Smoked Lake Trout: A Fish Worth Eating — WildFed (2024)

“Leave it for the birds”

“Bury it!”

“Season to taste, throw away the fish, and eat the cutting board!”

These are the witty responses that you’ll get when asking some fishermen for their favorite Lake Trout recipes. You can add this fish to the long list of species that are — according to many — no good for eating.

Here in Maine, they are affectionately referred to as “Mud Hens”, due to the common claim that they taste like…well, mud! Not only do I disagree, but believe this to be a misconception that’s been repeated over time, by people who often have never even eaten Lake Trout. That’s why I love seeing the look on someone’s face when they take a bite and realize what they are eating.

There are a lot of ways to prepare Lake Trout. Pan-frying, cubed and battered for finger food, tacos, I’ve even baked a few whole. There is no better way to get someone hooked on this fish, though, than smoking it. Put it out on a charcuterie board when you have guests over, and there won’t be any left by the time dinner is ready.

Pin Bones

The last thing that I want when feeding people is for them to be picking bones out of their teeth, or even worse, getting them stuck in their throat. In the center of each fillet is a row of Pin Bones that can be annoying to eat around. While they’re pretty harmless even if you do swallow one by accident, I still like to remove them for a more pleasant experience.

Many people will use tweezers to pull out each individual bone from the fillet, but since I’m usually processing many fish at once, I like to use a faster method. I simply remove a thin strip of meat containing the bones by making cuts on either side of them. You now have a boneless fillet ready for the brine.

Brining and Drying

In order to impart your desired flavor into the meat as well as to keep it moist throughout the smoking process, it’s a good idea to put your fish into a brine, in the fridge, for 4 - 6 hours before smoking it. The longer the fish is in the brine, the saltier it will be, so be careful not to leave it too long. The ratio that I generally use is:

• 1 quart water

• 1 cup sweetener

• 1/4 cup salt

I’ll often add herbs and experiment with different types of sweetener. I’ve used soy sauce instead of salt along with roasted sesame oil for a Japanese flavor. Sometimes I’ll make it spicy. It’s fun to play around with the recipe, but I’d suggest keeping notes when you do — It’s nice to know you have tested formulas that result in a great tasting final product.

Another reason for brining is to form a pellicle on the outer layer of your fillets, which allows the smoke to “stick” to the meat. This is achieved by air drying the fish.

Take your fillets out of the brine and place them on a wire rack. If you don’t have a wire rack, take the racks out of your stove and use that instead — It’s important to have good airflow. Pat the fish dry, place it under a fan and wait an hour or two. You know it’s done when there’s a tacky, shiny, layer coating the flesh.

You can do this process in the fridge if you have room. If you’re not ready to smoke, but you need your fish out of the brine, you can easily keep it like this for a day.

Smoking

I let my smoker come to temperature with the fish inside. I set it to 165˚F for 2.5 hours. This is a good time to have some drinks outside with friends and family while the wonderful smell of woodsmoke fills the air. About an hour in, I’ll brush on a generous coating of maple syrup, birch syrup, or apple molasses onto the fish.

When the smoking is done, I bring it inside and let it rest on a wire rack. After it cools a bit, I give it another generous coating of maple syrup (or desired sweetener). The mix of the salty flesh with the sweetness of the maple syrup makes it hard to stop “sampling” your batch.

At this point, your Lake Trout is ready to eat and put away. I like to vacuum seal each fillet separately, so I can easily give them away to friends or thaw them out for a quick snack.