Smoked Rainbow Trout Fillets

[dubob]

I took a buddy fishing last Thursday and we hammered some cookie cutter rainbow trout to the tune of about 30 of them. The term ‘cookie cutter’ is the local term for hatchery planted 10 to 12 inch trout. We kept our legal limit of 4 trout each and released all the rest. Went back to the same reservoir Friday and caught 24 more and kept our 4 each.

Mine were all filleted and put into some brine Friday night. My brine recipe consists of the following:
1 gallon cold water
10 oz Teriyaki sauce
5 oz orange juice
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper

Pulled them from the brine on Saturday morning and laid out on frog mats and set aside to glaze over. After the glaze (pellicle) formed, I sprinkled heavily with some more brown sugar. I then fired up the CC Woodwind at 160*F (low smoke) and placed the two fish laden frog mats on the grill and let ‘er rip.

I really like my smoked fish having a sweet after taste and that’s why I cut back on the salt in the brine and add the brown sugar on top of the glaze. You can readjust the recipe if you like saltier smoked fish. And the cayenne pepper just gives a hint of spice and is not overpowering at all.

At the 3 hour point, I checked for doneness and they looked to be about perfect, so I pulled them off and my bride gave me a thumbs up after sampling. Life is good and I’m lovin’ this pellet thingy.

 

[Braz]

Looks good to me.

 

[seanysmokes]

Wow looks amazing!

 

[Hawging It]

Tasty!!!

 

[jaxgatorz]

Yummy !!

 

[yankee2bbq]

Great job on this!

 

[Preacher Man]

Nice! I'm taking the kids on a trout fishing trip tomorrow. I hope to get to try this recipe out.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Looks good.

 

[Bearcarver]

Excellent !!
Doesn't get better than that !!
Nice Job.
Like.

Bear

 

[Winterrider]

Looks very good. Nicely done!

 

[dubob]

Nice! I'm taking the kids on a trout fishing trip tomorrow. I hope to get to try this recipe out.

Depending on which brand smoker you have, you may have to adjust the total cooking time, so check the fillets at least once an hour. These fillets were off about 1 pound trout. Thicker fillets will require more cooking time. When they break in the middle when you bend them and the meat color is a darker pink, they should be done or very close to it. Don't let them dry out.

 

[Scott "Stu" Stewart]

I'll be smoking some rainbow, brown, and brookie filets today on my offset DG. I use a similar brine, but I think I will try your suggestion regarding the brown sugar. I also add some soy sauce next time and cut back a bit on the salt. Nice thing is, I get to resupply my freezer this weekend as we are hitting some cold water streams this weekend. Thanks for the insights sir.

 

[Scott "Stu" Stewart]

I took a buddy fishing last Thursday and we hammered some cookie cutter rainbow trout to the tune of about 30 of them. The term ‘cookie cutter’ is the local term for hatchery planted 10 to 12 inch trout. We kept our legal limit of 4 trout each and released all the rest. Went back to the same reservoir Friday and caught 24 more and kept our 4 each.

Mine were all filleted and put into some brine Friday night. My brine recipe consists of the following:
1 gallon cold water
10 oz Teriyaki sauce
5 oz orange juice
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper

Pulled them from the brine on Saturday morning and laid out on frog mats and set aside to glaze over. After the glaze (pellicle) formed, I sprinkled heavily with some more brown sugar. I then fired up the CC Woodwind at 160*F (low smoke) and placed the two fish laden frog mats on the grill and let ‘er rip.

I really like my smoked fish having a sweet after taste and that’s why I cut back on the salt in the brine and add the brown sugar on top of the glaze. You can readjust the recipe if you like saltier smoked fish. And the cayenne pepper just gives a hint of spice and is not overpowering at all.

At the 3 hour point, I checked for doneness and they looked to be about perfect, so I pulled them off and my bride gave me a thumbs up after sampling. Life is good and I’m lovin’ this pellet thingy.

I took a buddy fishing last Thursday and we hammered some cookie cutter rainbow trout to the tune of about 30 of them. The term ‘cookie cutter’ is the local term for hatchery planted 10 to 12 inch trout. We kept our legal limit of 4 trout each and released all the rest. Went back to the same reservoir Friday and caught 24 more and kept our 4 each.

Mine were all filleted and put into some brine Friday night. My brine recipe consists of the following:
1 gallon cold water
10 oz Teriyaki sauce
5 oz orange juice
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper

Pulled them from the brine on Saturday morning and laid out on frog mats and set aside to glaze over. After the glaze (pellicle) formed, I sprinkled heavily with some more brown sugar. I then fired up the CC Woodwind at 160*F (low smoke) and placed the two fish laden frog mats on the grill and let ‘er rip.

I really like my smoked fish having a sweet after taste and that’s why I cut back on the salt in the brine and add the brown sugar on top of the glaze. You can readjust the recipe if you like saltier smoked fish. And the cayenne pepper just gives a hint of spice and is not overpowering at all.

At the 3 hour point, I checked for doneness and they looked to be about perfect, so I pulled them off and my bride gave me a thumbs up after sampling. Life is good and I’m lovin’ this pellet thingy.

How long did it take for the pellicle to form for you?

 

[dubob]

I let them glaze for 2 hours and didn't check them at all during that time. They may have been done earlier, but I don't know. Two hours has always worked for me in the past. But I live in a dry climate (Utah). YMMV depending on your humidity. I know its higher in IL than in UT.