Smoked Trout Recipe

Place water, salt, brown sugar, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Pour the cooled brine mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Add trout, seal, set the bag in a dish (to catch any leakage), and refrigerate for exactly 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove the fish from the brine, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate while you prepare the grill.

Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in a bucket of water for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare the grill : Remove the cooking grate and set it aside. Fill a chimney starter halfway with charcoal, then pour the unlit charcoal onto one side of the charcoal grate. Using tongs, stack the charcoal in a slight slope against the side of the grill bowl. Remove 1 cup of the wood chips from the water, shaking off any excess, and lay the damp chips in the middle of the unlit charcoal. Fill the chimney again halfway with charcoal. Place the chimney on the charcoal grate next to the unlit coals. Twist two or three sheets of newspaper, form the twisted paper into rings, and place them under and inside the chimney starter. Light the newspaper through the holes at the bottom of the chimney. After about 5 minutes, the charcoal should be red and flames should have appeared toward the top of the chimney.

Carefully pour the lit charcoal onto the pile of unlit charcoal on the grate. Use tongs to stack the lit coals on the pile. Top the lit charcoal with the remaining 1 cup drained, damp wood chips. Set the empty chimney aside. Place the 8-inch square aluminum pan next to the hot charcoal (this is the drip pan). Set the cooking grate back on the grill. Fill the 9-by-5-inch aluminum loaf pan three-quarters of the way with cold water and place on the cooking grate over the hot charcoal (the cold water is needed to keep the grill temperature low). Set an oven thermometer in one of the grill lid’s vent holes or on the cooking grate near the edge of the grill and opposite the charcoal. Cover the grill, making sure that the bottom and top vents are open and that smoke is coming out of the vents. (If smoke is not coming out, check your fire to make sure it is lit. If it’s not, relight it, using tongs to transfer the warm charcoal from the grill back into the chimney starter.) Let the grill heat until it reaches at least 250°F, about 15 minutes.

Brush the trout all over with a thin film of oil. Place the fish on the cooking grate over the drip pan (not over the flaming charcoal). Cook, covered, making sure the lid’s vent is over the fish (not the fire), until the trout is amber in color and starts to flake, about 25 to 30 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, check the grill temperature. It should be between 250°F and 300°F. If it is too hot, add more water to the loaf pan (it evaporates) and close the lower vent by half. If the temperature is too low, make sure the bottom and top vents are open, or you may need to feed your charcoal by lighting more in the chimney.

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