Author: FreshFishDaily

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Everything You Need to Know About … Arbroath Smokies

Two Arbroath smokies on a slate background

Maybe you’re new to Arbroath smokies and want to know more. Or perhaps you had them as a child and hanker to find out more about them. Either way, here we take a deep dive into the world of one of Scotland and the United Kingdom’s most enduring smoked fish – haddock cured using a method that can be traced back hundreds of years.

WHAT ARE ARBROATH SMOKIES?

Arbroath smokies are small haddock which have been hot-smoked using a process that has remained almost unaltered in more than two centuries. The haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) are typically caught in the North Sea and north-east Atlantic Ocean and landed in Scottish harbours.

Coppery brown and tough on the outside but pale and moist on the inside, Arbroath smokies possess a flavour that is succulent with a light smokiness and saltiness.

Like Stornoway black pudding, the fish are protected by law through their status of Protected Geographical Indication, which means that certain criteria must be met before the fish can receive the cherished title of Arbroath smokies.

Despite their name, Arbroath smokies originated in Auchmithie, a fishing village about three miles north of Arbroath in Angus, Scotland. Auchmithie is thought to have been established by Viking invaders around the start of the previous millennium, a belief supported by the fact that hot smoking was a method of preserving fish favoured by the Norse.

CLICK HERE TO BUY ARBROATH SMOKIES

Arbroath haddock smokies on a slate background

In her classic book The Scots Kitchen (1929), author F Marian McNeill quotes an unnamed source describing a typical evening in Auchmithie in the 19th century:

“‘With the setting of the sun, the boats come home and in the back-houses lamps are lit. Up the brae come the creels of fish, and soon every woman and child is gutting, cleaning and salting. Little sticks of wood are stuck into the haddock gills, and two by two, tied tail to tail, they are hung on little wooden spits high up in the old-fashioned lums [chimneys] … curing in the smoke of the fire; they are then taken down, gey black and sooty – but once remove the skins and what a delicious sight you see! Crisp, golden outer flesh paling into pure whiteness near the bone.’”

At the beginning of the 18th century Arbroath’s fishing trade was struggling and the town council began to lure fishermen from neighbouring villages, allocating decent housing and facilities in which the fishermen and their families could live and work. The people of Auchmithie started to move to Arbroath, bringing their boats, traditions and skills.

Some 200 years later, by 1920 the harbour area of Arbroath was mostly occupied by people from Auchmithie and even now the area is mainly inhabited by people descended from fishermen (today the area is officially zoned for fish smoking). The main producers of Arbroath smokies can trace their roots back through generations of their families, their skills having been passed down over the years.

 

The main producers of Arbroath smokies can trace their roots back through generations of their families, their skills having been passed down over the years

 

In the 19th century there was no refrigeration, and in order to preserve perishable foods such as fish there were only three methods available: salting, drying and smoking (or all three combined).

Fishermen and their families at the time lived in profound poverty. In order to survive, they began to travel south to Dundee carrying their hot-smoked haddock in their arms and in baskets on their backs, hoping to sell their goods. This was how the reputation of Arbroath smokies began to spread.

HOW ARE ARBROATH SMOKIES PRODUCED?

The haddock are sourced from fishing vessels that land directly at designated Scottish fish markets. At the processing premises they are headed, gutted and cleaned by hand, then placed in containers of dry salt to reduce moisture, add flavour and harden the skin. How long this takes depends on the size of the fish, which can vary from 350g to 550g.

During the salting process equal-sized haddock are paired and tied together by the tail using locally produced jute string, which was traditionally a byproduct of the many mills in the area (Dundee is historically famous for its “jute, jam and journalism”).

After the salting process the paired haddock are washed to remove the salt and hung to dry on triangular rails known as kiln sticks, which further toughens the skin.

 

Much but not all of the smoker’s skill lies in judging the weather and the dampness of the wood so that the balance of heat and humidity is perfect for the size of fish they are smoking

 

At this juncture the smokers prepare a pit in the ground. Known as the barrel, the pit contains blocks of beech or oak which are lit and allowed to burn fiercely.

The three stages of smoking begin with the paired haddock being placed over the barrel on their kiln sticks and covered with a wet hessian sack, which cuts down the flow of oxygen to the fire and causes the flames to die down.

