Trout season

Most are variations on a simple theme. The theme is basically:
1 C Kosher or canning salt.. Not Sea Salt or Iodized
1 C sugar.. Brown, Dk Brown white or combo

I like this alone as a rub, to use the term loosely. I take a large stainless turkey pan and put a layer of the dry brine mix in the bottom and add a layer of fish. Liberally sprinkle the top of the fish and add another layer of fish.. etc etc.

I usually brine like this for about 10 hours and carefully rinse.. no water pressure.. just to remove the salt and sugar. I then soak for about 20 minutes and PAT dry. Next, place on the smoker racks (rub the racks with olive oil or corn oil)and allow to air dry for whatever time it takes to form the pellicle.. the pellicle is a "plastic" membrane that forms on the surface of the fish. This allows a good surface for the smoke to adhere to and seals in the remaining juices. You can use a small fan to blow over the fish to hasten the pellicle formation.. be sure the air can circulate on both sides of the fish. Support the racks off the table top if necessary with jar lids or whatever floats your boat.

The variations to the brine might be spices you like or brushing teriyaki or soy sauce on before applying the dry brine mix.

I like the dry brine.. others like to make up a gallon of a salt mixture that is strong enough to float an egg.. Too much work for me and the results are great with the dry brine.

Hope this helps. If not.. you can find a ton of info by googling smoked fish.

Here is another good piece of Smoked Fish Information

Here is a PICTURE of some salmon I finished this morning. At the upper edge of the pan you can see a piece that a shark took a bite out of Jus call me Billy da Shaak

BTW, here is a copy of one(?)of Andi's recipes. As I said above.. thee are personal preferences. This one would not be a preference for me. I don't care for any of these spices in my fish. I love the taste of trout and salmon and don't feel they need anything more than a bit of salt and pepper.

Posted August 20, 2001 07:26 PM Hide Post
OK, Tom, here is a great dry brine:
1 lb. canning salt
1/2 lb. brown sugar
1 tbs. saltpeter (optional)
1 tbs. white pepper
1 tbs. crushed bay leaf
1 tbs. allspice
1 tbs. clove
1 tbs. mace

Make sure your fish is free of any blood. Rinse fillets and dredge them in the above mixture, making sure all are coated well. Cover and reef for 3-12 hours. Rinse and scub lightly to get rid of all traces of salt. Dry with paper towels and set on your smoker racks on cans to let air circulate. Dry with a fan on them (Never in the sun) or outside in a breeze until a pellicle is formed. This can take up to 6 hours or more or less, but it is THE most important step to smoking fish. When you touch the fish, your fingers remain dry and the fish is shiny. I brush with maple syrup about halfway thru the drying time. Then smoke with hickory until your fish is as dry as you want it. I go to about 185 degrees w/3 oz. wood and start the smoke going before I put in my fish.

Just curious, why not use sea salt?

I've not tried sea salt.. but, in reading the "how to's" that are on the web.. they seem to indicate that sea salt can/will impart a metallic taste as the impurities have not been removed. YMMV.

Interesting.

We can keep trout here year-round as long as we buy the trout stamp with our annual resident fishing license.

Smokenque, how long do you smoke your salmon? How long would you suggest for small trout fillets?

Thanks for sharing.

Dennis, no specific time. For salmon, don't usually put the whole fillet on the rack. Rather, I cut the fillets up into chunks that are based on thickness. IOW, the meat toward the belly comes off as does the meat near the tail. This is the thinnest. I stick a probe thermometer on an angle into the thick meat and when it hits about 175º, the thin pieces are usually done to my likness. When the thick meat reaches about 185º the thick meat is about where I like it.

My criteria is the dryness/firmness of the meat. For general smoked salmon I like it dry, yet moist.. heck, how do I describe that without sounding dumb? No where's near as dry as jerky.. but definitely firmed. If I want to make some into a patẻ, I leave some of the thicker meat moister.. about what I get when I pull the thinner pieces at 175º.

Can't comment too much about trout other than it's a salmonid with probably a lot less fat. I'd still do the thermometer and probably cook about the same for starters.