The Farmer’s Boy smoke house is made from an old whiskey barrel and cast iron wood burning stove. Smoking started in November 2009 on a small scale, experimenting with various methods of curing/brining and smoking fish and meat.
We have found we get the best result from brine consisting of water and sea salt, with molasses sugar for fish and a dry cure for bacon. We also add brandy, juniper berries and bay leaves. We are smoking over a combination of apple and cherry wood.
We are now smoking at least once a week, with a wide range of items including kippers, mackerel, haddock and salmon. We also smoke back and streaky bacon which is dry cured on the premises prior to smoking.
Please ask at The Farmer’s Boy if you would like to purchase our home-smoked products. Please note, as with our menus, all products are sourced locally whenever we can and are seasonal, so please also enquire about availability.
Smoking at home is easy. You can buy a small, purpose-built smoker or you can have a go at making your own. People have used anything from a metal bread bin to a garden shed!
Cold smoked salmon
Ingredients
1 side fresh salmon (wild if available)
For the brine
200g sea salt
100g dark brown sugar
2 bay leaves
8 juniper berries
1 shot brandy
1 ½ litre water
Method
Mix all the brine ingredients together, place salmon in a plastic container and cover with brine and leave for six hours. After that time rinse under cold water, place on a cooling rack and leave in the fridge overnight to dry.
Smoke for 12 to 18 hours
Although it is called cold smoked you need to maintain a temperature between 21 – 31c.