The heat from the burning wood causes the fish to release moisture which drops on to the fire, creating high humidity. It is the precise combination of heat and humidity which cooks and colours the fish, a process that takes from 45 to 60 minutes. Much but not all of the smoker’s skill lies in judging the weather and the dampness of the wood so that the balance of heat and humidity is perfect for the size of fish they are smoking.

Once cooked, the paired haddock are removed from the barrel and allowed to dry on their kiln sticks. Only then are the Arbroath smokies ready to eat.

WHO MAKES ARBROATH SMOKIES?

Producers must appear on a register held by the Arbroath Fish Processors Association. They must operate within a strict geographical area, which is an 8km radius from Arbroath Town Hall that extends from the community of West Mains in the north to East Haven in the south.

ARE ARBROATH SMOKIES GOOD FOR YOU?

They are indeed. As with all white fish, they contain high levels of protein – which is good for your muscles – while being very low in fat compared to oily fish such as mackerel or salmon.

They also contain generous amounts of vitamins and minerals that are essential for brain function,  healthy skin, your immune system and cardiovascular health.

Of course the benefits of Arbroath smokies aren’t limited to your health – adding them to your diet will do wonders for your tastebuds (and culinary repertoire) too.

Per 100g smoked haddock, poached
Energy 92kcal
Fat 0.5g (of which saturated fat 0.09g)
Protein 21.8g
Rich in vitamin B12, iodine, niacin, phosphorus, potassium and selenium

 

The best way to prepare Arbroath smokies is simply to either brush them with butter or place a knob of butter inside and heat them under the grill or in the oven

 

HOW DO YOU COOK ARBROATH SMOKIES?

Unlike other traditionally smoked fish like Finnan haddock, Arbroath smokies are cooked during the smoking process, so the hard work is done before you lift a finger. The pertinent question is: how do you prepare Arbroath smokies?

Given that the process behind Arbroath smokies has changed very little in more than two centuries, it’s unsurprising that preparing them doesn’t require any technical skill or complex equipment. The best way to prepare Arbroath smokies is simply to either brush them with butter or place a knob of butter inside and heat them under the grill or in the oven.

In The Scots Kitchen, F Marian McNeill suggests a method that is the definition of straightforward: “Heat the fish on both sides, open it out, remove the backbone, mill black pepper over the fish, spread with butter, close up and heat for a few minutes in the oven or under the grill. (In the old days it was brandered.) Serve piping hot.”

ARBROATH SMOKIE RECIPES

Besides eating them as described above, Arbroath smokies can be used in all manner of healthy recipes including pâtés (try substituting the smoked mackerel in our recipe, Cullen skink (replacing the traditional smoked haddock), fishcakes, any smoked fish pasta recipe and salads.

If you find a recipe that includes smoked fish, whether it’s mackerel, haddock, salmon or anything else, the chances are you won’t be disappointed if you choose Arbroath smokies instead. Just be aware that you won’t need to cook the smokies the way you do with smoked haddock or smoked salmon, which are cold smoked and require cooking.

Here at Fresh Fish Daily we can’t recommend Arbroath smokies highly enough. If you’ve yet to try these jewels in the crown of smoked fish, a delicacy whose roots reach back through time, then it’s time to remedy the situation – and pronto.

CLICK HERE TO BUY ARBROATH SMOKIES

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How to Reheat Fish

Many of us have been there. Sitting at your desk, concentration wavering after a morning’s work. You look up at the clock that sits at a slight angle on the office wall. Time for lunch? Your rumbling stomach confirms your suspicions.

Then, slowly at first but with the creeping inevitability of a tsunami, the air turns fishy – and not in a good way. The source is the microwave in the office kitchen, which somebody has idiotically used to reheat a piece of fish – mackerel, possibly. Your hunger wanes and all eyes scan the horizon to identify the culprit.

As anyone with whom the above scenario rings a bell will know, microwaving fish is not just the route to culinary disaster but workplace ostracism too. Subjecting inherently delicate fish – especially oily species such as salmon and mackerel – to the unforgiving heat of a microwave merely causes the fatty acids to oxidise into aldehydes and renders kitchens and offices barely inhabitable for hours afterwards.

