Smoking trout?

[icefizzlemachizzle]

I'm looking for any information on smoking rainbows and browns as I will be attempting to smoke some fish for the first time.  Most of the fish are in the 14-18 inch range and I have a luhr jensen electric smoker.  Since the fish are not very large I am planning on not filleting them and just splitting them lengthwise down the backbone before brining.  Also..is applewood a good flavor smoking wood for trout?

[Skiff]

Apple is excellent, as is most fruit wood.  I've also used cherry.  Both of these give a lighter tasting smoke flavor, so depending on the strength you want, you may have to do a couple of pans of wood.  Other woods like hickory and mesquite are great for beef and game, but too heavy for fish, IMO.

[mod_auger]

I only use apple wood when I am smoking trout. I think of all the woods, apple is the best choice for smoking any oily fish, which would include trout, carp, suckers and salmon.

[PIKEGUY]

I prefer Marlboros

[Mad_Ital]

I'm looking for any information on smoking rainbows and browns as I will be attempting to smoke some fish for the first time.  Most of the fish are in the 14-18 inch range and I have a luhr jensen electric smoker.  Since the fish are not very large I am planning on not filleting them and just splitting them lengthwise down the backbone before brining.  Also..is applewood a good flavor smoking wood for trout?

I also use apple for smoking all fish. In fact its the only way I eat the nasty chinook salmon.
I use a covered charcoal grill and put the chips directly on charcoal, no water. Watch the cooking time, a trout that size shouldnt take too long in a cooker like yours - low low heat.

[fishercat]

Apple works great. The only way that I eat trout is smoked. Smoke anywhere from 8-12 hours.  We use a dry rub.  1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup salt, Black pepper to taste, garlic powder, onion powder.  Rub on and leave it in zip-bag overnight.  Next step very important - take trout out of bag and let dry.  This is faster if you put it in front of a fan.  The trout forms what's called a pellicle - makes the smoke stick better.   We don't fillet fish either, just gut, marinate overnight - smoke whole.  This is for 8 - 14" fish.  This recipe also works great for salmon fillets. 

[bushbunny]

I use red willow for all of my fish, whether it be trout, pike, or whitefish. I have found that it gives a finer flavour to the finished product.

[Bear_Lake_Bob]

 I do a lot of Steelhead smoking in several large electric smokers (Brinkman )

You can chunk,  half, or fillet as desired. Brine is made in quantities to cover fish. I use a 5 gal plastic pai to mix brine and soak. The brine I make is usualy equal parts brown sugar (1 cup )and white sugar (1 cup ), enough non-iodized salt ( i use Kosher canning salt ) to float an egg. Add 3-4 tablespoons black pepper and 1 12 oz can of frozen apple juice concentrate.

Most of our stream trout in fall or spring require cutting to make them fit the smoker.
Pieces, or halves are brined outdoors by placing your 5 gal bucket into a large black lawn/leaf bag, then sealing with a twist tie Your brine will be ice cold.If you have extra room in a refrigerater use it, because the whole secret to smoking is to maintain sanitation, and time/temperatures accordingly, this is important during the summer. Fish should always be brined at below 45 degrees F.

The salt/sugar soln will be soaked up by the fish, as water is soaked up by a sponge.There is a limit, as to how much salt any given fish can absorb, as would be a sponge placed into a pail of weater.

These larger fish pieces from Salmon or trout which could weigh several pounds must be super brined for atleast 24 hours to achieve a good "strike" into the flesh.

After brining, they must be placed into ice cold water to freshen up for an hour to help in floating off any loose particles and to remove excess salt from the first few layers of flesh. After they are soaked, take a knife and work the scales with the grain to remove a possible heavy slime buid up which almost can look like a lardy material.Who the hell knows what it is, or why it forms, but I wouldn't want to smoke any fish with that stuff on it( I'll Tell You Why Later "

After this process of freshening, they should drain on a rack to drip dry for a while.This helps keeping a mess out of your smoker as well.This smoking process is for all intensive purposes is very hazy, as there are a million different temperatures achieved by the many types of electric elements, gas burners, hot coals and the like. Also the size of your cooker, and outdoor temperatures are critical to the process.If there were ever a trial and error period this is it.In winter,all bets are off, as far as temperature maintaining is concerned. I used to go get large appliance boxes to shield and cover my cookers during snowy and windy weather, I have since built a plywood box, which I can lift over the cooker. This really saves heat, and cooks fish and turkey faster in winter.

Smoking is really a dehydration process, more than a direct cooking process. Cooking is completed by ending the available moisture content in the fish flesh, with out burning or barbecuing the fish.

Your choices of good smoking wood chips are endless. I have been doing fish smoking for over 50 years, using smokehouses, garbage cans ( which are tyhe best ones you could ever use), and electric smokers. I have limited experience with charcoal, and gas( both wich I dislike ).Of all the wood (chips ) Luhr Jensen Alder is perhaps the finest flavored of all for fish. Apple is my next choice of commercial chips.The Alder is sold in catalogs, and sporting good stores everywhere ( approx $ 3.00/ 4.00 per bag. I only did it once( STAY AWAY FROM HEMLOCK ) YUK>>

I am going to speak in terms of using an electric hot plate type cooker, as I speak here. I am sure other fishermen prefer other fuels, but I found this to be the easiest, and user friendly.

