I *LOVE* Hot-Smoked fish, particularly Salmon and Trout. Did I mention that Salmon and Trout are very closely related? Sorry, I digress... There is a significant difference between hot-smoked and cold-smoked fish, that's for sure.
Hot Smoked - The fish is cooked at a very hot temperature in a smoker.
Cold Smoked - The fish is preserved with the smoke, using a cold temperature.
When I cook salmon or trout on the smoker, I usually cook a whole filet, which means I have leftovers, which means I can make DIP!!
You will need:
- 3/4 lb (12oz) smoked trout (or Salmon)
- 1 Block (8oz) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (good mayonnaise)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp horseradish
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder (or 4 cloves of garlic)
- 1 tsp lime juice
- Handful of chopped green onions (garnish)
This recipe is super simple, but it's a bit tedious. First (here's the easy part), put all of the ingredients EXCEPT FOR the fish and the green onions into a food processor, blender, or bowl. Process, whip, or beat the living daylights out of it until it's nice and smooth! Transfer this mixture into a nice container that slide it into the fridge for awhile to "set up."
Now, to the fish... For this recipe, I hot-smoked a couple of Rocky Mountain Trout that my neighbor Al caught for me on Steamboat like (you gotta love Al). Note, they were cooked on the smoker until they touched 145 degrees F. At this temperature, the spine and most of the bones just slide right out! Note that I said "most!"
Here's the tedious part of the recipe. My wife was super duper helpful and volunteered to get her tiny little fingers dirty and she carefully pulled the meat from the fish and felt around for some additional pin-bones. As you can see, she found quite a few. I highly recommend that you spend the time to do this because you'll enjoy the dip so much more later (while you're watching the football game), if you don't have to worry about choking to death... Your patience will be rewarded!
Anyway, here's what 12oz of trout looks like, once you've picked it clean of bones, and placed it into a nice container. Can you use canned salmon or tuna or trout for this? Sure, but it wouldn't be nearly as good. Take the time to cook your own fish, if at all possible! That link will take you to my own Smoked Salmon recipe... Try it, it's super simple!
Once you have 12oz of fish prepared, go and get your smooth dip back out of the refrigerator and fold it gently into the fish. Stir it, fold it, taste it, adjust it as necessary. I like a little bit of heat so I diced some jalapenos with the green onions.
Add your green onion garnish, and serve or stir to your heart's content. This is GREAT stuff! I like it on almost any cracker, and I was sorely tempted to eat it as a sandwich spread with a tomato! Comment below if you come up with new uses or ideas...