As people for whom freshness is the principal quality of good fish, we would generally advise against reheating. You’ve already cooked the fish once and reheating it runs the grave risk of overcooking – which, as anyone who cooks fish regularly will know, is a surefire way to turn a good piece of fish bad.

If you can avoid it, don’t do it. But such blanket advice often jars with real life. There will be times when you find you have leftovers that just won’t work if served cold.

Follow these simple steps and you’ll be able to reheat fish – but don’t expect it to have the zing it had first time around.

STORE YOUR FISH PROPERLY

Allow the fish to cool to room temperature before storing it in a clean, airtight container in the fridge, and don’t forget about it for three or four days. Ideally, reheat the fish the day after you refrigerate it – the day after that, at a push.

GENTLY DOES IT

The only method we can recommend for reheating fish – or prawns, for example – is slowly and gently in a low oven, meaning a maximum of 170C/gas mark 3.

Wrap the fish loosely in tinfoil to prevent loss of moisture, which is the one thing you want to avoid (your nose will thank you for it too). Add a spoonful of water if you think the fish is already on the dry side.

If the fish is breaded or battered, the best way to keep the crisp texture is to avoid using tinfoil. (Needless to say, if you’re going to the trouble of battering or breadcrumbing fish and cooking it we’d urge you to eat the lot before it goes cold. But if needs must …)

THROUGH THICK AND THIN

The thicker the fish, the more room you have for manoeuvre. Rainbow trout will dry out in no time, for example, whereas a hunk of cod loin will lose moisture less slowly.

VIGILANCE IS KEY

Don’t pop the fish in the oven and come back in 20 minutes expecting success. Keep an eye on progress – check the temperature and condition of the fish as often as you can, since it’s a fine line between just-right and overcooked.

With all this in mind, you will hopefully have come to the conclusion that, 99 times out of 100, reheating fish is not worth the hassle. It won’t taste as good as it did when it was fresh and you run the risk of stinking out your home for the sake of a chunk of dry fish. But if needs must, follow the above advice. And good luck!

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How to Poach a Whole Salmon

Whole salmon on a stone background

A more accurate title for this post might be “What you need to poach a whole salmon” since poaching a salmon, with the right equipment, is a piece of cake. But you hopefully get the point.

And the end result of that point is extraordinary – a creature that yields seemingly endless amounts of soft, silky and sensational flesh that need little more than a fresh salad, a few wedges of lemon and boiled new potatoes – slathered in butter, naturally – to make it really sing. Once you’ve scoffed the best bits you’ll be left with oodles of leftovers that you can repurpose in a mousse, a pâté, croquettes or salmon burgers.

(For the avoidance of doubt, we’re not advocating poaching salmon in the sense of stealing it – if that’s what floats your boat then you should probably point your browser elsewhere.)

Whatever size of salmon you wish to poach, the one piece of culinary equipment you will need is a fish kettle. If you have a small fish then you can use a solid-based roasting tin, but for the purposes of this post we’re assuming you have a fish that’s at least 3.5kg – the minimum weight of whole salmon supplied by Fresh Fish Daily. Not even David Blaine could fit a 3.5kg salmon in a roasting tin without committing an act of violence, so you’re going to need a fish kettle.

A fish kettle does what it says on the tin: it’s a kettle for fish. You put your fish inside, add a poaching liquor – enough water to cover the fish plus some lemon juice and herbs, for example – put the lid on it then place the kettle on the hob and let it do its thing. Yes, it really is that simple.

If you’ve got money to burn then there’s a lot to like about the Italian-made Ruffoni fish kettle (Harrods, £545). For that price-tag you get a handmade piece of culinary art in hammered copper with a fancy brass handle shaped like an acorn. At 50cm in length, it will cope with a salmon that’s on the smaller side – probably one of our lightest specimens – and promises “uniform heat conduction and precise temperature control”. We’d expect that level of detail, but there you go.

On the downside, besides the alarming price the kettle isn’t dishwasher safe and, unless you’re a Russian oligarch, it will make the rest of your cookware look like something from the yard of Steptoe and Son.

