Easy Tea Smoked Trout

December 29, 2011  •  Fish & Seafood, Technique

I was working on one of the final recipes for the cookbook last week and it called for smoked trout – I figured that was something I could just buy at my regular grocery store, but no. Well, you have to love the internet, because there is a step by step instruction for everything out there. Turns out that smoking fish, inside with just a simple pan, is simple and fast – and the result is incredibly tender, smoked fish.You start with a smoking mixture I found on ehow.com – 1 cup rice, 1 cup sugar – and you add your smoking ingredient to that. I didn’t have any wood chips so decided to use tea leaves, and I’m so glad I did. The tea produces a really floral type of smoke compared to heavy wood smoking. Line the bottom of a wok with foil, then pour the mixture on top of it.That’s an important step, because if you skip that foil, this burned up mess will be stuck to the bottom of your pan, instead of easily pulled out and tossed. Lay a piece of foil on top of the smoking mixture and coat it with some oil, then lay the piece of fish on top. Seal up your entire wok (or pot) very tightly with foil, and then add a heavy lid if you have one.That’s another important step, because you want to keep as much of that smoke in the pot as possible, not escaping out. Heat it over high heat for 5 minutes, then turn it off and let it sit for another 20 minutes.And voila, you’ll have a perfectly smoked piece of fish like this. By the way, this is a great way to use up old tea that may not be that great for drinking anymore, which I seemed to have alot of before I started this project. Smoked trout is great in appetizers or salad, and I’m pretty sure this technique would work with just about any fish. If you try something else out, let me know how it turns out!

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  1. Karen Harris says:

    This sounds so easy and delicious. I saw an America’s Test Kitchen episode not long ago for inside smoking using Lapsang Souchong tea that looked so good. I looked all over and finally found some in the UK, brought it back and have never smoked anything with it. You have now inspired me to give it a try. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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