I go to garage sales in the summer and buy up all the small cast iron black fry pans I can find, which will fit into my cookers.They can't be beat for holding the fine wood chips you buy.Many people ask me about about how many pans full of chips do I need to burn during the smoking process. When you thik about it, not much smoke is required to saturate the flesh, before it too is fully struck with the smoke flavoring.There is also a limit as to how much smoke flavor the flesh can absorb, especially in an inclosed area like a cooker. The smoke is highly concentrated I would place the chips into the fry pan heaping over the top. I generall like to add a half cup water to the first load of chips to make a slow dense smoke initially. You can walk away from it and come back any time and add more , normally 3 loads of chips over a 24 hr period will do it nicely.

I find that the true test for doneness is the complete absence of free water dripping (or oozing ) out of the flesh.Remember to run your finger down the backbone of the fish towards the end of the cooking cycle, to push free, trapped water which will always accumulate there!

I would like to mention my reason for taking the fish out of the brine or freshening stage, and using a knife, removing that lardy substance from the fish. You have all seen fillets of Salmon and Rainbow Trout being sold at high prices in Cabelas and the like. These " Gourmet " fillets sell for 20-30.00 lb. You can at home make your own Gourmet filets in your smoker. Approx two hours before intended doneness will be completed, I rub both sides of the fillets with maple syrup, heck,you can even use the cheap generic flavored stuff. Place back on the racks, and add another pan of wood chips to finish them off. This last simple step add a great golden color to the skin, ans adds a great flavor to the fish flesh. You have to try this last step sometime in your smoking career.Your fish skins also come out clean looking, and not all dried out and blotchy looking.
I have learned much over my many years of doing this including ,never skin any fish scales or not if you expect the fish to hold together during the cooking and handling process, never freeze smoked fish, and because it has no preservatives in it, use it before a week after cooking.Keeping the smoked fish in a zip lock bag works great

Hope I didn't go off on a jag` here, but I always like to help anyone get into smoking without all the heartbreak I had! If anyone wants help with a great smoked fish spread let me know, I share the recipe with all, or if someone would kike to make an excellent smoker out of a " NEW" garbage can let me know

Thanks

Bear_Lake_Bob

[icefizzlemachizzle]

Geez bob you really schooled me there.  Thanks for all the great info...it will be put to good (and delicious) use.

[Bear_Lake_Bob]

 

Hope I didn't go off the deep end with this smoking thing. You need to embelish a bit to get the recipe out which I use. Some one took the time,(my brotherinlaw ) to get me started.

When you get those fish smoked, try de-boning ( 100 % ) an approx. 1/2 lb bow of flaked fish. Add approx 1/2 cup mayo or salad dressing along with about 2 large table spoons of finely grated chopped onion and about 1/2 tsp pepper. Mix well and spread on crackers as you would a spread. This will make a believer out of you!

Bear_Lake_Bob

[icefizzlemachizzle]

tried bob's tips using brownies, bows, and lakers.  all came out amazingly delicious....so good in fact that my family managed to polish off 4 laker filets and 4 whole trout in about 25 min.  thanks for the great tips bob.

[Bear_Lake_Bob]

Icefizzlemachine


Glad you enjoyed the end products. To me, fish smoking is like a religeon. If I get hard up for lake fish, I will some times buy frozen fish to do up a batch. You are right on the money, when people start eating the smoked fish, they can't stop, and if you ever bought any from the Cabella Catalog you will see that the taste is as good, if not a tad better!

Bear_Lake_Bob

[Master Angler]

Use

[Van_Cleaver]

Lots of good tips. I have been smoking fish for many years as well, and almost always go with apple. Usually I just use the bark; just happen to have a source right outside, so it's free. Of course soaking it for at least a half hour prior to usage is reccomended. Have a bunch of 14-18'' trout in the freezer, courtesy of local sportsmans derbies. They put on these big derbies which are supposed to be for the kids, but by late afternoons it looks like opening day again! (all the dads) Found out that using my fly rod worked great, cause the fish were seeing mostly the standard bait and lures. Time to start smoking upsome the bounty!

[4x4elk]

Bob thanks for the info I have been looking for the proper way and that sounds good

[fiesty]

most of the trout I catch smoke menthol lights...

[WANNAKETCHUM]

Been smokin' fish since about 1982 when my ex-wife bought me an electric-type smoker for Xmas. I'll agree with the others that applewood is the best although I've used cherry and pearwood and they are both good ( for fish ). Nutwoods are better for game meat. I remove the skin from my filets as I think the skin holds a lot of oil, fat, toxins...etc. I usually brine the fish for 24 hrs. in whatever solution I choose and then take it out, drain in a colander for a bit, then lay the filets out on paper towels and pat the surface dry and leave stand for about one hour before placing in the smoker. I use a couple of cups of apple juice and a couple of teaspoons of liquid smoke in my water pan to start. After I have the filets in the smoker and the smoke is rolling good, I give it about 45 min. then flip all the filets over and  rotate the trays and or move the thinner,  more done filets farther away from the heat. I check them again in another 45 min. to one hour and adjust as needed. Keep the thicker ones closer to the heat source and add more chips, chunks, etc. to keep the smoke going. Take the smaller and or thinner fillets off as the they reach your desired texture and taste and keep the thicker, larger pcs. on longer. I always unplug my smoker and leave the remaining amount of filets on the rack(s) as the smoker is cooling down as the chips will still be giving off smoke for awhile. It's a babysitting job no matter how you look at it. Good luck to all and don't be afraid to experiment........WK

[4x4elk]

;Dbear lake bob great recipe used it and all that tasted it loved it thanks again