Frozen trout......?

[icebear]

I have some gutted but frozen trout i need to use up. I want to put them in the smoker... but i've never had to use whole frozen fish. What is the best way to thaw it out? It can't take too long since it needs a 12 hour brining treatment before smoking.

thanks for advice!

[icebear]

*crickets*

[notdecieved]

I have some gutted but frozen trout i need to use up. I want to put them in the smoker... but i've never had to use whole frozen fish. What is the best way to thaw it out? It can't take too long since it needs a 12 hour brining treatment before smoking.

thanks for advice!

Often when I forget to take something out of the freezer
for a supper, I fill a bowl or pot in the sink and run warm or hot
water over the meat (in zip lock bag) until thawed.

In your case, I'd submerge them in a cool, to warm temp water.
You don't want to partially cook them. So keep a close eye on
them until they are thawed.

Good luck with the smoking. Smoked fish is very yummy.

[pixelpusher]

I'd just put them right in the brine. Back when I used to do a lot of fishing, I would bag my fillets and fill the bag with water, pushing out all the air and most of the water, and freeze the fish encased in ice. To thaw them, I'd just run it under the tap until the bag came off, then just melt 'er down with running water, warm to lukewarm at first, then cold as I reached the fish. Those fillets only take short time to thaw once they are exposed. Whole process of thawing takes less than five minutes with say, a quart sized bag of whiting or bluefish fillets, iirc.

Some say you should never expose fish flesh to water, and maybe that's true, but it always worked for me, and they always tasted fresh. Course, you had to dry them well before frying or pan searing, so it didn't poach (unless you wanted to poach them), but they are going to dry fine when you smoke them anyhow.

So yeah. Straight into the brine is what I'd do. They'll be thawed in the refrig in 12 hours if you put them frozen into salted water.

( I tried to smoke a mahi mahi once, it was hard to get it lit. badda bing! )