Hot Smoked Trout Recipe
Blue Smoke BBQ Fish Adventures
Try this hot smoked trout recipe and discover that you can easily barbecue whole fish on your Weber bbq without the skin sticking to the grill. This is a fantastic way to cook fish!
For this easy barbecue fish recipe I bought five clean and fresh red salmon trouts of about 2/3 pounds each. The flesh of red trout is pink like salmon, the taste is close to salmon, and the size is just right for the Blue Smoke BBQ Smoker.
By the way, on the Rex Hunt's Fishing Adventures I always enjoy chef Iain "Huey" Hewitson's Australian Cooking Adventures, but I never saw him use a closed barbie and smoke wood. I just can't wait for Huey to show us how he hot smokes one of those beautiful silver trevally, barramundi, red snappers or other Aussie fish!
How To Hot Smoke Trout
1. Trout
Wash the trout under cold running water, remove any loose parts, excess skin, etc., and blot dry inside and outside using paper towels.
2. Barbecue Dry Rub
For these smoked trouts I made the mother of all dry rubs:
| 2 teaspoons |
| 2 teaspoons |
| Sea Salt, no iodine, ground medium course |
| Black Pepper, ground medium course |
- Grind salt in mortar;
- Grind peppercorns in mortar;
- Mix salt and pepper thoroughly;
- Spread dry rub over trouts, rubbing it inside and out using your hands until evenly covered;
3. Trout Stuffing
I stuffed these 5 bbq trouts with the following mixture:
| 1 |
| 1 cup |
| Lemon, cut into small and thin slices |
| Parsley, chopped |
Photo of the trouts stuffed with mixture of lemon slices and chopped parsley,
ready for hot smoking on the barbecue.
4. The Barbecue
You could prepare your Weber or similar covered barbecue grill for indirect grilling as per the method provided in the instruction booklet (if any), but we recommend Juancho's Split Grill:
Juancho's Split Grill / Blue Smoke BBQ Smoker
To obtain sustained lower heat and improved temperature control,
and to increase the grate area and be able to accommodate more meat
or larger cuts,
I developed an improved hot smoking method whereby the Weber Grill is set up for
indirect grilling on one side.
While this method for improving Weber smoking performance was initially just called Juancho's Split Grill, it is now also referred to by visitors as the Blue Smoke BBQ Smoker.
I would normally use a horizontal baffle to prevent direct grilling of the
food by the hot charcoal briquettes.
For grilling of these delicate trouts I placed a vertical baffle in between the fire pocket
and the drip pan. I made this baffle on the spot out of 2 pieces of aluminium foil.
A few things worth noting:
- |
Pour about half an inch of water in the drip pan. Some fanatics will replace the water with beer or wine. It may sound idiot, but you will notice the difference! |
- |
|
- |
For smoking we use a few water soaked chunks of oak, beech, plum or apple wood of, say, about 1"-2" thick and 3"-5" long. You could put your smokewood on top of the charcoal once the charcoal in in your barbecue is glowing and grey. We prefer to put chunks of smokewood in between the coals so they will burn a bit more gradually. |
5. Smoking Trout
With your barbecue all set and smoking, stick the trouts on the grill above the dripping pan.
Trouts like this will take about half an hour of hot smoking at temperatures in between 350°F and 400°F.
Close the lid, open the vent valves on top of your Weber, close the bottom vents to 1/4 open, and Bob's yer uncle!
While these trouts are smoking happily, enjoy that lovely smell. There's nothing that can make you feel more down to earth and relaxed.
Try to resist peeking under the lid too often. Every time you open your smoker you will loose heat, and the cooking process will take longer. On the other hand, if you have time anyway, what the heck...
After about fifteen minutes of smoking, we checked under the hood. The trouts looked quite OK and we decided to turn them around.
After about 30 minutes of hot smoking at temperatures between 350°F and 400°F these fishes had developed a nice golden brown crispy skin, and I got the feeling that I should start checking if they were getting done.
6. Dinner Time!
To check whether they were indeed properly done I used a sharp knife to punch a hole in the thickest trout.
While I like most types of fish cooked until it flakes and is opaque, trout, salmon and tuna will be dry when fully cooked. So I like my trout best when the meat is still a bit rare.
When tested, the meat of this trout appeared to be a bit translucent still, and it was only just starting to flake a bit. Taking into account that the cooking will continue after you take the food off the grill, it was time to take these trouts off the grill!
Time to attack!
The meat of this trout was perfectly tender and juicy, and it tasted great!
The PitBoss Suggests:
Serve with lemon wedges.
Hot smoked trout goes along very well with potatoes and salad, for example:
Blue Smoke Barbecue Fries
Once you have tried these smoke-grilled potatoes,
you won't be able to resist making them every time you see some spare space on the grate...
Juanita's American Coleslaw
This salad is pretty robust and can be prepared a couple of hours in advance.
It combines absolutely great with any meat from your barbecue.
Favourite Drinks
Before dinner we can recommend:
Blue Smoke BBQ Margarita
The Margarita is one of the most popular cocktails worldwide.
And with its delicate balance of sweet, sour, bitter and salt, it is perfect
to prepare the palate for barbecue fish.
During dinner we can recommend:
- Cold dry white wine; and/or
- Cold mineral water with fresh lemon slices;
- Cold beer (!) will combine very well with every barbecue, summer and winter.
