smoked steelhead trout (salmon)

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 pounds steelhead trout fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 cup sugar-based curing mixture (such as morton® tender quick®)
• 1 quart water
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pound alder wood chips, soaked in water or

Recipe

Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ready Time: 13 hrs 40 mins


• rinse the fish fillets and place them in a shallow glass baking dish. drizzle olive oil over the fish and season with garlic and rosemary. rub the seasonings into the fish. cover and refrigerate overnight.
• dissolve the curing salt in the water and pour into the dish with the fish. let it marinate for 15 minutes per half inch of thickness.
• meanwhile, prepare your smoker for a four hour slow burn using charcoal. the temperature should be at 150 degrees f (65 degrees c) before you get started.
• remove the fish from the brine and discard leftover liquid. place each piece of fish a small piece of aluminum foil - just big enough to hold the fillet, and season with pepper to taste. place them on the rack in the smoker. sprinkle a handful of the soaked wood chips over the coals or place in a heat box. cover and allow fish to smoke for 2 hours, adding more wood chips as needed.
• increase the heat in the smoker (add more charcoal) to 200 degrees f (95 degrees c) and let the fish smoke until the internal temperature of the fillets reaches 165 degrees f (72 degrees c). remove from the smoker and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.