Hot Smoked Trout with Scrambled Duck Eggs and Beetroot Salad

Hot smoked rainbow trout with scrambled duck eggs

I am lucky enough to have been enjoying home (hot) smoked rainbow trout on a semi-regular basis for some years now. In this instance, however, there is a significant difference in that the fillet of trout had been frozen after smoking some weeks earlier and subsequently defrosted overnight in the fridge. I was fairly sure that the trout would still be very enjoyable despite this departure from the normal procedures but I decided that given it had been frozen, it would be prudent to very carefully reheat it in some fashion rather than simply eating it cold as I would normally do with freshly smoked fish.

Hot smoked rainbow trout fillet

As you will see from the image above, this was a fairly large fillet, easily making for three portions. In this recipe, I am focusing only on the tail portion of the fillet, how I re-heated it and how I subsequently served it.

Cook Time (not including original smoking of trout fillet)

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Ready in: 20 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 cooked but not pickled beetroot, roughly chopped
• 6 to 8 pitted black olives, halved down through the core
• Salt and pepper
• Generous pinch dried oregano
• 1 smoked trout fillet tail section
• Little bit of vegetable oil
• 3 Savoy cabbage leaves, rolled and shredded
• 1/2 white onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch dried sage
• 2 duck eggs
• Dried dill to garnish 

Method

Start by preparing the beetroot and olives salad as you are hands on cooking pretty much all the way afterwards. Simply add the chopped beetroot and olive halves to a bowl, season with salt, pepper and a little dried oregano, stir carefully but well and set aside until required.

Tough core is cut from Savoy cabbage leaf and discarded

It is worth pointing out that I like to cut the cores out of these larger Savoy cabbage leaves and discard them before I subsequently roll and shred the leaves. While this is not essential, the cores can be exceptionally tough and less than pleasant to eat, even when thinly sliced and cooked.

Trout fillet is laid in medium hot pan skin side down

Pour a little bit of vegetable oil into a non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Lay the trout fillet in the pan skin side down and leave it to gently reheat while you cook the cabbage and onion. The thick skin will protect the flesh from overcooking. Do not season the fillet in any way as this has been taken care of prior to smoking. Note: if the skin has already been removed from the trout, this re-heating method is not appropriate. You will have to use an alternative option, such as gently heating it wrapped in foil in the oven.

Starting to saute cabbage and onion

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large saucepan and put it on to a medium heat. Add the cabbage and onion before seasoning with salt, pepper and a pinch of sage. Cook over a medium to high heat, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 3 or 4 minutes until the strands are pretty much softened.

Skin is peeled from smoked trout fillet

Lift the smoked trout fillet to a square serving plate with a spatula. You should find that the skin will easily peel away from the flesh in one clean piece.

Beetroot salad and sauteed cabbage are arranged alongside trout

Carefully turn the trout over on to its presentation side. Spoon the beetroot and olive salad along either side before arranging the sauteed cabbage and onion either side of that.

Duck eggs ready fro scrambling

Break the two duck eggs into a small saucepan. A little bit of butter can also be added if desired for extra creaminess but do not season at this stage! Put the pot on to a medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon as the eggs start to scramble. Be careful not to overcook. Season at the very last minute with a little salt and pepper before plating alongside your trout and garnishing with a little dried dill before service.