Smoked trout tacos

C
CDN
We don't have the incredible trout fishing here in Georgia that you have out there in Oregon, but we have a decent fishery and here's a little recipe for some smoked trout tacos!

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I had the good fortune this past week of spending the day on the Chattahoochee River with one of my best friends in the world, fishing from float tubes for rainbow and brown trout. He and I used to make this float trip just about every other weekend, but work, family and other factors have limited our time to do it in the past few years. So we decided that no matter what, we were gonna do it that day! The Good Lord gave us a beautiful day and we caught a few fish too!

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We made the float from Buford Dam to the Georgia Highway 20 Bridge, and amongst all the hustle and bustle of the North Georgia sprawling development and traffic is this pristine stretch of river, virtually untouched by anyone other than trout fishermen. The water is clear and cold, coming out of Buford Dam at about 50 something degrees, even on this day in June when the air temp was about 95! There are a lot of deep pools, swift runs and even a couple of whitewater type rapids to navigate through. I was about to go through one those whitewater rapids and decided I better snap a picture of myself, so that my family could have comfort in knowing that I was still alive before I entered the rapids!

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We cast spinners, minnow crankbaits, flies and even a few bait eggs to hook up with around 20 fish for the day. Not a banner day, but fun none the less and a great opportunity to spend time with a great friend and put some food on the table! I decided to take a few of the trout and smoke them and make some tacos. Sound good? Well here's how I did it.

What you'll need:

Four medium size fresh trout

Grill Mates Mojito Lime Marinade Mix

Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Water

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

Tortillas

Chopped lettuce

Shredded Cheese

Salsa

Sour Cream

Fresh cilantro

Hickory or apple chunks

Start out by mixing the Mojito Lime mix with the olive oil, water and apple cider vinegar per the instructions on the package. You could subsititute this marinade with Mojo Criollo. Place the trout in a zip-loc bag and pour the marinade over them. Shake it around to completely cover them and place in the refrigerator for about an hour.

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Now it's time to get your grill or smoker going. You could smoke trout on any type of equipment that you have, and I could have easily done mine on my offset stick burner smoker. But I wanted to show you all how easy it can be on a Weber Kettle. I started out with about a half a chimney of lump charcoal, only allowing it to get about halfway burning before I dumped it in the Weber, banking it on one side. The idea here is to cook pretty cool, around 200 degrees is ideal. I placed a chunk of hickory on the coals, then put a water pan over the fire. You want to let the fire burn just a little so the the hickory is burning clean, not "yellow smoking" or smoking too heavy. Place an oven thermometer on the grate to check the temp. With the water pan over the coals, I was able to maintain 200 degrees throughout the cook. Coat the cooking grate opposite of the coals with olive oil and your ready for your trout.

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Smoke the trout until they are flaky and the flesh is opaque. They only take about an hour if you maintain around 200 degrees. Bring them in and let them cool, then use a fork to rake the meat off of the bones.

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Close down the vents on the Weber Kettle, and toss the tortillas on the grate to lightly toast them, if you like. They will only take about 1 minute on each side, so don't burn them. Bring them in and assemble your tacos however you like. For me, that's gonna be some smoked trout, shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and garnish with a little fresh cilantro. Serve it up with a side of grilled corn, tomato and cucumber salad, which I will post the recipe for here on the website coming up.

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S
Spydeyrch
Nice recipe!! Those tacos look delicious!! My wife is from Mexico and she loves fish tacos!! Now I have an additional excuse to get out on the water!!! :D

"But honey, I am doing it for you!! I am gonna get you some fresh fish to make you some nice smoked fish tacos!!!"

:lol:

Nice pics too. That water looks beautiful!! Nice trout. Thanks for sharing. :D

Take care man!!

-Spydey
 
W
waco
Mmmm!!! Delicioso nice post man!! BTW you always make me hungry!! :lol:
 
L
lilsalmon
Very nice post. Sitting here having my first cup of coffee and now thinking I am hungry....and thinking it is a beautiful day, last day of trout season and I am sitting here having coffee....should be out on the water. Thanks for sharing.
 
P
PNW Sam
That's awesome! I have about a dozen trout sitting in my freezer, looks like I know what's for dinner tonight!
 
W
wozniasm
Nice recipe but have you tried Coopers Creek campground area? I used to live in McDonough and every spring break I'd take the kids and co-workers up there.
They stock well at Mulky Creek and Deep Hole campgrounds.
Also Dockery lake in the same area.
Taccoa River at Blue Ridge Dam.
Also a lake at the end of the road for the Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery located on Rock Creek.
Tons of places up there. Just a couple of hours drive.
 
C
CDN
wozniasm said:
Nice recipe but have you tried Coopers Creek campground area? I used to live in McDonough and every spring break I'd take the kids and co-workers up there.
They stock well at Mulky Creek and Deep Hole campgrounds.
Also Dockery lake in the same area.
Taccoa River at Blue Ridge Dam.
Also a lake at the end of the road for the Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery located on Rock Creek.
Tons of places up there. Just a couple of hours drive.

Yep! Been to all those places over the years, and you are right they can be pretty good. The State of Georgia has seriously reduced the stocking schedule in the mountain streams due to budget cuts, so the numbers can be tough. The potential for a big fish is much better in the Hooch tailrace, and the average size of the fish are bigger. And it is a lot closer drive from where I live:D But getting up to the mountains is nice and all of my family live up that way, so that's always a double bonus!
 
W
wozniasm
Sorry to hear of the reduction. We always had a great time up there. You're correct, the Hootch has some big ones and it's much closer to home.
I wonder if the hybrids are also causing a shortage in the Hootch by eating the trout. I remember seeing trout jump out of the water trying to avoid the hybrids chasing them.
 
A
alm21
Catfish tacos...

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But seriously, that looks really good. I'm not a big fan of eating trout but those tacos have me rethinking the whole thing.
 

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