smoking trout

[Da stump]

 the opener for most the lakes around is Saturday so who has some great brine and smoking advice with trout in mind.

[grundy53]

Tagging

[SkookumHntr]

I smoked some trout with some salmon I did one time and the trout was real salty, seemed to ubsorb the salt way more. Maybe keep that in mind if you use a normal salmon brine

[Da stump]

I have used a dry brine before, 1/3 brown sugar, one third white sugar, one third a mix of seasoning salt, non iodized salt and garlic. it tends to suck the moisture out and help cure it. Have only used alder in a little chief. I have a propane smoker now and wonder how hot you guys get your fish?

[Jarhead Chase]

I usually use just a little bit of salt in the brine with some brown sugar. Then I rub it with the Roasted Garlic and Beer rub from Cabelas. I usually use a blend of mesquite and hickory chips.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Open-Season-Spice-Blends/734151.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dbeer%2Band%2Broasted%2Bgarlic%26x%3D10%26y%3D6%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=beer+and+roasted+garlic

It turns out great every time.


As a side note to this: I usually pick quite a few huckleberries while out bear hunting. I've found that putting a stick of butter, a few handfuls of huckleberries, and just a little sugar in a double boiler then stirring it and squishing the huckleberries down until it is all liquid, then letting it cool and thicken makes a great sauce to put on top of some of that smoked trout and some crackers. 

[Alchase]

I have used a dry brine before, 1/3 brown sugar, one third white sugar, one third a mix of seasoning salt, non iodized salt and garlic. it tends to suck the moisture out and help cure it. Have only used alder in a little chief. I have a propane smoker now and wonder how hot you guys get your fish?

 

For trout, I use a sugar based rub instead of salt brine, and watch your temp. Trout do not have the oil salmon have and will dry
out quicker.

[Bofire]

1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 1 quart water. Soak fish a few hours or over night. remove from brine and dry on old towels. If the fish are big prop them open with a stick.
give the fish room on the racks, smoke em. I like apple/alder/ little bit of hickory. smoke until texture is to your liking, in mine about 6-10 hours
Carl

[gaddy]

I have only smoked trout a couple of times. All i did was butterfly them, rinse and pat dry, then sprinkle them with lemon pepper seasoning. Then covered with plastic wrap and set in the fridge for a few Hr's. I used apple wood. everyone in the family liked it. It is not the normal cure i guess but it tasted good.

[newbs55]

We also dry brine ours. Equal parts Brown Sugar and Salt then we add just enough Worcestershire to give it a "wet sand" consistency. Most of the trout from local lakes (12-18" size) get done whole. Lay in foil pan belly up after packing the body cavity full. Let sit 8-12 hrs no more than 12 or they will get salty. Then scoop out any mix left and rinse. Pat dry and then let air dry until it get the pellicle (dry glaze look) before smoking them 4 to 6 hours @ 200- 225 degrees. I use  charcoal to start then whole chunks of soaked apple wood by the end it is just straight whole apple wood. It is more a feel thing than anything to tell when they are done.

[Bill W]

I like the recipes that used to come with the Little Chief smokers.   The recipes are still available on the web.

[Netminder01]

nummy tag

[Boss .300 winmag]

I have used a dry brine before, 1/3 brown sugar, one third white sugar, one third a mix of seasoning salt, non iodized salt and garlic. it tends to suck the moisture out and help cure it. Have only used alder in a little chief. I have a propane smoker now and wonder how hot you guys get your fish?

Caught some trout last night so I’m trying this recipe, with a low temp of 180-200, just don’t know how long it will take.🤔

[Sandberm]

Worthy thread to bring back to life. Makes me want to go trout fishing to try out some of the above recipes. 

[HikerHunter]

I use a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of brown sugar to salt in enough water for the amount of trout I have. I try to keep temperature between 180-200 and smoke for a few hours.

[wadu1]

I use a simple brine, heads and tails off and hole. Prop the body cavity open with 1/2 of a tooth pick. Into the Little Chief with alder chips, I use three pans worth of smoke, in the smoker for 4-5 hours. I got this brine recipe from a site member 3 or 4 years ago, works great for me.
Brine
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup non-iodized salt
2 quarts water
1/2 cup apple juice

I let them soak overnight, then rinsed them off really good and toweled dry.  I let them dry in the fridge for about an hour.