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Home » Recipes » Appetizers » Smoked Trout Platter with Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Smoked Trout Platter with Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Posted May 18, 2019, Updated April 24, 2020 //  by Michele Peterson 6 Comments

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Smoked Rainbow Trout Platter

The ultimate make-ahead appetizer, this beautiful smoked trout recipe is perfect for holiday entertaining, special occasion or patio party. Tasty, healthy and easy to make, a smoked trout platter works as a starter for any crowd and sets the stage for an afternoon or evening of food, friends and fun.

Smoked Trout Appetizer Platter
Smoked Trout Appetizer Platter garnished with herbs and lemon

How to Serve Smoked Fish

There are many ways to enjoy smoked fish when entertaining! Many other appetizer ideas focus on fish dips and spreads (like our recipe for  Basque-style cream of sardine tapas ) but if you have a perfect piece of  smoked trout, the best way to allow its flavours to shine is to serve it  as the centerpiece of a smoked fish platter. This recipe for smoked trout platter really showcases the fresh flavour of freshwater trout.  

A Make-Ahead Appetizer for No-Stress Entertaining

In addition to being delicious, it has another advantage. It’s ideal for worry-free entertaining. Rather than putting something together at the last minute, you can make this smoked trout platter in advance and spend your time chatting with your guests instead of in the kitchen, 

I discovered this dish during a Mariposa Cruises Sunday Brunch Scenic Cruise of the Toronto Harbour and Executive Chef Andrew Capone generously shared his recipe. It’s now one of  my favourite make-ahead appetizers.

One of the best features of this recipe is the creamy sauce served with the fish.  It has an addicting hit of heat that really works well with the buttery flavour of the smoked trout.  The secret ingredient to chef’s creamy sauce is horseradish!

Given my background is Ukrainian and Ive been known to drive 200 kilometres to get the best perogies in Toronto,  it’s no surprise that I love horseradish. But even if you’re not a big horseradish fan, don’t omit this ingredient. It really is the secret to success in this sauce.

When choosing a horseradish, be sure to purchase real grated horseradish root (such as Beaver Brand Extra Hot Horseradish available on Amazon) and not horseradish powder, wasabi horseradish or creamy horseradish spread.

Once you’ve purchased your horseradish and trout, this smoked trout appetizer is surprisingly easy to make.  It also travels well to a pot-luck party as you can easily assemble the platter once you arrive at your  destination or it can even be assembled ahead of time and placed flat on chilled ice-packs so it will arrive looking great and best of all food-safe.

Recipe for Make-Ahead Smoked Trout Appetizer Platter with Horseradish Sauce

Smoked Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout is high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids

When preparing your trout platter try to choose a piece of trout that’s large enough to fit the platter. You can always place two filets on a platter, side by side, but a single piece of trout will generally be the best thickness.

Carefully remove the skin from the bottom of the trout filet. Then, sprinkle the arugula (or other greens) on the platter and place the trout on top.

Trout Platter
Create a base of arugula

Then scatter your smoked fish platter accompaniments … which include capers, slivers of red onions and lemon wedges in this recipe… on top of the trout.

Trout Garnished with Capers
Scatter drained capers and slivers of red onion on the smoked trout

Next, prepare your horseradish cream sauce for the trout. This is the easiest sauce you’ll ever make. You simply blend together sour cream, chopped fresh chives and dill with lemon juice and lemon zest.  If you’re using full fat sour cream rather than a low fat version, you might need to add a bit of water to the mixture.

Mix the sour cream with the dill and chopped chives
Mix the sour cream with the lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped dill and chives

Then, place your sour cream mixture in a reusable piping bag. If you don’t have one, you can use a freezer bag with a corner cut out on the diagonal. Another option is to use a squeeze bottle.

decorate with horseradish cream
Decorate the smoked trout with horseradish cream sauce

The biggest challenge I had making this smoked trout recipe the first time I made it was using the piping bag. I hadn’t cut the chives into small enough pieces so the tip on the piping bag kept getting plugged and I had to switch the tip midway through the process.  Very messy! I got chives, sour cream and dill stuck on my hands, table, apron and floor – well you get the idea.

So, be sure to select a large enough tip or chop the chives and dill very finely.

The original recipe called for fresh parsley in the sauce, but I’ve omitted it as the parsley always seemed jam up the piping bag. I didn’t miss the parsley. If you really like chopped parsley, you can substitute it for the chives or dill but be sure to chop it very finely. 

Smoked Trout Platter with Fresh Herbs and Lemon
Garnish the Smoked Trout Platter with Fresh Herbs and Lemon

Once you’ve finished piping the cream sauce on the trout in a decorative pattern such as swirls or criss-crosses or whatever you’re feeling creative to do, arrange a few wedges of fresh lemon on the platter. Then cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serve with crackers, crostini, rice crackers or slices of cucumber.

Top Tips for Making a Fish Platter Appetizer

  • Select a large whole filet of the best quality smoked fish you can afford.
  • If the sauce is too thick to pipe easily, add one tablespoon of warm water or enough to achieve a consistency that makes it easy to create a decorative pattern yet keeps it firm enough to hold a shape.
  • Other accompaniments to a fish platter can be halved cherry tomatoes, parsley, sprigs of chives, salmon mousse, raw oysters and smoked salmon.

