Hot oak-smoked wild sea trout and scrambled eggs

200g table salt
200g granulated sugar
1kg fillet sea trout, pin-boned and trimmed (ask the fishmonger to do this for you or DIY using fish tweezers to pull out the five or six small bones that run along the fillet)

Local wild sea trout makes an interesting alternative to the usual smoked salmon.

In short	Preparation time: 5 mins Cooking time: 8 mins Total time: 13 mins Serves: 4 people Cuisine: British Course: Main

Method

by Mathew Owsley-Brown at Fishes restaurant fishesrestaurant.co.uk

To cure
1 Mix the salt and sugar together and completely cover the fillet with it.
2 Wrap it tightly in clear film and lay it on a tray, putting another tray on top, weighted with something fairly heavy. This helps to leech out the moisture.
3 Leave the fish to cure in the fridge for 24 hours.

To smoke
Try a portable smoker that sits on the stove (such as Camerons L'il Smokey, £40 plus p&p, from cookequip.co.uk, 01932 841171). Use this outside only because it creates a lot of smoke.

1 Put a good handful of oak chippings in the bottom compartment of the smoker. Lay the tray over it and then the rack. Place the fish skin-side down on the rack and fit on the cover.

2 Put onto a high heat and cook for about 7-8 minutes or until the fish has a rich golden colour. Serve with organic scrambled eggs sprinkled with chives and a wedge of lemon.