Traeger Grill Smoked Trout is a great recipe for cooking smoked, fresh trout! Butterflied trout are soaked in a brine before smoking, for peak flavor!
To make brine: Place water, salt, brown sugar, black pepper and soy sauce in a LARGE covered container. Whisk ingredients together until sugar has dissolved.
Remove fish head. Clean and gut each trout. Butterfly cut each trout almost all the way to the tail, and then spread it out. Do not slice all the way through the bottom skin. You want the trout to be able to lie flat when smoking. Place the butterflied trout into the brine; make sure each fish is covered. You might need to weigh the fish down with a heavy plate, to keep them under the brine. Cover container, and let fish brine in liquid for 60 minutes in refrigerator. Once fish has brined for 1 hour, remove fish from brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Get fish as dry as possible before you put them onto the grill.
Start Traeger by turning it on and waiting 4-5 minutes (with lid open) until it is smoking, and a fire has been established. Turn temperature gauge to 225°F., and let grill preheat (with lid closed). This might take anywhere from 10-15 minutes. Once pre-heated, quickly brush vegetable oil over the grill grates with a pastry brush. This helps to help prevent the fish skin from sticking to the grill. Place trout directly onto oiled grill grate, skin side down. Close the lid. Smoke trout for 1½ - 2 hours until the fish starts to flake and turns slightly opaque in color. You don't need to mess with them once they are on the grill. Remove trout once they are fully cooked; transfer to a baking sheet. De-bone each fish, and then serve. You can serve the trout hot or cold, however you prefer it.
NOTE: Cooking times can vary a bit, due to the ambient temps of each smoker, and thickness of the trout.
Traeger Grill Smoked Trout https://www.thegratefulgirlcooks.com/traeger-grill-smoked-trout/