For a fraction of the price you could do worse than KitchenCraft’s stainless-steel fish poacher (Wayfair, £44.99), which is 10cm longer than Ruffoni’s equivalent and can be used on all types of hob. We’ll steer clear of smutty jokes about what the extra length can offer and simply suggest that it will accommodate a bigger fish than the Ruffoni will. If you’re only going to poach smaller fish then KitchenCraft make cheaper options too.

A great alternative for those who have larger hobs is the aluminium fish kettle by Lacor (Amazon, £83.87), which measures a whopping 70cm – big enough for even the largest salmon. What with its size and heatproof handles, there’s more than a whiff of the professional chef about this product without the price-tag you might expect.

Once you’ve got yourself a fish kettle the door will open on poaching not just salmon but any whole fish whatsoever – sea bream, sea bass or rainbow trout for example. Besides the simplicity of the method, poaching is also a hugely healthy way to prepare fish, using zero fat and – when done correctly, we hasten to add – resulting in wonderfully soft, easy-to-digest flesh.

How you flavour your poaching liquid – or court bouillon (which translates as “short broth”) to give it its cheffy name – is really up to personal preference. Basic ingredients include water, white wine, salt, black pepper and herbs such as thyme or bay. You might want to add fennel, star anise, tarragon or whatever else takes your fancy – the only way to find out what you like is trial and error.

Bring the court bouillon to a simmer for anything up to 30 minutes before carefully adding the fish. Don’t allow the liquid to boil vigorously – a gentle simmer is ideal.

The length of time it takes to poach a whole salmon depends on the weight of the fish, but we’d recommend a minimum of 30 minutes for a 3.5kg salmon. While the fish is cooking you can get on with preparing the rest of the meal.

To check the salmon is cooked, insert the tip of a sharp knife into the thickest part of the fish – if it’s translucent then give it a little more time; if it’s done the flesh will be a light pink colour.

Your fish kettle will have an internal tray with hooks at both ends, so carefully use these to lift the salmon out of the court bouillon and place it on an appropriately sized dish or plate.

How you serve it is, once again, a matter of preference, but we’d suggest placing the whole fish in the centre of the dining table before cutting it into portions every time. It makes for a great piece of food theatre and will get your diners salivating.

So there you have it: how to poach a whole salmon.

There’s only one more thing to say, and that’s make sure you serve a Scottish salmon – they’re the best in the world, bar none.

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Fresh Fish Daily: What Makes Us Different?

Fresh Fish Daily logo

George Baxter is the driving force behind Fresh Fish Daily and a man who has spent more than 40 years in the fish business. At every step on his journey – from working on the boats as they harvested haddock from the North Sea to overseeing an operation that encompasses two high-street fishmongers, a fish processing and storage factory, a wholesale operation and Fresh Fish Daily – he has had to adapt to rising demand for his services.

A bigger facility, better processes, extra staff, more modern premises, another shop – it’s not the overnight success those who watch or take part in The Apprentice could be forgiven for thinking is there for the taking if you set your mind to it. It’s graft. It’s being able to spin a thousand plates at once and still maintain a happy home life. And it’s learning two crucial lessons: take your time and do your homework.

So when his thoughts turned to selling fish and seafood online, George didn’t rush it. He gathered a small team of people he trusted who had expertise and enthusiasm for his idea, and they took their time.

The first step was to see who was selling fresh fish online and identify their strengths and their failings.

They looked at prices and found huge discrepancies. How could prices vary so much? Were customers getting value for money? How were customers supposed to know what was a good deal and what wasn’t?

They looked at who delivered where and when, how much it cost and what the minimum order was.

They looked at packaging. How robust was it and was it up to the job?

They looked at what was being sold and how it was sold. By weight or by portion? How much was a portion? This cut or that cut? Fresh or frozen? If someone with more than four decades’ experience in the fish trade couldn’t fathom what they were buying when they clicked “add to basket” then the average member of the public didn’t stand a chance.

They looked at how the products were presented and were mostly disappointed.

They looked at the way other sellers used language to get their message across. Was it clear? Was it patronising or hard to understand?

The next step was simple to say but infinitely harder to take: do it better than everyone else.

George knew the quality of the produce was unbeatable. The challenge was to get the prices, delivery, packaging, portions, photography and tone of voice right. With solid foundations, Fresh Fish Daily could build and build.

