Whole Smoked Trout

Using a sharp boning knife, insert the tip of the knife into the fish’s vent and make a shallow slice up to the gills.

Remove the knife and reinsert it through the skin under the lower jaw, horizontally, and make a shallow horizontal slice up to the mouth.

Insert your finger into the fish’s throat through this chin cut.

Grasping the gills from the inside, pull the chin down, firmly, toward the tail.

If you do this right, the fish’s guts, gills, and pec fins will come free in one clean pull.

Discard those innards.

Scrape away the dark bloodline that remains with a sharp knife or your thumb.

Give the fish a good rinse, and it’s ready to cook.

Combine the water, brown sugar, and salt in a large stockpot.

Bring just to the point of boiling, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar.

Let the brine cool completely.

In a clean small cooler or large zip-top bags, submerge the fish for about 3 hours.

When you’re ready to cook, heat the smoker to 225°F.

Remove the fish from the brine, rinse under cold water, and pat them dry.

Place the trout skin side down on a rack set in a baking pan.

Cover with plastic wrap.

Place the pan in the refrigerator and let rest, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.

You are looking for the fish’s skin to become shiny in color and sticky to the touch.

When you are ready to cook the trout, prepare your smoker and heat it to 225°F.

Transfer your trout fillets to an aluminum baking pan, skin side down, separating them by at least ¼ inch.

Don’t overcrowd your pan; use more pans if you need to.

Place the pan(s) in the smoker and cook for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the fish turns opaque and starts to flake.