This is how you properly brine and smoke a whole trout on the Traeger Grill (or whatever smoker you have). This method works for fillets as well, but you have to adjust the time spent on the smoker. This smoked trout recipe takes a bit of time to come together, but the majority of that is hands-off. The results are a delicious salty, smoky fish that is better than anything you can get from the store.
I also have a similar recipe for smoked salmon — How To Smoke Salmon On The Traeger Grill — which uses a more complicated brine recipe including beets, blood oranges, and pomegranate molasses. Did you know that salmon and trout can often be used interchangeably in the same recipes? Well, now you do.
I Have a Secret Trout Fishing Spot
It's in Ontario, but that's about all I can tell you about it.
Every summer I regularly pull out massive trophy Speckled (also called Brook) trout from pristine water. But I'm not after trophies, I'm looking to stock my freezer with practically free wild fish for the colder months. And trout is one of the most delicious freshwater fish species you can target.
It is not a walk in the park. The area is hard to reach and remote. The best lakes require bushwhacking through dense forest outfitted in a full bug suit and carrying a trolling motor and batteries — not to mention your fishing gear.
But it's worth it...
And you can read more about in my article: My Secret Fishing Spot
What Purpose Does a Brine Serve?
Why do we brine? The process of soaking the fish (or any meat) in salted water for a period of time causes the flesh to absorb some of the salty water through osmosis. This makes the meat moister when cooked.
You can also dry-brine, but I won't get into that here today.
To prepare your trout for smoking, you will need to brine them first. 8-10 hours will suffice, but overnight is even better.
Take your whole trout or fillets and place them in a glass or plastic dish, bowl, or pan. I find that a glass casserole dish or large Pyrex bowl with a lid works the best. Remember, the fish have to be able to be fully submerged in the brine solution so choose your vessel accordingly.
Pour 1 full measuring cup full of water over the fish, and repeat until they are fully covered and submerged in water.
Did you keep track in your head about how many full cups of water you used? Good. Remember that number. Discard the water, you will be starting with fresh water later.
The Purpose of Salt & Sugar in Brine
You can freely omit the sugar caramelization step if you're not a sugar person or feeling lazy. The most important thing here is SALT. And yes, it seems like a TON of salt.
Remember — the trout are not going to be absorbing the VAST majority of the brine, trace amounts really.
The quantity of salt used, and he scant tablespoons of sugar I include in this recipe do not permeate the flesh in their entirety. Regardless, you still need to use the correct amount for the science of osmosis to take place — 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per 1 cup of water.
And you will be rinsing the brine off the surface at the end anyway, so don't freak out if you've never done this before. It's fine.
I live in a condo and the Traeger Grill was a godsend. Prior I had an electric grill to work with and it just was not performing how I wanted.
You can use whatever smoker you have for this recipe. I can't advise you on how your brand or model works, but honestly this is such a simple recipe that you should be able to figure it out.
Buy Traeger 100% hardwood pellets (no additives) here:
Enjoying Your Smoked Trout, Some Ideas
Smoked trout is delicious hot off the grill, but if you have a big fish or a lot of them, they're equally tasty cold or at room temperature.
My favourite breakfast recipe that calls for smoked salmon works beautifully with trout as well:
A smoked trout spread with flaked fish and cream cheese with herbs is lovely, as a smoked trout salad. It's very versatile.
I have an article with some more great trout recipes here if you want to try methods other than smoking:
Serve Your Smoked Trout Alongside:
- A Pretty Summer Salad of Nasturtium Flowers & Leaves
- Wild Edibles: Stinging Nettle Soup
- Ajoblanco Extremeño: Cold Spanish Soup
The recipe is adaptable to any size, weight, and amount of trout you may have.
If you try this recipe, I would love to know what you thought. If you have any additional tips and tricks for me, I would love to hear about it in the comments below.
PrintHow To Smoke Whole Trout on The Traeger Grill
I hope you read the notes, because they will answer any important questions I just do not have room for in a recipe card. This is a great way to brine and smoke your freshly-caught wild (or store-bought) trout. It works for numerous other fish species too.
1 whole trout per person for dinner is recommended unless you have particularly large fish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 trout 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Smoking and Preserving
- Cuisine: North America
Ingredients
- Whole trout. Gutted and gilled
- Enough fresh water to fully cover and submerge your trout
- 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of cane sugar per trout
- 2 tablespoons of coconut amino acids (or soy or tamari sauce) per trout
- A few bay leaves
- Whole Peppercorns
- Some dark maple syrup for basting (optional)
- Toothpicks, 2-3 per trout
(I use hickory woodchips most of the time, but if you want a milder flavour try applewood.)
Instructions
To Determine the Amount of Water Needed:
You only need enough fresh water to fully submerge the trout, no more. You can weigh the water too, but this is how I do it.
- Using a 1 cup measure, fully submerge the trout in fresh water.
- The amount of cups you used is the amount you need for your brine.
- I like to discard the trout water and start with a fresh batch for making the brine.
- In a large enough saucepan on medium heat, add your cane sugar (if using) and allow to melt and bubble until dark brown.
- Immediately add some of your water to stop the caramelization process and prevent the sugar from burning. WARNING: This can cause the sugar mixture to splatter, please do this with care, or remove the sugar from the heat and add water once cooled down.
- Add the rest of your water as you measured in the above steps.
- Add the kosher salt, soy/tamari/coconut aminos (if using) and bay leaves.
- Heat the water and stir until all of the sugar and salt is completely melted.
- Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature — IMPORTANT — do not use hot brine on your trout, it will cook the fish which you do not want.
