The Arbroath smokie is a type of smoked haddock named after the town of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

Angus, Scotland Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City (council area), Dundee City and Per ...

History

The Arbroath smokie is said to have originated in the small fishing village of Auchmithie, three miles northeast of

. Local legend has it a store caught fire one night, destroying barrels of haddock preserved in salt. The following morning, the people found some of the barrels had caught fire, cooking the haddock inside. Inspection revealed the haddock to be quite tasty. It is much more likely the villagers were of

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n descent, as the 'Smokie making' process is similar to smoking methods which are still employed in areas of Scandinavia. Towards the end of the 19th century, as Arbroath's fishing industry died, the Town Council offered the fisherfolk from Auchmithie land in an area of the town known as the ''fit o' the toon''. It also offered them use of the modern harbour. Much of the Auchmithie population then relocated, bringing the Arbroath Smokie recipe with them. Today, 15 local businesses produce Arbroath smokies, selling them in major supermarkets in the UK and online. In 2004, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

registered the designation "Arbroath smokies" as a Protected Geographical Indication under the EU's Protected Food Name Scheme, acknowledging its unique status.Wilson, Neil and Murphy, Alan (2008
''Scotland''
Page 240, Lonely Planet. . File:Arbroath Smokies - geograph.org.uk - 462399.jpg, Arbroath smokies at the

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

Farmer's Market File:Auchmithie Harbour - geograph.org.uk - 24546.jpg, Auchmithie Harbour. Auchmithie is the true home of the "Arbroath" smokie File:Brothock Burn - geograph.org.uk - 725569.jpg, Brothock Burn, traditional home of the fishers. There are still smokehouses in back gardens to produce the Arbroath smokie

Preparation

Arbroath smokies are prepared using traditional methods dating back to the late 1800s. The fish are first salted overnight. They are then tied in pairs using hemp twine, and left overnight to dry. Once they have been salted, tied and dried, they are hung over a triangular length of wood to smoke. This "

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

stick" fits between the two tied smokies, one fish on either side. The sticks are then used to hang the dried

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in a special barrel containing a

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

. When the fish are hung over the fire, the top of the barrel is covered with a lid and sealed around the edges with wet

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

sacks (the water prevents the jute sacks from catching fire). All of this serves to create a very hot, humid and smoky fire. The intense heat and thick smoke is essential if the fish are to be cooked, not burned, and to have the strong, smoky taste and smell people expect from Arbroath smokies. Typically in less than an hour of

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

, the fish are ready to eat.

Notes

References

* Madison Books (2007
''1,001 Foods to Die For''
Page 283, Andrews McMeel Publishing. . * Paston-Williams, Sara (2006
''Fish: Recipes from a Busy Island''
Page 132, National Trust Books. . * Sweetser, Wendy (2009
''The Connoisseur's Guide to Fish & Seafood''
Page 194, Sterling Publishing Company,. .

External links

BBC Food - Recipes for Arbroath smokies

The History of the Smokie - Documentary film about the history of the Arbroath smokie

Arbroath smokie Online Recipes

Arbroath smokie Recipes
{{Scottish cuisine Smoked fish Food preservation Arbroath British products with protected designation of origin Scottish cuisine British cuisine Fish processing

History

Preparation

See also

Notes

References

External links