Add Smoked Trout To Macaroni Salad For A Perfectly Blended Bite

Whether on a bagel with cream cheese or toast with avocado, smoked salmon is a common and delicious way to include fish in your meal. But while it may be one of the tastiest cured options out there, it's not the only one. If you've never tried smoked trout before, consider this your sign to do so. You'll still get plenty of that smoky flavor, but less of a fishy taste than you would with salmon, making this an excellent option for those who aren't as passionate about aquatic creatures in their food. Plus, trout has about half as much fat as salmon, so you'll end up with a more subtle flavor overall.

The perfect place to deploy your new smoked fish is in a macaroni salad. This dish is full of tangy flavors that effortlessly balance out the smokiness of the fish, and the leaner protein is a welcome reprieve from the thick, creamy ingredients in the salad's dressing, all of which leads to a perfectly blended bite. Since trout is hot smoked, it flakes easily, making it great for stirring into a pasta dish. Its softer texture also means it creates an ideal juxtaposition against crunchier components like diced bell pepper and celery.

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Flake Your Smoked Trout Before Adding It To Macaroni Salad

You'll want to flake your fish before it goes into your macaroni salad. That's pretty much all the prep work you have to do for your smoked trout, though, unless you still have skin or bones attached to your filets, in which case you'll want to remove both. When it comes to the other ingredients in your macaroni salad, first think of including anything that can specifically complement the mild taste of the fish. Lemon, capers, and yogurt are all great options, along with herbs like dill, chives, and oregano.

You shouldn't need much extra help fitting smoked trout into your recipe, since as we mentioned, it pairs beautifully with creamy and tangy flavors. Classic macaroni salad recipes typically have these in spades in the form of mayo, sour cream, or yogurt, along with vinegar, lemon zest or juice, pickled red onions, or Dijon mustard. But you don't have to stop at the typical version of this dish — feel free to load up your macaroni salad with somewhat unconventional ingredients like arugula, peas, avocado, or asparagus. And when in doubt, simply swap out the main seafood in a shrimp macaroni salad for smoked trout. You'll get a perfect blend of flavors in every bite, all thanks to your new star ingredient.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.