It took more than a year of hard work, strategic thinking, collaboration and a few false starts, but we got there in the end, launching on 15 January 2020.

At the time of writing (early June), that now seems a lifetime ago. Like many people and businesses we have taken the opportunity to reflect on how we got here and where we are going, and we believe we’re on the right track.

  • Thanks to customer feedback we are confident our fish and seafood are the best.
  • We deliver to more parts of the UK mainland than anyone else.
  • Our packaging keeps fish and seafood fresher for longer than any other methods on the market.
  • Our prices are the lowest you’ll find for products of the same standard.
  • Our photographs show the products in their best light.
  • Lastly, we are as clear as possible about what you’re buying, where it’s from and how it gets from our premises to your door.

With these fundamentals in place, it’s our goal to be the number-one supplier of fresh fish and seafood to homes throughout the UK mainland.

What makes Fresh Fish Daily different? We’re the best.

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Whole Salmon: A Homegrown Hero

Whole salmon on a stone background

Only a fool could deny there’s a place for salmon in the form of fillets or steaks – or smoked and sliced – in the fridge or freezer of everyone who loves to eat fish.

Brimming with omega-3 fatty acids and therefore a trusted ally of anyone who wants to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, salmon possesses a texture and flavour like no other fish, and those reared in the waters off the north and north-west coast of Scotland are among the best in the world.

As proof you need look no further than the stark fact that Scottish salmon is the number one food export in the United Kingdom according to the most up-to-date statistics available from the UK government, with chocolate and cheese in second and third place. Of all the food and drink exported from the UK, only whisky outsells Scottish salmon.

All of which begs the question: why don’t we eat more Scottish salmon in the UK? If it’s good enough for the French, the Americans and the Chinese, the top three markets for Scottish salmon,  it must be good enough for us.

Chances are, though, that if you pop down your local supermarket the salmon on offer is from further afield – Alaska or Norway, typically. Suppliers of these fish can meet the price offered by the multiples far more easily than suppliers of Scottish salmon. If you want Scottish salmon, economic forces dictate that you’ll need to look elsewhere, to websites such as Fresh Fish Daily.

There’s only so much you can do to challenge the economic model of capitalism, but you can choose where you buy your fish if you’re willing to look past the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

While it’s easy enough to find salmon fillets online, it’s less straightforward to source whole Scottish salmon. And once you and your family or friends have dined on a whole Scottish salmon, baked or poached and served at the dining table, you’ll find few culinary experiences to equal it.

Enjoying whole salmon used to be the preserve of the upper classes but that’s no longer the case. If you’re planning a convivial meal to mark a wedding anniversary, a graduation or a notable birthday, or want to try something fresh for Christmas, then whole Scottish salmon is not merely an appetising option but a nutritious one too, and thanks to its mild flavour and luscious texture will appeal to diners of all ages.

You won’t need an emergency stash of Rennies or Gaviscon as you might if you served up Chateaubriand, for example, plus there’s no danger of disappointing those who prefer their main course rare, medium or well-done.

The classic method of cooking whole salmon is baked in tinfoil, drizzled with a combination of melted butter, dry white wine, tarragon and/or bay leaves, lemon juice, salt and pepper. As for accompaniments, whole salmon pairs beautifully with boiled new potatoes, salsa verde or a mild garlic mayonnaise. And don’t scrimp on lemons: each diner should have recourse to as many wedges as they want for squeezing over their portion of fish.

Alternatively, if you have a fish kettle or roasting tin that’s big enough then you could try poaching whole salmon. Place the kettle or tin on the hob, fill it with water, add some lemon wedges, bay leaves, white wine vinegar and seasoning then cook for 30-60 minutes. Try preparing a joint of beef that will feed eight people in less than an hour!

Gutted and ready to cook, our whole salmon are available from 3.5kg, rising in 500g increments all the way up to a hefty 6kg. The smallest option will easily feed 10 people and yield ample leftovers for use in burgers, a pâté, or a mousse, whereas if you’re cooking for around two dozen guests you’ll want a larger specimen.

If you’re looking for whole salmon and are in any doubt whatsoever about what size to purchase, contact us and we will be more than happy to discuss your requirements and advise on a suitable weight.