Smoked Trout Dip with Saltines

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A no-cook fish house classic: flakes of hot-smoked trout folded into cream cheese, mayo, lemon and enough hot sauce to keep it lively. It comes together in fifteen minutes, gets better after an hour in the fridge, and belongs on a plate with a sleeve of saltines, pickled jalapeños and a cold beer.

Ingredients

• 10 oz hot-smoked trout fillets, skin and pin bones removed (or two 6.7-oz tins smoked trout or mackerel, drained)
• 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce, plus more for serving
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp finely minced sweet onion or shallot
• 1 stalk celery, minced fine (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced chives or scallion greens
• Kosher salt, to taste

• 1 sleeve saltine crackers
• 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 tsp smoked paprika, for dusting

Instructions

1. Unwrap the smoked trout and run your fingers over each fillet, peeling off any skin and pinching out stray pin bones. Break the flesh into rough flakes on a plate — you want about 2 packed cups. Set aside a generous 1/2 cup of the prettiest large flakes for folding in at the end.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a sturdy spoon or a hand mixer on low for about 1 minute, until completely smooth with no lumps. Lumpy cream cheese never smooths out later, so take the extra 30 seconds here.
3. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, hot sauce, Worcestershire, celery seed and black pepper. Stir until the mixture is glossy and uniform, roughly 30 seconds.
4. Fold in the minced onion, celery, dill and chives, then add the smaller trout flakes (holding back the reserved 1/2 cup) and stir just until the fish is distributed. Overworking turns the dip into paste — stop while you can still see distinct threads of fish.
5. Fold in the reserved large flakes with 3 or 4 gentle turns of the spatula so the finished dip has visible chunks of trout.
6. Taste on a saltine, not a spoon — the cracker's salt changes everything. Adjust with kosher salt (usually 1/4 to 1/2 tsp; smoked fish is already salty), more lemon juice for brightness and more hot sauce for heat.
7. Scrape into a serving bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. The chill firms the dip to a scoopable texture and lets the smoke and dill bloom.
8. Just before serving, stir once, dust the top with smoked paprika, add a few dashes of hot sauce and pile the pickled jalapeños on one side. Serve cold with saltines and lemon wedges.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Char-Grilled Oysters with Garlic-Worcestershire Butter

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem