I had some for the 1st time. A guy at work caught some in 1 of the Great Lakes, smoked them, and brought samples to work a month ago. Wow was that good. I forget his exact recipe, but he soaked them in something to jazz 'em up. Whatever he soaked them in probably wasn't necessary, but it sure tasted great. I may try smoking trout.

I love just about anything smoked..whatever you do don’t over do the celery seed. If you can catch enough fish try some different recipes. Some of my favorites for trout are teriyaki, peppered and jalapeño/lime. Tuna I like straight up with minimal smoke...but the jalapeño/lime is good too.

I brine them in salt and brown sugar over night,,then when they have about a half hour of smoking left,I brush them with honey to put a nice glaze on them.

I use hi mountain gourmet fish brine mix

Smoked trout is good.

1 cup of salt and one cup of dark brown sugar to a gallon of water is my go to brine. You can use regular sugar and a big squirt of pancake syrup if you don’t have brown sugar. If the Trout was frozen it takes the brine quicker, done on 6-8 hours. If fresh 12 hours is better, ya can’t really over brine it time wise imo. But, if I only have a fish or two I just use enough brine to cover them, not the whole gallon or thhey can get a bit too salty. Also, if your using fine table salt you don’t need the whole cup, 3/4 is fine. I use corser canning and Pickeling salt so if I end up canning some the liquid doesn’t cloud. Rinse and pat fish dry b4 putting on the smoker.

Punky Cottonwood is what I like for the smoke.

We use the same brine as Trapset for salmon. We can most of it, so we don't smoke it as long as if we were eating it just smoked. In other words, cannon process intensifies the smokiness and saltiness. We had a thin fishing year last summer, so are facing these turbulent times with just a few jars left.

Can't beat it, I smoke almost all trout and whitefish I catch. Homemade smoker is real easy to build. Mine is cabinet I threw together out of rough sawn cedar scrap, racks are from an old grill. I think I found them at a resale store, but I often hang fillets instead. I use an electric hot plate in the bottom with an old cast iron pan on it. I use oak sawdust. Alder is good for fish as well.

Brine overnight, let the fish dry off well before going in the smoker.

Forellen Rauch (or my best attempt at german) was a regular fare at local fests in Bavaria when I was stationed there. Trout gutted head on speared on a stick like a popsicle and smoked. Good stuff.

UpstateNY I do basically the same thing but baste them with maple syrup (the real stuff not imitation), try it sometime gives a great flavor. Eric

Everyone taste is different is smoke fish. I love chubs but can find them much anymore. I brine is very simple, enough salt to float an egg. That is it. The oiler the fish the longer it has to be in the brine. JMO

Smoked fish out of lake Michigan is great.


An old lady neighbor back in the day had friends who smoked fish right in the boat. She would share some from time and again.....amazing!

Quite a coincidence that I saw this thread, because I'm prepping to smoke a big steelhead right now.

I smoke salmon, steelhead and whitefish. Lake trout are too greasy. Simple brine of salt and sugar,
then a few hours of alder smoke, then dry to desired consistency. One of the best foods there is, IMO.





-NC

Smoked trout is very good. I have friends that smoke them all the time and they are my favorite smoked fish by far.

Smoked sturgeon is my favorite.

Agreed snowy! I think its the oil that makes them better.

Found a half dead Musky once that we couldnt revive. It is the only smoked fish I liked better than Lake Trout.

You are on to something about the oil in the trout. They smoke up absolutely delicious.

Sounds good.I might try honey AND syrup for my next galze.I also have a real walk in smoke house four foot by eight foot, six foot high.One side for my hams and bacon,,one for fish.
;

Good info.
Anyone try smoking smaller trout or does it mainly only work good on large fish?

Winter before last I lived in Marquette Michigan and there was a fish house right down on the lake best poke fish I ever had my life