Fish dishes full of smoky flavour
Fish-based dishes are made all the more tasty with the mellow infusion of woodsmoke
“Fish is held out to be one of the greatest luxuries of the table and not only necessary, but even indispensable at all dinners where there is any pretence of excellence or fashion”
Isabella Beeton
Centuries before the invention of the refrigerator, fish was smoked as a method of preservation. Woodsmoke has both anti-microbial and antioxidant properties, and is particularly effective when combined with salt curing. The smoking process slowly cooks the fish, removing the moisture that would otherwise encourage the growth of bacteria.
It is not clear when the method of smoking was developed, but it may date back to the stone age. The first dedicated smokehouses appear to have been built in medieval Europe to preserve fish and meat for communities. These small, simple outbuildings had a single entrance and a vent, but no windows. Inside, the fish would be suspended over slowly smouldering wood shavings or sawdust.
By the 19th century, larger commercial smokehouses had started to appear around the UK’s coastline, but one that proved revolutionary was the Torry Kiln Smokehouse, which was developed in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1939. With a motor-driven fan, temperature sensors, air diffusers, electric heaters and a smoke density monitor, it gave far greater control over the process and allowed for the mass-smoking of fish of consistent high quality. While some traditional smokehouses are still in operation, run using conventional techniques, much of the smoked fish available now is prepared in kilns, with their much higher production rate.
Most fish is smoked using either a cold or hot smoking method. Prior to smoking, it is filleted, then cured by soaking it in a brine bath or by dry salting, where salt is sprinkled over the fish to draw moisture from the flesh.
Cold smoking does not cook the flesh. It is often used for salmon, where the fish is served raw, or for white fish or kippers, which will need to be cooked before serving. The fish is smoked at a low temperature, not higher than 33°C, over slowly smouldering wood chippings. Hot smoking is used for oily fish such as mackerel, along with trout, white fish and shellfish. The higher temperature of 70-80°C cooks the fish, so no further cooking is required.
Poaching the fish in milk helps to draw out excess salt used in the curing process. Despite its longer shelf life, smoked fish should be stored in the fridge unless the packaging states otherwise, and close attention paid to the use-by date.