There are some excellent examples of smoked salmon, and some poor imitations. Part with a few extra euro for a good one and you'll eat well, writes Tom Doorley
I HAVE A ritual for eating smoked salmon and it won't appeal to everyone. First of all, I prefer to cut smoked salmon from a whole side, in the way taught to me by Frank Hederman, of Belvelly Smokehouse (www.frankhederman.com), who used to be a neighbour of ours. Just cut straight down across the grain to the skin, so you end up with lots of little slices which are, in effect, thin cross-sections of the whole side.
Wafer-thin slices cut along the grain look more elegant, but will vary a lot in flavour. The benefit of a cross-section is that you get all of the flavours in one mouthful - the strongest and the mildest.
There are four things I like with smoked salmon: lemon juice and black pepper (which are absolutely essential) and very finely sliced, very fresh onion and a few tangy capers (both of which are desirable). I can live without thinly cut brown bread and butter, but it does help to make a meal of it. A glass of something like a bone dry Australian Riesling makes it a feast.
Don't be shocked at the notion of eating Scottish salmon. A lot of Irish smoked salmon is actually Scottish fish these days. But I have to say that some of the best smoked salmon I've tasted in a while is from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and is produced by Lord Granville, whose grandmother was a Guinness and chatelaine of Luttrellstown Castle.
His salmon (from www.hebrideansmokehouse.com) is smoked over peat in much the same way as malted barley for Islay whiskies is kilned, and it has a particular resonance for lovers of single malts. The texture can occasionally border slightly on the crumbly, but the unique flavour more than compensates. A 500g package delivered to Ireland costs £36.80 (€43).
Tom Doorley