Smoked Trout Dip with Capers

This smoked trout dip is bursting with deep, rich flavor. The capers lend a fresh, citrusy, tang that brightens it and makes it impossible to take just one bite.

Quality time in nature

Since he was old enough to walk, our son has spent many hours in the woods and on the water with his Daddy. At his age, most of those hours are spent eating snacks and asking endless questions, but memories are being made.

Traditions are being carried on.

Skills are being passed to the next generation.

A dying art is being preserved.

Wild game is a staple in our diet.

Our freezer is always stocked with venison, wild turkey, and lots of fish. As much as I love to give my husband a hard time and say that our life is one never-ending hunting season, I can’t deny how nice it is to be able to pull whatever meat I need from the freezer and not have to worry about grocery store prices and questionable sources.

Because we have such a variety of proteins to pull from, we like to try creative ways to enjoy them. You might be surprised to know that we don’t actually like trout. As much fish as we have access to, we don’t usually choose it because it’s such a pain to clean! It seems like no matter how meticulously you remove the bones, there are always a few stragglers. That’s why we chose to puree the trout in this dip and chop any minuscule bones that might remain.

How to Smoke Trout

You can purchase smoked trout in most grocery stores. It is usually found with the tuna and sardines. We smoked the trout ourselves since we love catching it, but don’t always love eating it. This recipe definitely changed our minds about that!

We started out by rinsing the trout, then making a brine for them to soak in overnight. The next morning, we rinsed them again, patted them dry, and let them hang out in the fridge for a couple of hours until they were tacky.

We used applewood in our electric smoker, and placed the trout on a wire rack, and smoked them for about four hours at 170º. I started checking the fish after around three hours in the smoker, and took them out when the tails and fins were crispy and dry. They were surprisingly easy to clean, and when we tasted them, we both had an “aha” moment. We couldn’t believe how flavorful they turned out! My toddler put away half a trout herself just snacking while we were picking bones.

We decided to go ahead and give the meat a little pulse in the food processor to chop any bones that we may have missed. The dip still had a great consistency, and I had peace of mind that I wouldn’t meet my death choking on a trout rib.

Ingredients

Brine

• 1/2 cup honey
• 8 cups warm water
• 3/4 cup salt

Dip

• 1/2 cup pureed smoked trout
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• one tablespoon shallots or red onions finely chopped
• one teaspoon chives or green onions finely chopped
• one teaspoon paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• one teaspoon mustard powder
• one tablespoon capers

Directions

Brine

1. Combine ingredients in a glass dish.
2. Rinse trout and place in brine overnight. Use a plate to weigh the fish down so that they are submerged in the brine.
3. Remove fish from brine and rinse again, then place in refrigerator to dry for a couple of hours, until tacky.

Smoking Trout

1. After following directions for brine, prepare smoker with applewood bacon and preheat to 170º
2. Place trout on a wire rack with space between each fish for smoke to move.
3. Check fish after about three hours and remove when fins and tail are crispy and dry.

Dip

1. Combine all ingredients except for the trout and capers. Mix with a fork until smooth.
2. Add trout and mix until well combined.
3. Gently mix in capers (so you don’t smash them all completely).

Watch Creek reel in dinner!

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Try some of my other wild game recipes.