Smoked trout

Jezziebella · June 04, 2006, 02:10:07 PM

Hey guys,
I'm brand new to the BS and I'm a little intimidated, not only by the appliance, but by the forum as well. (Seems to be quite the male domain.) I can't quite figure out how to manuever the site and I hope I'm posting this right.
I've read lots of stuff about smoking trout but they all seem to be for bigger fish than I have. Mine are only about a lb each and so far aren't filleted. They'll be pretty teeny when I do, so won't that affect the length of time I should brine, etc? What's a girl to do???? Please help :-*

BigSmoker · June 04, 2006, 02:51:50 PM

1st welcome aboard and we are here to help. Lots of great people here. I just don't do much fish so I'm no help there :'(. There is a whole topic on fish. If you read through it I bet you will find your answer. I do like alder wood on fish myself. Happy Smokin'.

asa · June 04, 2006, 03:22:41 PM

Welcome Jezziebella. As a new Bradley user and a Forum lurker for many months, I can guarantee there's a lot of (gender-neutral) expertise waiting and willing to help you here. And if you happen to have a good recipe for Jezebel sauce, please share it with us. It is my favorite sauce for pork tenderloin, but I haven't tried it on any smoked pork yet. I figure with a handle like that, you might have an inside track on a really great recipe.

Art

Habanero Smoker · June 04, 2006, 04:56:50 PM

Jezziebella, welcome to the forum.

Have you seen this thread? http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=1025.0 Go towards the end of the first page and read my comments. My fillets were about 1/2" thick.

The brining time will depend on how thick your fillets are, and the amount of salt in your brine. What brine recipe are you going to use? Boutch brine was excellent, but I would reduce the salt to 1/2 cup Kosher or 1/4 cup pickling salt.

If your fillets are about 1/2", the generally I would brine for about 4-6 hours, but again that would depend on the salt content of the brine. If they are a little thinner reduce the time about one hour to be on the safe side.

Jezziebella · June 05, 2006, 09:36:46 AM

Thanks guys,
I do plan to use the Boutch brine now with the suggestion on salt reduction. I printed all the stuff on trout I could find. Does anyone ever do the little guys whole? I guess they wouldn't develop that stickiness with drying if the meat wasn't exposed, huh? Like I said, these babies aren't real big and my filleting skills leave alot to be desired. I guess if I don't butcher 'em too bad they'll be around a half inch. Keep you fingers crossed:-*

P.S. I've certainly been called "saucy" but my recipes a secret! ;)

Habanero Smoker · June 05, 2006, 10:21:37 AM

I have never smoked whole fish, but a friend of mine does. He uses bamboo skewers, to keep the cavity of the fish open, then places them on the trays, in a position as if they were swimming. He breaks up the st ewers in to pieces just long enough to place in the cavity to keep it open, to help during the air drying, and to make sure the smoke gets to all surfaces.

Good luck. I'm sure they will turn out great!

PS.
If you fillet the fish, I found that with trout, it is easier to remove the pin bones after you smoke it.

Oldman · June 05, 2006, 07:09:31 PM

QuoteI've certainly been called "saucy" but my recipes a secret! ;)

Watch out guys. It seems we have a woman who can handle her own. ;D

All joking aside, welome to the forum Jezziebella. BTW we have several female members. I hope your smoking works out on the smaller fish.

Olds

JJC · June 05, 2006, 08:22:44 PM

Welcome, J-bella. Keep us posted on your experiences with the BS!

Jezziebella · June 08, 2006, 09:26:21 AM

Yahoo!
The trout turned out great! Used Boutch's brine with the half cup kosher modification for about 5 1/2 hours. Did 'em whole and didn't even bother to debone. Dried 'em overnight in the fridge, propped them open like Habanero Smoker suggested and smoked (with alder) to an internal temp of 140. My hubby likes 'em moist and he said they were perfect! The skinned peeled off like nothing and it flaked right off the bones. Will be doing these often knowing I don't have to mess with the knife. :-*

iceman · June 08, 2006, 10:20:59 AM

Sounds fantastic. Glad it turned out Jezziebella. I'll be for trying that myself this summer. Thanks for posting your results. ;D

Habanero Smoker · June 08, 2006, 11:48:05 AM

Wow! they sound good. I may be doing my trout whole for now on.

Oldman · June 08, 2006, 03:08:42 PM

Congrats young lady... ;D

BOUTCH · August 03, 2006, 10:55:20 AM

Hi! and welcome Jezziebella
I am glad you have used my brine ::)
and you know , you can also used with salmon :-*

jimguy · August 03, 2006, 11:15:18 AM

Hi Jezzibella

I am also a newbie to the forum. Welcome.

I see your trout worked out well. Growing up, our neighbor smoked trout and white fish an a regular basis. None of them were very big, in the 8 to 10 inch range. He smoked them whole hung by the tail in his home built refridgerator smoker. A great treat for me was him calling me into his yard as I walked to school and getting a small fish that was done before the larger ones. Time has a way of enhancing the good memories, I have yet to eat a smoked fish as good as those.