat with chips, not the brine.

If you like pepper and dill and lemon, you might as well save yourself the trouble and just bake it.

thats how grandma did it, works for me. now I am hungry again. if you try this simple recipe and like it, let me know and I will pass it on to grandma, shes 92, and would appreciate knowing.

[Chukar Chaser]

I was in Seattle last week and stop in Pikes Street Market. I stopped at one of the fish markets where I was looking at the smoked salmon. The guy offered my a sample of several smoked fish. The one that stood out was an alder smoked salmon. It wasn't sweet or salty just very moist and full of flavor. Does anyone know how they are smoking these fish? I'd sure like to be able to dupicate there method...

[Sliderite]

I have found that a dry brine without water comes out best. I use pretty much the same mixture for Salmon, Steelhead and Tuna but adjust the salt depending on the fish. I used to do the wet brine with water but it always came out to salty.

[marshworm]

anyone ever tried just a little salt and pepper with a "cold smoke" of alder,cherry,hickory or etc?
seems like you might retain the natural taste of the fish better?

[Schroomer]

This is a great recipe and it finally solved my cold weather smoking challenges. I follow the directions for dry brining, then sit it in front of a fan for a couple hours. Then brush on some maple syrup and then into the Little Chief for 2 rounds of Peterson alder pucks. Then following the advice, into the 175 oven on a rack until the texture is to my liking. That can vary from 1 to 2 hours based on the thickness of fish.

My first posting as a new member and just wanted to say thanks for the collective wisdom.

Mark

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

Not trying to hijack, just thought I would add mine to an existing post.

I tried a recipe last week with a brown trout and was surprised at the results. I've never tried it in the oven, or with liquid smoke but the wife was out of town. I was buisy with a 6 month and a 3 year old. The fish was getting old in the fridge, so I gave it a shot. Nodody I had taste it new it wasnt out of the smoker until I told them. Even my Dad didnt notice.

4 cups brown sugar
1 cup salt
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs black pepper

Mix dry ingredients in bowl and then sprinkle in a good amount (maybe 2Tbs) of liquid smoke while you mix so it doesnt clump the sugar.

Layer the filets of fish and dry brine and leave covered in the fridge over night. Rinse fish, let dry on broiler pan rack, then place in oven (still on broiler pan) set at Warm (175) with door cracked (I closed an oven mit in the top corner of the door) for 4 hours.

This recipe came out quite well and it was a brown trout. I think with a kokanee or salmon, and an adjustment of the sugar/salt ratio to 3:1 it could be a great way for those without a smoker, or smoker skills to make a decent smoked fish.

[salmon718]

Originally Posted by marshworm

anyone ever tried just a little salt and pepper with a "cold smoke" of alder,cherry,hickory or etc?
seems like you might retain the natural taste of the fish better?

Oh yah, this is a great way to retain the natural taste of the fish. I was actually thinking about this a few months ago while smoking some salmon to reduce the amount of salt, while preserving the natural flavors of the fish. Trying only a sprinkle of salt with pepper and apple smoked on a few fillets resulted in some taste smoked fish. I think it worked great on the frozen kokanee fillets, but should produce goods results on any quality tasting species.

[malheur1]

Coat with tenderquick, wait 6-8 hours & smoke.