Make this smoked trout recipe for an easy, elegant appetizer or light dish.

Simple Smoked Trout

With easy prep, little time, and without filleting, you can achieve tender, meaty smoked trout.
The simple process of dry brining with brown sugar, salt, and seasonings, infuses the fish with delicious sweet and savory flavor.
Whole trout fillets are smoked with flavored wood chips for a delicate, flaky, and smoky dish without a lot of ingredients or fuss.
Smoked trout is delicious served as an appetizer or a main course. Turn it into a smoked trout dip, use it on a salad, or mix into pasta.

Staple Ingredients

Trout: Look for firm, fresh-smelling trout with glassy eyes that aren’t sunken (which means they’re older and dehydrated). This recipe works for lake, steelhead, rainbow, brook, or rainbow trout. Adjust the brine amount accordingly.
Dry Brine: Basic pantry ingredients like brown sugar, kosher salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder are all you need for sweet and smoky results. Dry brining will draw out the moisture of the trout and infuses flavor into the meat.
Seasoning Variations: Add some red pepper flakes to the dry brine for a pop of spicy heat or swap out the seasonings with a zesty Cajun blend.
Wood Chips: Make a new smoke flavor every time using alder, peach, or cherry wood chips.

smoked trout with toothpicks in a baking dish

How to Smoke Trout

Prepare dry brine (full recipe below). Coat the fish with the brine.
Wrap and chill overnight.
Remove brine. Air-dry fish for 24 hours.
Prepare the smoker with wood chips. Add fish to the baking rack in a pan and smoke.
Remove and rest. Serve.

Tips and Tricks

Choose fish that are roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
An electric smoker (Traeger) is perfect for monitoring the heat, the level of smoke, and the time to get the best results. I use an electric pellet smoker, so I can control the temperature.
Don’t keep the trout in the dry brine too long, or the fish will become mushy.
Don’t skip the air drying, as this helps the fish develop a tacky feel called a pellicle.
Take care when removing the meat from the bones, as it will be very tender. However, you can get larger pieces of fish from the bones for presentation with a little finesse.
Serve smoked trout with tzatziki, on homemade crostini, or drizzled with a lemon garlic aioli as an elegant main dish.

Storing Smoked Trout

Keep leftover smoked trout in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze in zippered bags for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator. If all you have are smaller amounts of leftover smoked trout, add them to a charcuterie board with crackers, olives, cheeses, and a small cup of Dijon mustard mixed with sour cream.

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Smoked Trout

Smoked trout is rich, flavorful, and tender, infused with a savory aroma from slow wood smoking.

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Prep Time 1 8

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 9 10

Servings 6

Author Candace

Equipment

Weber bullet smoker or other pellet smoker

Medium mixing bowl

9×13 Baking Dish

Ingredients

▢ 6 freshwater trout cleaned and rinsed

Dry Brine

▢ ½ cup brown sugar
▢ ½ cup kosher salt
▢ ½ Tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
▢ ½ Tablespoon smoked paprika
▢ ½ Tablespoon onion powder
▢ ½ Tablespoon garlic powder

Instructions

Add a metal baking rack to a baking tray and set aside.
Place trout in a 9X13 inch glass baking dish.
In a medium mixing bowl, add dry brine ingredients and mix to combine.
Rub dry brine mixture inside and outside each trout, covering thoroughly. Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
The next day, drain liquid and wipe off excess brine mixture. Using toothpicks, open the inside cavity of the trout (as shown in photo). Place trout onto the baking rack (in the baking tray). Refrigerate for 24 hours to air-dry the fish.
Prepare the smoker*. Add wood chips to the smoker (I like alder, peach, or cherry wood). There should be a lot of smoke in the smoker when you start smoking the trout.
Smoke for 60-90 minutes, or when the internal temperature at the thickest part of the fish reaches is 145°F.
Remove trout and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Remove the meat from the trout, starting with the skin and gently pulling off the bones. Carefully check each piece of fish for smaller bones.
Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Notes

Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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Nutrition Information

Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

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