Gut and clean the trout, or ask your fishmonger to do this for you.

Place the fish into the clean non-reactive dish and cover with the chilled brine, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the fish from the brine, rinse under cold water and then pat dry with paper towel.

Prepare your smoker (see notes).

Place slices of lemons and fresh herbs into the cavity of the fish, and if planning to hang the trout, secure with a toothpick.

Place your fish in the smoker and smoke at 66˚C/150˚F for 30 minutes then increase the heat to 107˚C/225˚F until the internal temperature of the trout reaches 63˚C/145˚F.

Remove the fish from the smoker and refrigerate until ready to use.

Place your fish into a non-reactive dish (see note below), add enough water to cover it. Remove the fish and then measure the amount of water used, this will guide you as to how much brine you will need to make.

For each one litre of water you will need 250 grams of salt / for each US pint of water you will need 4.5 oz of salt.

Heat the water in a stainless steel pot until it just reaches boiling point. Turn off the heat add the salt and stir until it is fully dissolved. Allow the brine to cool and then refrigerate to chill to 3-5˚C / 37-41˚F.