Try a taste of Arbroath

The scallop boats tie up right in the centre of Kirkudbright and there is an excellent fish shop, and fish and chip restaurant, just by the moorings.

Looking at the fish, king scallops and other delights of the sea on the slab, it is always difficult to decide what to choose. Arbroath smokies were eventually selected yesterday.

Arbroath smokes are one of the glories of Scottish cuisine and recently they have been awarded EU protected denomination status – like Champagne and Melton Mowbray pork pies. Arbroath smokes can only come from Arbroath.

Smokies are made with haddock. They are first covered in salt and then tied in pairs by their tails before being hung over poles and smoked over a beech or other hardwood fire.
The process cooks them and imparts a wonderful flavour. They can be eaten cold, just picking off the flesh.

However, most people heat them up and one recommended method is to put your smokies into a pot of water which you then bring to the boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, strain it off and remove the smokes. Put the fish on heated plates, on top of thick slices of bread slathered with lots of salted butter.

Sharon made an excellent suggestion and the smokies were heated as above in milk instead of water, not quite to the boil. So, there was lots of lovely fishy milk to soak into the fresh multi-grain loaf slices.