I cannot explain what made me decide that I needed to smoke trout on Sunday. My husband and I had never smoked fish before and we had not been fishing in months. Maybe it was the three week quarantine, but I decided in that instant that we must do it and we must do it now.

I suggested we get our fishing poles and head to the lake, that exact minute. My husband stood still and stared at me while trying to figure out what I wanted to do and why it had to happen immediately. He very calmly pointed out that we already had 7 cleaned trout vacuum sealed in the freezer that we had caught in the fall. “Great,” I thought, “we can cut out the lake and go straight to smoking.”
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I started Googling how to smoke trout and was very disappointed to learn that you are supposed to brine the trout overnight. I wanted to just make up our own recipe and begin immediately, but my wise husband suggested we follow a recipe the first time we smoke fish. Good point, sir, good point.

So, I referenced Hank Shaw’s recipe for smoked trout  (here:honest-food.net/smoked-trout-recipe/) 
and brined the trout. I dissolved ½ cup of salt with ½ cup of brown sugar. I  also added a few dried chile, into a large bowl.

Although Hank suggested making the brine in one gallon of water, I just filled a large bowl with water and called it a gallon-ish. I was in a hurry to get to the smoking part and am not great at following recipes. 

I soaked the fish in the brine overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, I rinsed the fish, patted it dry, and placed it on a turkey rack to dry. I placed the fish in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
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We then started firing up our smoker. We do not have a fancy, Traeger smoker. We have an “artisanal” charcoal smoker. We have been out of the charcoal game for a while, so it took some time to get the coals burning. At one point, my husband did use a large blow torch to start the coals. We are inpatient; what can I say?

Once our coals were going, we removed the fish from the refrigerator. Per Hank’s recommendation, we propped each fish open with a bamboo skewer to allow the smoke to enter the cavity of the fish.

Before placing the fish on the racks in the smoker, we cut some cedar kindling and filled a bowl in the smoker with the wood and some water. This created smoke and provided additional flavor for the trout.

We carefully placed the trout on the rack and closed the lid. Hank said we should smoke the fish for at least 90 minutes, and given our complete lack of experience on the subject, we decided to follow his lead.

After 90 minutes, we opened the lid to the charcoal smoker and were extremely pleased. The trout smoked beautifully and actually had a small amount of moisture inside the cavity.

We carried one fish inside to try it immediately. It was stunning. I wanted to eat all seven fish in that moment, but my husband's common sense prevailed. He was right that seven fish was a substantial amount of food.

Instead, we put a little cream cheese on pumpernickel bread and topped it with the smoked fish. We opened a bottle of white wine and celebrated our smoking success. The next day, we had smoked fish for lunch again and it was absolutely delicious.

Smoking the trout re-lit my desire to fish, and not only because it was so delicious. There is something really invigorating about learning a new cooking method and eating food that you caught yourself.

​Within a few days, we were on the lake fishing for more trout. I am more confident about smoking fish and next time will probably add more spices to the brine.
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Until then, keep on fishing.

As a kid in rural Indiana, the only person that I knew that ate liver was my aunt Linda. Every year, she came to visit from New York and insisted that we take her to our local gas station for chicken livers and gizzards. Yes, the only place that I knew of that served liver was at the gas station.

I did not know that liver was considered a delicacy and I certainly had never heard of pâté. (Pâté is a spread of finely chopped or pureed seasoned meat.)  Liver is interesting because it is a food eaten by the elite and the working class. As a delicacy, it can be made into pâté and served on tostadas. However, it can just as easily be sautéed with onions or served fried.  ​

​Liver is the most nutrient dense of the organ meats and is full of vitamin A, folic acid, iron, and other important nutrients. Despite the health benefits, many hunters leave the liver in the field when they harvest an animal.

​We always bring the organ meat out of the mountains, if it is feasible. I have eaten elk, venison, and beef liver and each one is delicious. An elk liver is absolutely enormous and will easily provide at least 5 meals.

I know it might feel like a stretch to start making your own pâté, but it is incredibly easy. Any dinner guest will be impressed when you serve elk pâté as an appetizer – especially if you shot the animal and brought the liver back from the field.

And, if I ever find myself back in the small town where I grew up, I think that I will try the gas station liver! I think aunt Linda was on to something . . .

​Liver ​Pâté

2-3 cups of coarsely cut liver
½ cup of diced red onion
3-5 chopped garlic cloves
¼ cup of half and half
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon powdered red chile
½ teaspoon Herbs de Provence (or basil/oregano)
Pepper to taste
Olive oil
Diced green onion to garnish
Crackers

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, heat olive oil. Add liver, red onion, and garlic.

2. Brown the liver and cook the onions until translucent. 

3. In a food processor, add the cooked ingredients. Add the half and half, coarse salt, red chile, herbs, and pepper. Blend contents until desired consistency is achieved (some people like their pâté smooth where others prefer a more rustic consistency).

4. Serve warm on crackers. Garnish with diced green onion.

Hint: pairs well with homemade jalapeno jelly