June 2024 - 13

WILD KITCHEN
(Photo by Holly A. Heyser)
Smoked trout
I prefer fish from about 10 to 20 inches,
gutted and gilled. Any species will do, but in
a perfect world it'd be brook trout, which are
actually a char and have vivid orange meat.
Another excellent choice is a kokanee salmon.
I mostly use rainbow trout.
To salt or brine? That's a decision largely
based on how many fish you are smoking, and
what sort of containers you have. If I am only
smoking a few fish, I will dry salt them. If I
have a mess of trout, I will make a salt-sugar
brine and soak the fish in that.
How long? For dry salting, about 1 to 2
hours. Brine? You can go a lot longer, and it
will create a more cured, salty and firm product
the longer you leave it. I like a day-long
Ingredients
4 whole trout, gutted and gilled
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
brine - brine in the morning and remove
around dinnertime.
You then need to dry the fish in a cool place.
I set them in the fridge in a rack overnight.
You need this step to create a tacky, sticky
pellicle on the outside of the fish. This helps
the smoke adhere to the trout. Skip this step
and it won't be as nice.
How to set them up? You can hang your
trout, but you will need to leave the throats
intact. You will want to put a little stick in
the fish's cavity to prop it open - this allows
the smoke to permeate the fish better. I use
rosemary twigs, but any twigs will work.
What wood? Something mild. I prefer
alder, but oak or fruit woods are good
choices, as is maple. But honestly, if you are
in love with mesquite or something heavier,
Preparation
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Brine time: 8 hours
1. Mix the salt and sugar with a gallon of
water and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
Submerge the trout in this brine and put in
the fridge, covered, for at least 2 hours and
up to overnight.
2. Remove the trout from the brine and
discard the brine. Pat dry with paper towels
and set on a rack over a baking sheet in the
go ahead and use it - you won't be smoking
your trout long.
You can eat your smoked trout warm right
out of the smoker or chilled. They keep a little
more than a week in the fridge and freeze
nicely. If you are freezing some, stuff paper
towels in the fish's cavity to keep out air, which
can cause freezer burn over time.
Hank Shaw hunts and
fishes across the country,
has penned multiple wild
game cookbooks and
keeps an award-winning
food blog at honest-food.
net. His cookbooks are
available at the Game and
Fish Store.
fridge for at least a few hours, and up to
overnight. You also can set the fish to dry in
a cool, breezy place for a few hours.
3. Put the fish in the smoker, hanging or on
the grates, and get a cool smoke going.
Slowly let the temperature rise to 200
degrees and hold it between 175-200 for
at least an hour and up to 4 hours. I prefer
2 hours. Do not let the temperature get
above 225. If it does, set a tray of ice in the
smoker.
4. When your trout are smoked you can eat
them warm or chilled.
Wyoming Wildlife | 13
https://honest-food.net/
June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2024
