Keltin
New member
Went to Publix today, and they had Rainbow Trout on sale. They claimed it was fresh, and never frozen. She even said they had just received it and put it out 1 hour ago. At 4.99 per pound, I couldn’t resist trying to get my fish fix, so I snagged one.
DW is not a fan of fish, so this beauty was all mine (I cooked DW something else).
Rainbow Trout Smoked With Apple Wood
Ingredients
Whole Rainbow Trout
1/4 cup salt
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/2 gallon of water
Apple Wood for smoking
Procedure
Start by making a brine using the salt and brown sugar and about 1/2 gallon of water. Brine the fish for 2-4 hours - overnight if possible.
Fire up your smoker. I used an 18” Weber Kettle and banked the coals to one side. I used 25 coals only. I soaked 2 large handfuls of Apple Wood chips in water, then added them to the coals when they were ready.
Put the trout on the grill opposite the coals and leave it undisturbed for 1 hour. With 25 coals in an 18” Weber Kettle, you’re running a little over 300 degrees. You’ll know the fish is done when you press on it and the skin has a leathery or papery feel to it, and it feels crinkly as if it has pulled away from the meat (it has).
After 1 hour, use a spatula and tongs to gently lift the fish from the grill. The skin has toughened up and will hold it together, so don’t be afraid. You could oil the grates before adding the fish to keep it from sticking too bad, but honestly, I didn’t oil the grates and I didn’t have a problem getting the fish up. No tears, no problems at all. It stuck a little, but the spatula made light work of that.
Bring the fish inside and tent it (cover or wrap in foil). Allow it to rest for 10 minutes. If you left the head on, then grab it with your thumb and forefinger and twist it in a circular motion to twist it off of the body.
Now, pick a bit of skin near the neck and begin pulling it back towards the tail. The skin has toughened up and will easily peel off the fish. You should make a small tear in the skin at the backbone so that you can peel one side of the fish, then flip it and peel the other.
One the skin has been peeled off, use your fingers to scrape the meat down and away from the backbone. It will come off easily in chunks. You may get a few bones in there, so be vigilant in your look out for those bones.
Once you have all the flesh off one side, grab the backbone and begin lifting it up and peeling it away. Use one hand to pull the backbone up and (gingerly) towards the tail and the other hand to tap and press on the bones and flesh to help facilitate the removal.
And you’re done. You now have a plate loaded with chunks of incredibly tender, mild, juicy, and smoky Rainbow Trout! This fish is really mild and picks up the smoke nicely. I’d suggest sticking with Apple or Cherry for this as Hickory or Mesquite would be too strong for this delicate fish.
I like to serve it with Tartar sauce, but honestly, I ate most of it plain sans the sauce!!
DW is not a fan of fish, so this beauty was all mine (I cooked DW something else).
Rainbow Trout Smoked With Apple Wood
Ingredients
Whole Rainbow Trout
1/4 cup salt
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/2 gallon of water
Apple Wood for smoking
Procedure
Start by making a brine using the salt and brown sugar and about 1/2 gallon of water. Brine the fish for 2-4 hours - overnight if possible.
Fire up your smoker. I used an 18” Weber Kettle and banked the coals to one side. I used 25 coals only. I soaked 2 large handfuls of Apple Wood chips in water, then added them to the coals when they were ready.
Put the trout on the grill opposite the coals and leave it undisturbed for 1 hour. With 25 coals in an 18” Weber Kettle, you’re running a little over 300 degrees. You’ll know the fish is done when you press on it and the skin has a leathery or papery feel to it, and it feels crinkly as if it has pulled away from the meat (it has).
After 1 hour, use a spatula and tongs to gently lift the fish from the grill. The skin has toughened up and will hold it together, so don’t be afraid. You could oil the grates before adding the fish to keep it from sticking too bad, but honestly, I didn’t oil the grates and I didn’t have a problem getting the fish up. No tears, no problems at all. It stuck a little, but the spatula made light work of that.
Bring the fish inside and tent it (cover or wrap in foil). Allow it to rest for 10 minutes. If you left the head on, then grab it with your thumb and forefinger and twist it in a circular motion to twist it off of the body.
Now, pick a bit of skin near the neck and begin pulling it back towards the tail. The skin has toughened up and will easily peel off the fish. You should make a small tear in the skin at the backbone so that you can peel one side of the fish, then flip it and peel the other.
One the skin has been peeled off, use your fingers to scrape the meat down and away from the backbone. It will come off easily in chunks. You may get a few bones in there, so be vigilant in your look out for those bones.
Once you have all the flesh off one side, grab the backbone and begin lifting it up and peeling it away. Use one hand to pull the backbone up and (gingerly) towards the tail and the other hand to tap and press on the bones and flesh to help facilitate the removal.
And you’re done. You now have a plate loaded with chunks of incredibly tender, mild, juicy, and smoky Rainbow Trout! This fish is really mild and picks up the smoke nicely. I’d suggest sticking with Apple or Cherry for this as Hickory or Mesquite would be too strong for this delicate fish.
I like to serve it with Tartar sauce, but honestly, I ate most of it plain sans the sauce!!
That fish looks wonderful! Do you always soak your wood chips, or does it just depend on what you're smoking?
