Should Fish Be Smoked On A Separate Smoker?

[Bob Ivey]

My BIL is giving me some rainbow trout he caught last week and I need to decide whether to smoke them or grill them. I have read and been told that fish should be smoked on a smoker reserved for fish only. Am wondering what the fish experts here have to say and why? I have grilled salmon on a plank with my Performer with no issues but am concerned that there could be issues if I used my WSM. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
TIA

 

[timothy]

You can't beat fresh fish. I'm no expert, but occasionally smoke fish and make sure to clean the WSM as soon as possible after removing the fish ( wash the grate and empty the water pan ) Never notice any off tastes using it on other meats.
If I did it alot like 2-3 times a week and a bunch on the weekend then I would look into a separate smoker solely for fish.

Tim

 

[Randall S]

Only a personal opinion,but................rainbow trout coated in cornmeal and flour and then fried in Crisco in a cast iron skillet just can't be beat!

This is easily done while smoking some ribs.

 

[Matt H.]

Never had a problem though i tend to smoke fish with it sitting on aluminum foil

 

[Bob Bass]

Bob... Could be an issue if cooking competition with the WSM afterwards.

 

[Bob Ivey]

Well then I may try it. Have done salmon on a plank on my Performer many times with great success. My BIL goes fishing regularly in both ocean and lakes and has been asking about this. The thing I don't want to have to do is clean the inside of my WSM as it is seasoned very well. Don't want to loose that. Thanks for all the advice. Now to start looking for recipes for trout. Since we avoid frying anything, grilling or smoking seems the way to go.