Options When Choosing Fish for a Smoked Fish Platter

When choosing smoked fish for a fish platter, look for species of fish found in cold lakes or oceans. The high fat content insulates the meat and protects it from drying out.

Salmon, trout, whitefish and mackerel are the most readily available in North America but of all the fish I’ve tried, there’s nothing like smoked trout when it comes to flavour and texture. Unlike salmon which can be limp,  trout will keep its shape during the low, slow cooking process involved in hot smoking. Its delicate flavour absorbs the fragrant flavour of smoke nicely and its buttery taste  holds up to a range of garnishes.

Trying to decide between hot-smoked vs cold-smoked fish? Note that fresh water fish must be hot smoked to kill parasites. Freezing and brining won’t kill all of any parasites that might be in fish. Wild is preferable to farmed but isn’t always available.

For a smoked fish platter,  purchase a large filet rather than a whole trout.  I usually purchase smoked trout from Linwood Acres Trout Farm in the Peterborough & Kawarthas region of Ontario, but other sources for smoked fish in Ontario include fish mongers in St. Lawrence and Kensington Markets,  Milbree-Viking deli in the Leaside area and at farmer’s markets around the province, especially in Thunder Bay where there’s a large Finnish population.

Smoked Trout Platter with Fresh Herbs, Lemon and Horseradish Cream Sauce
This Smoked Trout Platter with Fresh Herbs, Lemon and Horseradish Cream Sauce is best served chilled

You Might Also Like These Seafood Appetizer Recipes: 

  • Guatemalan Shrimp Ceviche 
  • Tahitian Poisson Cru 
  • Cream of Sardines with Smoked Salmon 
Smoked Trout Appetizer Platter
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5 from 6 votes

Smoked Trout Platter with Horseradish Cream Sauce

The ultimate make-ahead appetizer, this beautiful smoked trout platter is perfect for a patio party, entertaining or special occasion.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time0 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keyword: smoked fish appetizer, smoked trout appetizer, smoked trout platter
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 101kcal
Author: Michele Peterson

Ingredients

  • 200 grams smoked rainbow trout in a filet
  • 25 grams arugula
  • 1/4 red onion medium
  • 1 tbsp capers drained
  • 2/3 cup sour cream light
  • 1 tbsp white horseradish
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 grated lemon zest
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lemon for garnish
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Instructions

  • Combine sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, lemon zest, dill,  chives, salt and pepper in a bowl
  • Slice red onion into half and then into thin slices
  • Spread arugula on a large oval platter
  • Remove skin from back of smoked trout and lay lengthwise on top of arugula
  • Spread capers and half of red onion slices on top of the smoked trout
  • Place sour cream mixture into piping bag or squeeze bottle and apply in a criss-cross decorative pattern over the trout.
  • Garnish with remaining red onion slices and wedges of lemon

Notes

  • Select a large whole filet of the best quality smoked fish you can afford.
  • If the sauce is too thick to pipe easily, add one tablespoon of warm water or enough to achieve a consistency that makes it easy to create a decorative pattern yet keeps it firm enough to hold a shape.
  • Other accompaniments to a fish platter can be halved cherry tomatoes, sprigs of fresh chives or parsley, salmon mousse, raw oysters or smoked salmon.

Nutrition

Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 224mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 520IU | Vitamin C: 7.7mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @ATasteForTravel or tag #ATasteForTravel!

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Smoked Rainbow Trout Platter

 

You Might Also Like:

Cream of Sardines with Smoked Salmon  by Chef Martin Berasategui 

Poisson Cru – a Polynesian Fish Ceviche

Category: Appetizers

About Michele Peterson

Dividing her time between Canada, Guatemala and Mexico (or the nearest tropical beach), Michele Peterson is the founder of A Taste for Travel. Her award-winning travel and food writing has appeared in Lonely Planet’s cookbook Mexico: From the Source, National Geographic Traveler, Fodor’s and 100+ other publications.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julia

    May 18, 2019 at 9:18 am

    5 stars
    Wow! Now that is a tasty looking centerpiece! Love your photos by the way 🙂

    Reply
  2. Lisa

    May 18, 2019 at 11:56 am

    5 stars
    Oh yum! This would be perfect for a party and I’m such a fan of trout. I always love new recipes for it!

    Reply
  3. Wanda Baker

    May 18, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    5 stars
    We do love our smoked fish here and especially salmon or trout – yum!

    Reply
  4. Suzy

    May 18, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    5 stars
    Looks incredible! Can’t wait to try it.

    Reply
  5. Chris Collins

    May 18, 2019 at 2:13 pm

    5 stars
    This is an absolute show stopper! I can’t take my eye of it

    Reply
    • Michele Peterson

      May 18, 2019 at 4:28 pm

      And so easy to make too!

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About A Taste for Travel

Dividing her time between Canada, Guatemala and Mexico, publisher Michele Peterson’s award-winning work has appeared in Lonely Planet’s cookbook Mexico: From the Source , National Geographic Traveler, Fodor’s and  100+ other publications. 

At A Taste for Travel — along with a team of expert travel writers and photographers — she  helps readers plan vacations and make delicious global recipes at home. 

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