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The Best Woods For Smoking Trout
Smoking food is among the best ways to add a distinct taste to food.
Before refrigerators’ advent, people smoked our food to preserve it. Since we have different ways to store food, smoking is increasingly used to enhance flavor and cooking methods.
You are likely acquainted with smoking food items such as ribs, brisket, and chicken. Did you know that you could also smoke trout, or other fish like trout, for an entirely new taste experience?
Trout has a wonderfully delicate, mildly sweet flavor and a soft, smooth texture that is ideal for smoking.
Just as certain kinds of wood can be for smoking certain types of meats, there are also certain kinds of woods that truly enhance the taste of trout.
What are the most effective timbers for smoking trout? The most suitable timbers to smoke trout are cedar or cherry and alder. These woods aren’t likely to overwhelm the taste that the fish has. However, they each bring a distinct flavor to the food.
Read on to learn more about the best 3 trout-smoking kinds of wood and how to cook the perfect filet for the barbecue and much more!
1. Cedar Wood
This is the best wood for smoking trout and most delicious option on the list and has a distinct and lovely aroma, making it the perfect choice to smoke trout.
Cedars are also abundant in the regions where the most trout are found worldwide, which is why this pairing is logical both on a geographical and historical scale.
It has a bright, sweet, spicy, almost citrusy taste to the trout. It is perfectly balanced in harmony with the sublime and gentle taste of the fish.
You’ll notice the distinct taste of this wood, and you’ll be delighted by the way it pairs with your trout.
Cedar wood will likely require an edging plank because it’s very difficult to locate cedar chips to smoke.
The plank way of smoking is fantastic because it allows you to cook whole filets directly on your grill without the need for special equipment.
If you’re looking to pick some cedar planks to grill your trout on the BBQ, then find the most current prices through Amazon.
2. Cherry Wood
The next tree that we will discuss comes from the tree of cherries.
It’s a well-known smoking choice due to its extremely subtle cherry flavor infused into any food item you’re smoking.
The subtle cherries and the rich smoke go well with trout without overpowering the natural flavor of trout.
As opposed to cedar woods, unlike cedar wood, cherry is available in smoking planks as well as wood chunks. It is possible to utilize the wood to smoke or set the planks on the grill based on what is available and what you prefer.
The choice you choose will result in a mouthwatering end product. However, smoking takes more time and is a bit more delicate than grilling with wood planks.
This means that you’ll likely have a stronger smoke flavor than had you been using the plank.
Based on the timeframe you have set and the tools you have to hand, you can pick any cherry cut you want.
If you’re looking to test the cherry wood, look up the following links:
Planks: Prices as of Amazon
Chunks: Prices as of Amazon
Chips: The current price is on Amazon
3. Alder Wood
The final word on our list is the alder, a hardwood with a mild earthy, earthy flavor when used for smoking.
If you are using this wood, you’ll need to incorporate it into recipes that contain numerous other strong flavors because its delicate flavor can easily be overpowered. Select this wood for simple fish dishes.
Alder trees can be found throughout North America, once again in the same regions where trout are found. The combination of alder and trout is delicate and lets the delicate flavors of both fish and would be evident.
As with cherry wood, it is possible to find it in chunks, planks, and chips. You can also smoke your trout by using a barbecue or a smoker, depending on the materials you have on hand and the amount of time you’d like to devote to smoking.
Whatever method you decide to use, however, we recommend keeping it simple. Try adding salt and pepper, as well as adding a little sugar to offset the smoke.
Keep in mind that when it involves smoking alder wood, the simpler your recipe is, the greater the chance the smoke will shine.
If you’d like to test alder wood, look up the links below:
Planks: Prices as of Amazon
Chunks: Current Price on Amazon
Chips: The current price is on Amazon
The Best Way To Smoke Trout On A Cedar Plank
Smoking your trout over a cedar plank is a fantastic way to combine a distinctive smoke taste with the rich texture and soft flakiness of the fish.
The recipe listed below is only an idea; feel at liberty to play around with your seasonings and adjust it to your liking.
Ingredients
- 1 large trout filet bones were removed (skin may remain on)
- 1 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 1.5 teaspoons of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon black
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon powdered onion
- 1 cedar plank
Directions
- Soak your cedar plank as stated in the directions, and aim for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat your grill to 300degF.
- Mix the sugar, spices, salt, pepper, and sugar in a bowl.
- Remove the cedar plank from the water and put it on the countertop.
- Place the trout filet skin side across the cedar board.
- Sprinkle the mixture on the fleshy part of the trout.
- Place the cedar plank and the trout in the barbecue, and cover the grill with a lid. It is important to examine it regularly to ensure that it’s still burning and not burning. However, ensure that the lid is shut as tightly as possible to stop smoke from venting out.
- Prepare your seafood until it has reached temperatures of 145 degrees F. Smaller fish filets cook faster than larger ones. It is recommended to check the temperature for around 20 minutes, then alter it from there.
- After the food is cooked, take your plank off the grill and serve it with your favorite side dishes. There’s no need to serve on a plateau. The plank is an excellent serving dish.
Smoke Salmon By Using Alder, Cedar, And Cherry Wood?
Cedar, alder, and cherry woods are excellent choices alongside other types of fatty fish, such as salmon.
Salmon is delicious when smoking on a plank of cedar on the barbecue. It’s among the fattiest and rich seafood, with a distinctive flavor that is well-suited to cedar smoke.
You can also use this recipe to create a cedar plank salmon instead of trout filets. Substitute the trout filet in place of the salmon.
You may need to add a half-to-full teaspoon of the ingredients if your filet is much bigger than the filet of trout.
The cooking time might be a bit longer. Therefore, we suggest checking your salmon after 25 minutes. Cook until it reaches the internal temp of 145 degrees for the most optimal outcomes.
Alder and cherry wood are great choices to smoke salmon. Because it’s rich, fatty fish with a stronger taste than trout, it will stand up to smoking to a strong flavor, So don’t be scared to throw it into the smoker.
You can also try an assortment of woods to get the distinct taste profile that matches your trout or salmon distinctively and thrillingly.
Summary of Smoking Trout
Smoking is an excellent option if you’re looking for an innovative method to cook the trout you catch. The top three species of wood to smoke trout are cherry, cedar, and alder. Each has its own distinct flavor that compliments the texture and flavor of trout.
Cedar Wood is the most flavorful choice we have listed. It has a mildly sweet, spicy, and almost citrusy flavor that is well paired with strong and bold tastes. You’ll often use cedar planks to grill your trout over the barbecue.
Cherry wood will add a hint of cherry-like sweetness to the trout that will cut through the richness of your fish. You can make use of the plank, or wood chips/chunks in a smoker for the preparation of your fish.
Alder wood is the tiniest of the listed woods and works best with easy recipes that don’t overpower the flavor of smoke.
As with cherry, you can use an alder plank or wood chips/chunks from a smoker to create the most delicate and delicious smoke-smoked trout.
