Smoked Rainbow Trout

I am on a bit of a smoking kick. Earlier this week I shared a recipe for smoked salmon nuggets. They were delicious as are these smoked fillets of trout. Since the fish was smoked as a whole fillet, it came out incredibly moist with a wonderful sweet and smokey flavour. I have been using a dry brine the last few times I have smoked fish and I am quite a bit happier with the results compared to a wet brine.

Smoked Rainbow Trout

4.20 out of 5
15 reviews
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Smoked rainbow trout done in the Bradley Smoker. Dry brined with brown sugar, salt and spices and smoked with alder wood.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Brine/Dry Time: 10 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of rainbow trout fillets
  • 6 cups of brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Mix the brown sugar, salt and seasonings together. Rub the dry brine all over the fish. Place the fish in a bowl making sure the fish is totally surrounded and covered in the dry brine. Place in the fridge overnight (8-12 hours).
  • Rinse the fish thoroughly and place in a cool dry place of 2-3 hours to allow a pellicle to form on the outside of the fish. A fan can be used to speed up the process.
  • Smoke for 5 hours at a gradually increasing temperature, starting at 120F and increasing it 20F every hour. Leave it at 180F for the final 2 hours of smoking. The fish needs to have a minimum internal temperature of 140F.
  • Enjoy!

 

 

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20 comments

  • 5 stars
    Thank you for this. I’ve been using this recipe for years now and I’ve shared it with a bunch of smoker friends. Everyone loves it. I prefer alder but it’s not always easy to find so I often use Apple which I find works well also! Stay away from woods that are good for red meats like mesquite or hickory – it’s too powerful of a flavour. Enjoy!!

    • Reply
    • Someone stated below they go with less salt – I do the same!

      • Reply
  • 5 stars
    They came out perfect. I’ve been trying different recipes and this one is the winner!

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Worked great for this newbie smoker on some lake trout filets….unbelievably good…I surprised myself….

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Thank you do much for sharing this. I made it today and it turned out so good. I made enough to feed my family of 5 and had some to share with three of our neighbors. I gave them just enough to beg for more.

    • Reply
  • Did you de-bone

    • Reply
    • The fillets I bought were already deboned

      • Reply
      • Skin on or skin off?

        • Reply
        • I keep the skin on when I smoke trout

          • Reply
  • I smoked trout from pyramid lake NV and they turned out great. I cut the salt to one half cup and everyone loved it.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    This recipe is great. I tried the recipe as mentioned and it was good but not quite sweet enough for me. I added 3 extra cups of sugar and cut down to 1 cup of salt and found it just right for me. I had people try both and say they were both great so it’s just preference. Thanks for recipe, will use again for sure. I used 2hrs 20min of alder smoke for mine to

    • Reply
    • I went the other way and reduced the sugar to four cups, guess I don’t like my savouries sweet like that. I’ve used this as a base many times with all kinds of different woods, all turned out great

      • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Tried this recipe last weekend, the trout came out perfectly, great taste! It was done after about 4 hours. I’ll do this one again for sure, thanks for the recipe.

    • Reply
    • BTW, I used 4 hours of alder smoke.

      • Reply
  • What kind of wood did you use?

    • Reply
    • I typically use alder wood, but I have also used apple and cherry

      • Reply
  • I found it really salty.I left in the refrigerator for 11 hours

    • Reply
    • It is important to really rinse the trout. I have found that when making trout or salmon, if I do not rinse it thoroughly enough, it can come out being too salty.

      • Reply
      • I find that unless you have thicker fillets that anything over 8 hours is too long, especially a delicate fish like trout. A good way to use smoked fish that comes out too salty is to use it in a dip like Salmon dip.

        • Reply
  • I meant to comment on your smoked salmon nuggets, they seriously look amazing! Hubby and I have been wanting to smoke fish, and now I REALLY want to 🙂 Your recipe sounds delicious! We are addicted to Bobby Flay’s show BBQ Addict, he smoked fish a few shows ago, and it looks fun to make! Thank you for sharing, Take care, Terra

    • Reply

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