A simple brine consisting of brown sugar, salt, and water amplifies the natural flavors of the trout. Prep, brine, and smoke - that's all there is to it!
To make the brine, in a small bowl dissolve brown sugar and Kosher salt in water.
Pour brine into a large shallow pan.
Place fish skin side up into the brine. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
Preheat smoker to 180 F.
Remove fish from the brine and place skin side down onto the grill grates of your smoker. Close the lid and smoke for 2 hours.
If you want the top of the fish to have a little more color, you can place it under your oven’s broiler for 3-5 minutes.
Notes
We used a rather shallow pan which made it difficult to move without spilling. For this reason, we suggest a large baking pan with higher sides. If you can’t fit the whole fish you cut cut it in half to brine it.
We are using steelhead trout, which are similar to rainbow trout but have a much milder "fish" taste. You can substitute with rainbow trout if that is all you can find.