The smoking process...

History:

Smoking is the process of flavouring, cooking, and/or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from materials, such as hardwoods. The smoking and curing of fish and meat has been practiced throughout human history as a means of aiding long-term storage.

  

Curing:

Curing is the process of adding salt and sugar to food in order to draw out moisture. In doing so, this reduces micro bacterial growth and intensifies flavour. Additional flavourings, such as herbs and spices, may also be used in the cure mix, along with preservatives, such as nitrates and nitrites.

Our fish and meat products are generally dry cured, meaning the cure is rubbed onto the surface of the food, using a simple mixture of sugar and salt. For certain products we will use complimentary flavours such as juniper berry or black pepper in the cure, or use a brown sugar to give a sweeter, richer flavour.

Our products are generally cured for between 24 and 72 hours, depending on the type of product, size of product and the outcome we wish to achieve. We find that the curing process is one of the most skilled parts of the whole curing/smoking/drying process and requires a great deal of experience to achieve consistent results.

Before smoking, our fish and meat products are dried for a short period of time in order to assist the smoking process, enhance the flavour, and aid preservation.

Cold smoking:

The majority of our products are cold smoked. Cold smoking smokes but does not cook the product and is a very effective way of controlling the flavour of the food being smoked. It is during this process that the food changes both in colour and flavour.

All our smoked products are smoked over natural maple wood chippings. From experience, we have found that maple wood gives a delicious, subtly smokey flavour that perfectly compliments our products.