Rainbow Trout is great for hot-smoking because it has a high fat content. Any fatty fish smokes really well, including salmon, cod, halibut, sea bass, mackerel etc. I don’t usually brine my fish before I smoke it because I really enjoy the natural flavours of the trout and don’t feel as though it needs the brine for moisture purposes (the fatty-ness keeps the fish really moist). All I do is brush a little bit of maple syrup on the pieces of fish and season with salt and pepper and then add them to my smoker, at about 200 degrees, for 20-30 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillet). I use either maple wood chips or hickory, each of which produces very contrasting end products (maple being more subtle, hickory being much stronger).
Sockeye Salmon is actually quite lean compared to most other species of salmon. It has an incredible colour and very rich flavour. It was great smoked, although I left it a medium rare so that it wouldn’t dry out. It was divine!
Last but not least, is the cod. A rather meaty, fatty fish, with a very soft flavour. It took to the smoke really wonderfully. It tasted less smokey than the trout and sockeye, even though I left it in the smoker for a good 10 minutes longer. It was delicately flavoured with a really wonderfully moist yet flaky texture, and it just melted in your mouth.
As you can see, I paired the smoked fish with some garlic sauteed baby bok choy and caramelized oyster mushrooms (sauteed in a pan with butter, salt & pepper), which I finished with a little maple syrup. Try it out sometime!
It’s easy, but certainly doesn’t taste like it!
Tales Of Two Chics in the Kitchen 