Name: Hot-smoked trout with herb crème fraîche
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 170 gm sea salt flakes (1 cup); 110 gm brown sugar (½ cup); 2 fresh bay leaves; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed; 1 side of ocean trout (about 1.1kg), pin-boned; 300 gm woodchips, such as mesquite or hickory, soaked in cold water for at least 1 hour, drained; Herb crème fraîche; 250 gm crème fraîche; ½ cup herbs, such as dill, chives and flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (firmly packed); Finely grated rind of 1 lemon, juice of ½

Hot-smoked trout with herb crème fraîche

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Hot-smoked trout with herb crème fraîche

Soda bread with herb and lemon butter — Hot-smoked trout with herb crème fraîche

Serves 8

Prep

20M

Cook

40M

Total

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You can prepare the hot-smoked trout a day ahead.

Ingredients

170 gm sea salt flakes (1 cup)

110 gm brown sugar (½ cup)

2 fresh bay leaves

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed

1 side of ocean trout (about 1.1kg), pin-boned

300 gm woodchips, such as mesquite or hickory, soaked in cold water for at least 1 hour, drained

Herb crème fraîche

250 gm crème fraîche

½ cup herbs, such as dill, chives and flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (firmly packed)

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon, juice of ½

Method

Main

1.Whisk salt, sugar, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns and 2 litres water in a bowl to combine, submerge trout fillet and refrigerate until lightly brined (6-8 hours). Remove trout from brine, pat dry with absorbent paper and set aside on a wire rack to dry slightly and form a skin (1-1½ hours; see note).

2.Meanwhile, preheat a coal-bedded kettle barbecue to low heat and set up for indirect grilling (see note). Add one-quarter of woodchips around coals and cook until smoke appears. Place trout on rack skin-side down, cover and smoke, adding extra woodchips as required, until cooked through (30-40 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

3.Meanwhile, for herb crème fraîche, whisk ingredients in a bowl to combine, and season to taste. Serve with flaked smoked trout.

Note Drying the trout after brining creates a skin, called a pellicle, that helps seal in the moisture before smoking the fish. Indirect grilling is cooking away from the heat, using the top rack. It’s important to have your coal base well established and glowing before adding woodchips.
Drink Suggestion: Light, lean cool-climate chardonnay or Chablis. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes

Styling by Emma Knowles

Recipe / styling by Lisa Featherby

Styling by Alice Storey

Ingredients

Method

Main

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