. . .  well, there’s fish. In this case a bit of locally landed haddock that I’ve home smoked out by the byre.

brook's original home smoker



I couldn’t be bothered with making a full-on brine as I will be using the smoked fish immediately in a Cullen skink and the fish doesn’t need to be ‘preserved’ for any time.

That said, I gave two fillets a short, sharp cure for an hour or so in Maldon’s seasalt with some dried thyme.


salted fish (with dog)


Next I remove all the excess salt and dry the fish (as the salt has drawn out moisture). Then it’s into the Brook’s Home Smoker, with some fine wood chips and the slightest bit of crumbled peat. A dish of Methylated Spirits is the heat source: this scorches the shavings and produces smoke. After about 20 minutes the smoking is complete.


smoked (but not that orange in real life)


Then I adjust a recipe from Fin’s Restaurant in Fairlie near Largs on the West Coast about 25 miles SW of Glasgow. It goes something like this:-

Sweat one finely chopped onion in some butter over a low heat for about 10 minutes, making sure it doesn’t brown or burn. Add smoked fillets whole. Continue to sweat over low heat, stirring occasionally, which will break up the fish as it cooks. Keep on slow simmer for about 10 minutes.

In separate container add milk (judgement call on amount, start with a pint or 1 litre) to mashed potatoes (again a judgement call: say four medium sized). Warm and blend with a whisk until smooth. Add it to fish and onions and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes, ensuring it never boils.

Finally add some double cream to taste and finely chopped parsley. I usually can’t wait to eat this with some crusty bread. But you can leave to cool and reheat later or keep over night in the fridge where the flavours intensify. Serves two.

And sorry, I meant to get a photo of the final dish, but our haste to devour it put paid to that notion