Tea-Smoked Trout
Here’s a spectacular way to smoke a trout with a tea-inspired twist.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp honey
2 cups cold water
About 1 & 1/2 pounds of boneless trout fillets (with skin)
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of Green tea leaves
To brine and smoke the trout: Combine the kosher salt, honey and water in a nonreactive loaf pan. Add the trout fillets and submerge. Soak for 1 hour, then pat dry with paper towels and coat the fish with olive oil. Discard the brine.
Coat a vegetable steamer basket or wire rack with oil and place the fillets on it skin side down. Prepare a stovetop smoker by placing a round metal cake pan inside a large Dutch oven or covered-wok. Heat for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle the loose green tea in the bottom of the cake pan. Do not stand directly above the pan, as it will start to smoke right away. Place the trout-filled steamer basket or wire rack over the cake pan and cover tightly. Let it smoke for about 10 minutes or just until the top of the fish turns opaque. Remove the basket from the Dutch oven and let the fillets cool. * Now you have intensely flavored tea smoked trout to flake over a spinach salad with almonds and drizzle with a vinaigrette. Use fig-vinegar if possible for extra depth of flavor.
*You may have to take the Dutch oven or wok outside for a minute until the smoke subsides.