Smoked Trout w/pics

[karlsson]

I got 4 fresh trouts from the market.



Clean and rinse the fish, make sure the gills are removed and cure overnight in a 7% brine, adding some bay leaves, some juniper berries, some black or mixed pepper and about two tbl spoons of brown sugar, a shot of whiskey doesn't hurt either - one for the fish, one for yourself.



Take them out the next morning and pet them dry:



... and put them on the hook:



Then let them sit in your smoker (I used my ProQ, but the WSM or any horizontal smoker work well) for a few hours to air dry.

Create a smoking blend. I used some hickory pellets, some beechwood saw dust, juniper berries and rosmary:



Set up the smoker to get a temperature of appr. 200° - 210° F for the first 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160° F for another 1 h to 1.15 h. Throw some handful of the smoking blend on the charcoal from time to time to get a fair amount of smoke.

The fisch will be done, when the dorsal fin can easily be pulled out, but a total smoking time of 1 1/2 hours is a good guideline.





Enjoy the filets while the fish is still a little bit warm. It tastes well if it is cold, but the full flavor comes out, while still a bit warm.


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[BigOrson]

Could you have gotten more smoke flavor into the fish if you'd flattened them out and increased the surface area exposed to the smoke?

[karlsson]

Probably yes. The question is if you want to? - I think you still want to taste the trout as well as the smoke flavor.

These turned out great, and I'm definately going to do this again.
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[lantern]

That's a helluva nice job!

[USDA Monkey]

Any pics of them hanging in the smoker?

They look awesome!!!
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[karlsson]

[Ranucci's Big Butt]

Karl, do you ever make dip with them?
I will try and find my recipe but after you smoke them, break them apart then mix them in cream cheese, sour cream and a few other things and serve with toasted bread.
I will try and find my recipe.
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Ranucci's Big Butt BBQ
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[texanx5]

Looks great!
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DDG

old Smokey
WSM a.k.a. Weber Smokey Mountain
Stumps Smoker (custom mobile unit with a Stretch and sw42x6 offset)

[Canadian Bacon]

Those Trout look great,I have not tried any fish in the smoker yet,but I will be doing some soon.
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[rbenash]

Karl - great post and pics. Thanks for the details. I have been waiting for PROQ to start production on the WSM Stacker Mod that will add some added height to the WSM. This would allow us WSM users to figure out a way to do some vertical hangs for fish like this. I would also like to smoke some other fish.

So the hooks you show came with the ProQ?

Good to hear that ProQ is coming out with larger diameter and better quality, that was a big part of what I did not like about the ProQ after having a long hard look while visiting BBQ Guru (this is also why I beleive they did not continue on as a distributor).

Ray

WSM
Weber Performer
CG PRO SFB

[SauceBoss]

looks awesome, I actually have some fresh trout fillets in my fridge that my god father gave to me. If theyre all ready filleted, do you have any recommendations on how to smoke them?? Maybe just lay them on the grate??

[karlsson]

[hydrology_joe]

Has anyone had experience with smoking frozen trout? My F-i-L sent me home with a couple bags with whole trout (gutted of course) from a trip earlier this fall. I would like to smoke some, but had a VERY bad experience with bass & crappie filets this summer.

Thanks!

[karlsson]

[karlsson]

Just saw some pics on the new ProQ Excel 20" in our german forum:

http://mybbq.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7136

Now, how to explain my wife that I need some new grilling gear again

It's said that the new ProQ will be available in spring.
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[rbenash]

Wow - a Pro 20" - is the gauge of the metal, quality of hardware better than the smaller pro unit? Does it have a porcelianed finish? These guys are really on to something with the larger unit in my view and this is the true challenger regarding design to the WSM.

AFA the hooks can you post where you got them? This year I would like to pick up a WSM Stacker when they become available and try smoking some whitefish and blue fish.

Also (should this be a separate thread?) What's the best cold smoker system you have found. I think it could be the smoke pistol? Even though this cold smoker seems to be the best solution in terms of universal application I have heard that the port clogs after an hour. There is also the issue of dependency regarding fuel.

My first experience with "true" smoking was a cold smoke. Borrowed a friends electric cold smoker. Actaully set it in my fireplace. Brined some bluefish filets in huge pickle jars. It was some of the best smoked fish I ever had.

I think the vertical smokers like the WSM and now perhpas the Pro 20 could be a great platform for this type of cooking.
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Ray

WSM*Weber Performer

[karlsson]

As far as I know the new ProQ is supposed to have a porcelained finish, but I have not found a full discription anywhere yet. The overall quality is supposed to be better than the old smaller version and it also comes with 3 vents in the bottom instead of just one.

The hooks I bought in here in Germany.

http://www.raeucherversand.de/afterbuy/shop/storefront/start.aspx?shopid=14778

But I guess that it should be possible to find something similar in the US as well, and thinking of it, it shouldn't be to difficult to make them yourself by forming some wire.

Regarding the cold smoke, I am simply using my ProQ and Chargriller and did some experiments in making smoked ham. I will show some pics and details during the next couple of days.
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[gotwood]

those look great, Ill be smoking fish in the future

[Old Bill]

The lower legal limit for our trout is 16". Most of mine are in the 18-20" size. About 3 pounds before they are cleaned. how much cure and brine salt and spices would you suggest or a couple of that size trout?

How long do you think it would take to smoke them...lol Lots of questions...cause you made it look like fun and delicious! I have never smoked a fish ...but I fish year round..in Galveston Bay.

I could try some red fish too..Maybe these larger fish smoking the filets might work better..like the Salmon..

Those are flounder in my picture..The biggest was 4lbs.
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[karlsson]

I did not measure them, but our's are quite a bit smaller.

I used a concentration of 70 metric grams salt on 1 litre water, so if I did the math right 10.6 ounces on a US gallon.

Not being an expert, but even for bigger fish I probably would not change the concentration but would let them sitting in the brine a little longer, probably up to 24 hours to allow the brine to penetrate all of the meat.

Different sources are telling different concentrations (between 7.5 - 15 ounces per gallon), so this will leave you to try and error, but I think a higher concentration would make a fish like this to salty.

One important thing is to have the fish air dried (the skin should really feel dry) before you start smoking.
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Grilliput
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12" Dutch Oven