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There is nothing like trout fishing in the mountains of Colorado. Maybe turn that trout into great tasting fish jerky and you have the perfect day! Didn't get a chance to go fishing, that's okay, just get some at the supermarket. Let's make some fish jerky!!!

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I have been making a bunch of fish jerky lately and decided to make some trout jerky instead of my go to salmon jerky. You can make this out of any kind of salt or fresh water trout; silver, brown, cutthroat, speckled...
Preparing the Fish
De-scale the trout
The first thing you want to do is scale (or de-scale) the trout. This is the process of scraping off all the little scales that cover it's body. These trout are gutted, but it is not necessary to gut it first. You can use a whole trout, scale it, and then fillet it without gutting.
To scale the trout start by placing it on butcher paper or a cutting board (this will get kinda messy)! I did this in my kitchen with my wife looking over my shoulder making sure none of those little scales were flying on the floor... Sorry L....
Start with a butter knife and scrape the fish from the tail end towards the head. As you can see above, this will scrape off all the little scales. You want to get these off now that way your fish jerky isn't covered with scales after you take it out of the marinade. Spend some time here and make sure to get off as much as you can from both sides of the fish.
Filleting the trout
After you have scaled the trout, fillet it so you have two fillets from each fish. Do not cut the skin off after you have filleted the fish, you are going to want to keep the skin on so that the meat stays together during the marinading and drying process.
Cut away the rib bones after filleting leaving only a clean trout fillet. Run your finger from the tail end of the fillet to the head and check for any pin bones. They will be white bones that will feel hard on your fingers.
Pluck any pin bones out with needle nose plyers and discard. This might not be a problem when filleting salt water trout, I have never had to remove pin bones from speckled or silver trout.
Using a very sharp knife, slice the trout fillets into ¼" - ½" wide strips lengthwise making long skinny strips. Notice that the skin is still on the fish preventing the meat from falling apart. The skin will be kept on throughout the marinating and drying process but can easily be removed right before eating.
Making the marinade
After the fillets have been sliced into strips, you are going to marinate it in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours. The marinade I used for this recipe is listed below. It's a simple recipe with some great flavors including cayenne pepper and smoked paprika. Extremely TASTY!
After the trout strips have marinated, strain them in a colander and then pat dry on paper towels to remove any excess marinade.
Drying the fish jerky
Place the jerky strips in your dehydrator or on a baking rack if you are going to dry in your oven. I used my Excalibur Dehydrator when making this fish jerky. After setting my dehydrator to 150°F and drying for 4 hours, this jerky turned out perfect.
The Jumpin' trout fish jerky had a little bit of a kick to it from the cayenne pepper and chipotle chili powder. It had a nice salty flavor from the kosher salt and that a decent fish flavor you would expect from trout.
FAQ
The quick answer is 1-2 weeks. Here I have more information on how to store jerky and how long it will last.
It really depends on how you are drying it and how thick the jerky was cut. If ¼" thick; about 4hrs in a dehydrator, 2-3hrs in pellet smoker, 4-5hrs in an oven.
No. The skin prevents the fish from falling apart during the marinating and drying process. The skin will peel off easily once it's finished dehydrating.
Old pro tips
- Silver, brown, cutthroat, & speckled trout will taste great with this marinade. Salmon will turn out great as well using this recipe.
- If using salmon, needle nose plyers work the best for removing bones from the fillet
- Use a VERY sharp knife to easily slice through the skin when cutting into strips
Other jerky you might like
Ingredients
- 1 lb trout fillets
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- ⅓ cup water (cold)
- ¼ teaspoon curing salt (optional)
Instructions
- Scale trout fillets with a butter knife scraping from the tail of the fish towards the head removing as many scales as possible.
- Fillet each trout so you have two fillets per fish. Leave the skin on the trout and remove the rib bones and any pin bones. Rinse fish fillets with fresh water.
- Slice trout fillets into ¼" to ½" wide strips lengthwise down the body of the fillet. You should have 4-5" long strips. Remember to leave on the skin, this helps keep the meat together.
- Add ingredients above in a ziplock bag and add trout strips. Carefully mix the strips in the bag so they are evenly covered with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 6-24 hours.
- Remove strips from the fridge and strain in a colander. Pat the strips dry with paper towels and dry with a dehydrator or oven. I dried this jerky in my Excalibur Dehydrator for 4 hours at 150F. The strips should bend and crack, but not break in half when they are finished.
- If using an oven, dry on your lowest setting with the oven door cracked open with a wooden spoon. This allows the moisture to escape when drying.
- Peel the skin off the jerky strips and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Silver, brown, cutthroat, & speckled trout will taste great with this marinade. Salmon will turn out great as well, a little more fishy though
- If using salmon, needle nose plyers work the best for removing bones from the fillet
- Use a VERY sharp knife to easily slice through the skin when cutting into strips
MARY says
FISH MUST HAVE THE SKIN? WE GET OCEN FISH , PERCH , ROCK COD BUT IT IS CLEANED AND READY TO COOK. ONCE IN AWHILE SALMON AND HALIBUT, ANY WAY TO MAKE JERKY WITH THESE FILLETS? I SAVED MOST OF YOUR RECIPES. THANKS
Will says
You do not HAVE to keep the skin on, but it really helps keep the fish together when marinating. If your filets don't have skin, just be very careful to not break apart the filets when marinating.
Lilly says
Thank you for your detailed instructions! This trout jerky was so fun to make and is super delicious!
Will says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Tracey says
What a great idea to make trout jerky! We love trout and this is such an easy recipe.
Debra says
Awesome....I don't eat meat so I always wondered about jerkey...this recipe was fantastic.
Oscar says
I love trout and this recipe looks like it's right up my alley. I love the idea and can't wait to make this. Thanks for the recipe.
Amy says
Oh this sounds absolutely delicious. I can just see my family demolishing these in a matter of minutes after all the hard work of making them in the first place! I'm not great at filleting fish so love your step by step process. Very helpful. As for trout fishing in Colorado, I can only dream about that! One day maybe.