We’ve smoked plenty of trout, the Paddle & Portage team agreed this winter.

We’ve made trout chowders. Trout tacos. We’ve baked the fish and grilled them, and so on. What’s next, we wondered?

The Paddle & Portage team traveled to Quetico Provincial Park in March 2026. We caught some lake trout in the park. One lake trout came home. The idea was to make lox, which is when fish are set in a salt-sugar brine for several days.

The process was this:

–Travel to Quetico (BWCA works too).

–Catch a lake trout and fillet the fish.

–Bring it home and freeze it in airtight bag (kills any possible bacteria or unwanted things in the fish).

–Thaw, then cover in salt-sugar dry brine. Two parts brown sugar to one part salt. Add some dill too, cause you can.

–Let the fish sit in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, for two days.

–Wash the fish and cut into thin strips, removing it from the skin in the process.

–Serve the lox with a toasted bagel. Add cream cheese to the bagel. Serve with tomatoes sliced thin, red onion sliced thin, capers, and dill.

Epic lox, we call it.

Watch the video below to see how we made Quetico lake trout lox.