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Scotland is justifiedly renowned for its smoked salmon, star of fancy starters everywhere, but maybe fewer people are aware of an equally good smoked fish product originating in the same nation : the Arbroath smokie.

These smoked haddock are supposed to have been 'invented' by accident, when a salted fish storage room caught fire, but this is probably just a fable. Salting and smoking is a familiar fish preserving method in many North Sea coastline areas.

To make Arbroath smokies, haddock fish are salted overnight on the bone, then after drying are tied in pairs before being suspended in a barrel which has a fire in its base. The barrel is covered with wettened sackcloth, and the fish then both cook and smoke in the hot and humid smoke.

All this results in a beautifully delicate and sweet texture to the finished fish, which is lovely eaten immediately, or will stay fresh for much longer than a normal haddock.

Arbroath smokies have now received Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status from the EU, meaning that only fish prepared in the traditional manner within a few miles of Arbroath can mark themselves as Arbroath Smokies.

Recipe Ideas

- Remove the flesh from the bones, and make a sandwich with wholemeal bread, mayo, finely chopped parsley, and lemon juice and black pepper to taste

- Gently cook the smokies in milk to heat through, then use the now-smokey liquid to make a white parsley sauce. Serve with boiled new potatoes in the summer, or buttered mash in colder months

- Use Arbroath smokie in place of clams for a Scottish twist to a New England clam chowder

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