Old Timber Outdoors
A freshly caught brook trout held over a landing net
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Whole trout, cleaned

Hot-Smoked Whole Trout with Dill Sour Cream

Whole trout stuffed with lemon and dill and hot-smoked over fruitwood until done, served warm off the bone for dinner.

Serves
4
Hands-on
25 min
Total
2 hr
Skill
Confident cook

Cooks on: Smoker · Dinner, Lunch

Ingredients

  • 4 fishWhole trout, cleaned, 10 to 12 oz each, head on or off
  • 1Lemon, half thinly sliced, half for juice
  • 1 cloveGarlic, grated
  • 2 tspSalt, plus a pinch for the sauce
  • 1 tspBlack pepper, ground
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 4 sprigs fresh dill, plus 2 tbsp chopped dill for the sauce
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 to 3 handfuls hardwood chips or chunks, such as alder, apple or oak

You'll need

  • Smoker
  • Instant-read thermometer

Contains

Fish, Dairy.

Method

  1. Heat the smoker to 225°F and add the hardwood chips or chunks so they are smoking steadily before the fish goes on.
  2. Pat the trout dry inside and out. Rub the skin with the oil and season inside and out with the salt and pepper. Tuck the lemon slices and dill sprigs into the cavities.
  3. Lay the trout on the grate with space between them. Close the lid and smoke at 225 to 250°F for 60 to 90 minutes, adding wood as needed, until the flesh at the thickest part along the backbone is opaque, flakes easily, and reads 145°F on an instant-read thermometer.
  4. While the fish cooks, stir the sour cream, chopped dill, garlic, the juice of the remaining lemon half and a pinch of salt. Refrigerate the sauce until serving.
  5. Lift the trout onto a platter. Peel back the skin, lift the fillets off the bone, and serve warm with the dill sour cream.

When it's done: 145°F

Federal guidance: 145°F, or until the flesh is no longer translucent and separates easily with a fork.

If it goes wrong

Temperature swinging
Open and close vents in small steps and wait 10 minutes between changes; check the fish, not the clock.
Bitter, sooty taste
The wood was smoldering. Aim for thin, pale blue smoke, not thick white smoke.
Not done at 90 minutes
Bigger fish or a cool day takes longer. Keep cooking and check every 10 minutes until it reaches 145°F.

Leftovers. This is cooked for dinner, not smoked for keeping, and it is not shelf stable. Serve right away. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours; reheat to 165°F, or flake them cold from the refrigerator into a salad.