Our Method
Handcrafted in County Wexford
True Craftmanship
On arrival at our smokehouse, the fish are tested for quality. The salmon are then hand filleted, pin boned, iced and returned to chill. The salmon are then brought to the salting room where salt is sprinkled over the buttery flesh to allow the fish to harden.
The salmon are then gently placed on smoking racks and returned to chill. Once in the chill the surface of the flesh becomes sticky which allows the salmon to smoke easier.
After some time, the salmon are placed in our traditional smoker. Beechwood chips are lit and the magic begins
Our Artisan Method
We take huge pride in our traditional approach to the craft of our artisan smoked salmon.
At Ballyhack Smokehouse, our technique is unique and mechanical free. Everything we do is based purely on taste and good judgement. Our salmon is gently smoked for a period of 2 days. We compare this to slow roasting meat. “Great taste takes time”
Beech is used which is a milder wood with a delicate smoke that allows the true flavour of the salmon to sing. Heavier smoke is given by the more commonly used oak can produce a less delicate taste. Wood chips are used rather than sawdust which produces a gentle, clean, dust free smoke.
Great taste takes time
Provenance
Only the finest quality salmon makes the grade for the smoking process here at Ballyhack Smokehouse.
We use 3 different varieties or types of salmon in our various products. We use only the highest grade of Scottish farmed salmon reared in the Scottish Lochs & Irish organic salmon reared off the west coast of Ireland which is renowned as the best quality farmed salmon in the world today, not only because it’s extremely limited quantities, but also because of the conditions in which they live.
When in season we are privileged to be able to smoke our treasured Wild Irish Salmon found in our Irish rivers and caught by means of snap or draft net.