About Scottish Smoked Salmon

Scottish Smoked Salmon  

 

For many hundreds of years maybe even thousands, us Scots have been smoking salmon from the Highlands to the Scottish Borders. Being blessed with some of the very best Salmon gracing our rivers and shores combined with the vast experience past down through families about the smoking process Scottish smoked salmon is the best in the world!

 

We are delighted at Foodieboxes to start sending Smoked salmon far and wide. The difficult task was upon us to find what we believed to be the best smoked salmon in four categories, Organic, Classic, Hot Smoked and Gravadlax.. No easy task in Scotland! I am excited to reveal we will be stocking the very fine and tasty Inverawe Smoked Salmon from a family business in the west coast. Find out lots more about Inverawe in the suppliers pages. Our hot smoked salmon will be supplied by the award winning Salar Smoked House on the isle of South Uist. A truly beautiful part of the world! You can also find out lots more about Salar in our suppliers pages.

 

This section below will show you how smoked salmon goes from fish in the sea to tasty fresh smoked salmon in your Foodiebox.

 

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Smoked Salmon – Fish to Plate

 

The Fresh Salmon

 

The fish you start with is the key to smoked salmon. No matter how good you processes are with the salmon the smoked salmon is only as good as the one you start with.

 

The Inverawe organic salmon come from the most northerly isle in the Shetlands. This allows strong tidal currents to ensure fantastic water quality in return helping nurture the finest organic salmon.

 

 

The Salar Salmon start their life in Loch Duart which is RSPCA Freedom Foods Approved.

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Fish Preparation

 

 

Now this section is really hard to explain to you as the supplier all have their own little methods and seasonings.

 

 

The fish is covered in salt and other seasonings even some wine on the odd occasion. This draws the moisture out of the fish starting the preservation process, which was very important in the old days.

 

The fish is left in the seasoning for up to 12 hours.

 

 

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The Smoking

 

The fish are hung in a smoke room like the photo you can see on the left hand side. At the Inverawe Smokehouse the smokeboxes are kept going 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Derek, chief smoker at Inverawe explains that there are many things that need to be taken into account, wind, temperature, rain and even sunshine on the odd occasion the West Coast see it!

 

The smoke is created by smouldering would chips in the smokehouse. It is the quality and difference of the wood chips that create different flavours. Much like the seasoning process many smokehouses have their own combination and techniques when it comes to smoking, creating their specific smoked salmon.

 

 

Hot Smoking – as it suggests is takes place in a very hot smoking chamber and allows the fish to cook as it is being smoked. Some smokehouses cold smoke the fish first then hot smoke the same fish to create an intense smoky flavour.

 

Salar smokehouse provides our Foodieboxes with Hot Smoked salmon. Salar boast many awards including being a Rick Stein Food Hero and a Great Taste award winner with 3 stars in 2008.

 

Cold Smoking – The only difference with cold smoking salmon is that the smokebox is portioned off to make sure the temperature never goes above 30C. The fish then gently smokes for 24 to 48 hour, taking on the delicious smoky flavours.

 

The suppliers send big chilled boxes with there fine products in to Foodie HQ ready to be packed into our Foodieboxes and be sent out far and wide. That is if they don’t end up coming home with me on the odd occasion. Have a look at some of the excellent cuts of Scottish Smoked Salmon we have or why not make up your own smoked salmon Foodiebox by using our Bespoke Service.