TROUT - trota affumicata
Trout are available whole- fresh or frozen and in fillets. They are often fried but can also be enjoyed poached, baked, steamed, grilled or broiled. Trout is also often canned, kippered or smoked. Because of their relatively small size, even texture and great flavor, Trout are a perfect fish to hot smoke. This particular method presents a smoky richness to our vegetable salad. Hot smoking is a more flavorful cooking of brined fish, and creates an inherent dryness that i find deliscious. Hot smoking involves temperatures of 200-250 Fahrenheit for periods of 1 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the fish, fire and batch. Cold smoking, on the other hand, preserves fish first by salting (curing) and then drying. Cold smoking requires as little as 24 hours or as long as three weeks at temperatures never exceeding 80 Fahrenheit.
Smoked trout can be frozen for months or refrigerated for days, but remember that this fish isn't preserved and if you don't do something with it right away then you need to refrigerate it. If you plan to freeze the smoked trout we recommend leaving the thing whole skin and bones and all, this will create a defensive barrier that freezing might eventually break down, but the stuff is easy enough to find fresh so skip the whole freezer thing, unless you're in duluth.
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