- When the brine solution has cooled down, fully submerge your trout in it and add a few teaspoons of whole black peppercorns.
- Place your trout in the refrigerator to brine anywhere from 8 hours to overnight. Overnight is preferred.
- After the trout is sufficiently brined, remove them from the solution and discard the liquid.
- Rinse your trout under cold running water to remove the brine from the surface. Failing to do so will result in an overly-salty fish.
- Pat the fish dry.
- Using 2-3 toothpicks per trout, stick them in the fish cavity to keep it propped open while drying and smoking.
- Place the trout on a rack to dry from 1-4 hours. This step is crucial in developing sticky the pellicle which helps smoke adhere to the flesh. I usually go for 2 hours at cool room temperature, but the refrigerator is probably best.
- Preheat your Traeger on the 'Smoke' setting for 5 minutes.
- Baste the trout inside and out with maple syrup using a pastry brush and place them, with their chest cavities propped open, directly on the grill.
- Set your timer for 1 hour and every hour baste the trout with more maple syrup and check to see if the flesh is flaky.
- Depending on the size, the smoking will take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 4.
- Do NOT surpass 4 hours until you are looking to make trout jerky.
- Do NOT let the temperate get above 200/220 Fahrenheit, and if it does place a bowl of ice water inside the smoker.
Keywords: trout, brook trout, speckled trout, smoked trout, Traeger grill, smoking
This sounds fantastic! I have a few questions before I attempt it. I have fresh smaller Rainbow "stockers" in the 6-8oz range. You specify the 2 tablespoons of sugar and tamari amount "per trout". Should I use this amount for the smaller fish as well or will it be too much? Also can I substitute teriyaki for the tamari?
Thanks for a great recipe!
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Size doesn't matter here fortunately! It all depends on how much water is actually used to fully submerge the fish you have. And you can sub with teriyaki or leave it out altogether.
Do you know what happens when you add cold water to boiling sugar? I just found out the hard way... maybe wanna put a warning in your recipe.
Yikes, you're right. Will do so asap.
I never have heard of rinsing the fish and patting dry before. I prefer to let the fish air dry with a small fan over them for several hours, especially if smoking fish in the round. I prop open the cavity with a toothpick or small twig, and let those babies air dry, forming a magnificent glaze which we call the pellicle. Fish will look like they are still soaking wet but actually dry to the touch. Never had bad results with this method.
I do like the fan idea, but I just lack the space to add yet another thing! If I wasn't in a condo I would definitely do that. It works great with the air drying too, provided the temperatures are decent, you couldn't do it outside in the summer months.
Looks like an awesome recipe.
Loved the pics of the catch, thank for sharing
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Useful information. Lucky me I found your web site by chance, and I am surprised why this twist of fate didn't came about earlier!
I bookmarked it.
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Awesome post and I love the pictures too. Will Share this one 🙂 Thank you
Loved this trout when I made it! I left out the coconut amino acid/soy sauce however, as I wasn’t sure whether you meant to have it on the ingredients list, as it is not in the instructions (same with the salmon).
Thank you! And I appreciate you letting me know about that oversight so I can fix it, clearly my proofreading and editing failed on that aspect!
Fascinating. Definitely bookmarking this page. Really valuable fishing info, thanks for posting.
So weird. I was just searching for information about this stuff and you popped up. You must be doing something right. Thanks by the way, this really answered some questions I was wondering about.
Great instruction of cooking this grilled Trout. I love this recipe. Thank you for share this.
I have a Traeger! This sounds incredible smoked too!
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All your notes are super helpful! I wish we had a grill so we could try this.
Wow ! I've never done a whole fish before and the smoked trout is the best in outdoor grill!
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I love smoked fish but have never tried to do it myself before. Thank you for the very thorough & detailed instructions.
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What a fantastic recipe! Seriously looks amazing, and you are making me consider getting a Traeger grill!
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Wo love this post! I've made whole hogfish before but never trout! Need to follow your tips and tricks!
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So helpfull i think im going to try this!
Jadieegosh
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Great recipe and much-needed, thank you! I have never brined fish before! This recipe was needed! 😉 My sister and BIL just got a Traeger, and they are LOVING it, plus they're pretty machines lol. Pinning this post, and I'll share it with them too. They fish and hunt but also haven't brined fish before.
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I love fresh trout, but I've never tried smoking it before. This sounds AMAZING!
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I love the nature photos you've taken -- and that's an amazing fish you're posing with! I've never brined fish before, but I've done a bit of pickling with spanish mackerel (for fish dips) I need to try your method. I don't have a Traeger (yet) but do have a smoker as well as a gas Weber -- do you think I could accomplish the same with those?
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Thanks for this very detailed post! Now I want to A. Go fishing, B. Grill some fish!
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What a great fishing experience love the photos! Very helpful tips for grilling trout!
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This is really helpful! My husband tried it and it was awesome!
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Sounds like such a cool experience! All of your notes make it easy for a novice to get this perfect. Thanks for sharing.
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This is a great tutorial. I can't wait to try it out.
I would love to try fishing some day! This looks good.
What an amazing experience fishing you own trout and then cook it! I have never gone fishing but now I need to add this to my bucket list. Smoked trout is delicious.
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Your fishing spot sounds amazing. Love these tips for smoking trout!
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Thanks for this amazing tutorial! My neighbor just got a Traeger, and I can't wait to try this out. Trout fishing in NC is how I spend time with my dad -- he loves it, and we've been doing it since I was 3!
This is such a great tutorial for smoking trout. How great to have a remote secret fishing spot!
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