How to Make Smoked Trout

Few things in nature pair as perfectly as fresh caught trout and some carefully directed smoke. There’s just something about the way smoke binds and imbeds its flavor into these fatty mountain fish (salmon are the same way) that gives hot-smoked trout an unbeatable flavor. While smoking a delicate fish like trout can seem complex and even intimidating, it’s surprisingly easy with the careful execution of a few simple steps.

The Brine

There are two options when it comes to brining a trout that’s destined for the smoker. You can either dry salt them or submerge them in a liquid brine. When implementing the former process, your brine will be quick, just one or two hours. When doing a liquid brine you’ll want to leave your trout on the brine longer. Mine stayed in the liquid brine for about 10-12 hours.

For a liquid brine, find a non-metallic container large enough to hold a gallon of water and all of your trout, fill the container with the water, add the salt and sugar, stir vigorously to dissolve and then place your trout in the brine. You may want to use a few small plates so the trout remain completely submerged in the liquid. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap and set it aside in your fridge for 10-12 hours.

Brine Ingredients

4 trout

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

1 gallon of water

Tip: A Cambro food storage container like the one pictured below is great to have around if you do a lot of brining.

Forming the Pellicle

When the trout come out of the brine, pat them dry with paper towels, then set them aside on a rack set on a baking sheet. Then put the brined trout back in the fridge for another 10-12 hours. During this drying period the fish will begin to form what’s called a pellicle—basically a thin membrane on the outer layer of the skin that is somewhat tacky to the touch.

Allowing this pellicle to properly set up is imperative because it will give your trout a sticky surface for the smoke to bind to during the smoking process. The more the smoke adheres to the outside surface of the trout, the more flavor the finished product will have.

The Smoke

Your method of smoking is totally up to you. I used a pellet grill but chamber smokers, smoker ovens and komodo grills are all great options as well. If you’re smoking on a pellet grill where the fish will lay flat on a grate, be sure to prop the trout’s body cavity open with a small stick or a tooth pick. This will allow the smoke to further permeate the fish, which you want to facilitate as much as possible. Most recipes call for a milder type of wood like alder, maple, apple or cherry, but I used Mesquite, because I had it on hand, and the flavor turned out great.

Shoot for a temperature between 175 and 200 degrees F, and hold it there anywhere from to 1 to 4 hours depending on how well done you want your fish. I go for about 2 hours and shoot for an internal temp of 145 degrees. Do not let your smoker’s temp climb beyond 225 degrees. At that point you will be barbecuing your fish, not smoking it.

When your trout is done, sit back and enjoy one of nature’s finest delicacies. You can eat it warm right off the smoker, or serve it chilled over salads or mixed into dips and spreads. Either way you can’t go wrong. Odds are it won’t last long and when it’s gone, you’ll likely be headed back to your nearest honey hole with a fly rod or spin reel in tow.