A Prized Scottish Delicacy : Arbroath Smokies
Entertain Your Guests In Glam Style
Create your own happy hour at Home. Blood orange gargs, classic whiskey sour, guacamole & more.
Summer Color Guide
3 Tips For Wearing Colors, How to Pull Off White, Shades of Blue and Green For Summer
Flawless Skin From The Inside Out
Get A Summer Glow From Head To Toe
Beautiful Change Challenge
Getting Back Into A Fitness Groove, A Healthy Mind Means A Healthy Body
Scotland is justifiably noted for its cured salmon, mainstay of cocktail parties everywhere, but maybe fewer people know about an equally good smoked fish product hailing from the same nation : the Arbroath smokie.
These preserved fish are said to have been come across by accident, when a salted fish production building burned down, but this is probably just a fanciful tale. Salting and smoking is a widespread fish preserving method in many northern areas.
To make Arbroath smokies, haddock fish are covered in salt overnight on the bone, then after drying off are tied in pairs before being placed in a barrel containing a hardwood fire. The barrel is covered with wet sackcloth, and the fish then cook in the hot and moist smoke.
All this results in a delightfully tender and creamy texture to the finished product, which is delicious eaten immediately, or will stay edible for much longer than an ordinary haddock.
Arbroath smokies have now been granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status from the European Commission, meaning that only fish prepared in the traditional way in or around Arbroath are allowed to mark themselves as Arbroath Smokies.
How To Use Them
- Flake the smokey meat from the bones, and make a sandwich with wholemeal bread, mayo, finely chopped parsley, and lemon juice and ground black pepper to taste
- Gently cook the fish in warm milk to warm through, then use the flavoured broth to make a white parsley sauce. Serve with baby potatoes in the summer, or buttered mash in winter months
- Use Arbroath smokie instead of clams for a Scottish twist to a traditional clam chowder
Article provided by kitchen accessories, your online cookshop.