Your best smoked trout brine/rub?

Joe Duder

Joe Duder

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I just purchased a Smokehouse Big Chief smoker. No front door just a top loader model. I love the taste of smoked trout, but I've never smoked it on my own. I'd like to get some recipe ideas. So lets have your best smoked trout brine or rub. Also, feel free to add your method of smoking; kind of chips, smoker temprature, length of smoke etc...

Thanks.
 
I have not experimented with fish but I do a lot of pork and ribs. I use about 1/4 cup of salt and 1 cup of sugar with about 12 cups of water. Let it soak over night and pat dry before cooking. This will give a salty ham/bacon like flavor to your meat. Its perfect for me but may be salty for some.

I like to keep the temp around 250 deg for about three hours. Then I cover with tinfoil and go another 1.5 hrs at about 250 deg. This is where the magic happens, the meat stays moist and falls off the bone. After that I add rub and sauce and grill on high for a few minutes to caramelize the sugars in the sauce/rub but not cook the meat.
I prefer to add the rub and sauce in the end. I found if I do the rub in the beginning or too early it burns before the meat is ready.

The ribs I did last weekend were tender, moist and pink all the way to the bone. The outside had a nice bark on it that tasted like bacon and the meat inside tasted like ham.
 
Sounds good FTR. I'LL have to try that method. Do you use a smoker or a BBQ grill?

Nobody has any trout brines out there?
 
I'm smoking some steelheads right now. Brown sugar and sea salt is all I use. I use it as a dry cure. 10-30 hours with a thick crust, I like 3 part sugar. 1 part salt. Amount of cure and time depends on the size of fish you are doing, a salmon would take longer than a 3 pound trout. If you like herbs and spices, I would add them after the cure as adding it during doesn't do much for flavor.

Do forget to rinse and let dry to form a pedicle and don't start off too hot in the smoker.
 
Joe Duder said:
Sounds good FTR. I'LL have to try that method. Do you use a smoker or a BBQ grill?

Nobody has any trout brines out there?
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I use a smoker with an offset fire box. I have had good luck with charcoal briquettes to keep the temp consistent. About every 45 min I add a small hand full.
At that time I rotate the meat to keep it cooking even. For smoke and flavor I add Mesquite or Hickory chunks for the first 2 hrs.
 
sherlockbonez said:
I'm smoking some steelheads right now. Brown sugar and sea salt is all I use. I use it as a dry cure. 10-30 hours with a thick crust, I like 3 part sugar. 1 part salt. Amount of cure and time depends on the size of fish you are doing, a salmon would take longer than a 3 pound trout. If you like herbs and spices, I would add them after the cure as adding it during doesn't do much for flavor.

Do forget to rinse and let dry to form a pedicle and don't start off too hot in the smoker.
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This seems like it would be a good cure. I'm a firm believer in "less is more". So you cure the fish for 10-30 hours? How long do you smoke it for? My smoking element has a temperature 165 degrees, and I'll be smoking little rainbows and browns, about 1-2 lbs each.
 
Brining is a really nice way to prep your fish before smoking.

I would recommend that you start here to figure out the basics and to get ideas for other ingredients you may want to add to the brine solution

http://www.smoker-cooking.com/brineforsmokedsalmon.html

There is no "best" brine mix, just the one you like after you have played around with a few by adding different ingredients.

Get the basic brine mix right and then the fun begins!
 
Before My offset fire box arrived I did some indirect cooking by creating a partition out of heavy duty tin foil. It worked pretty well, heat on one side, meat on the other.
I follow the same steps as above rotating and flipping often. Its definitely better and easier with a true smoker but this will work in a pinch.
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FTR-14c said:
Before My offset fire box arrived I did some indirect cooking by creating a partition out of heavy duty tin foil. It worked pretty well, heat on one side, meat on the other.
I follow the same steps as above rotating and flipping often. Its definitely better and easier with a true smoker but this will work in a pinch.
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Click to expand...

Looks good!
 
Brine for trout. 2 cp water ,1/4 cp kosher salt,1/4 cp brown sugar,1/4 cp soy,1 cp apple juice,1/2 tbsp pepper,1 tbsp garlic powder,1/2 tbsp hot sauce,tbsp paprika, 1 tsp chilli powder,1 tsp cayenne,1 cup of ice
After 3-4 hr brine I coldsmoked the trout for 3 hr using a mix of pecan,apple,cherry and mesquite. Then added the heat 175° continuing to smoke. After 30 min cooking pulled the fish bones then continued cooking for 1 hr.
Best I ever had. Dad said he wasn't hungry but ended up eating 3 fish lol. The meat practically fell off the bones. There's a good video on about it on youtube
 
I only use dry cure. Salt to sugar ratio depends on how salty you want it. Hickory Alder blend or straight Alder. I smoke till it had a nice mahogany sheen and let it mellow in the fridge a few days before eating.
 
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