Wednesday 17 February 2010

a scottish breakfasts

A full Scottish breakfast might include: toast, beans, fried haggis, potato hash, eggs, back bacon, potato scones, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes,Lorne sausage,black pudding, oatcakes, kippers, lamb chop and a fried slice (fried bread to people south of Hadrian's wall) , although a breakfast with all of these ingredients might be a bit excessive and a lot of times is called a heart attack on a plate.

now don't get me wrong i don't eat this every day ( i don't honest) but it is a bloody tasty treat maybe once a month on a Sunday before i go to work as it will fill me up for the est of the day no surprise there ......

nearly a full Scottish (picture below is the diet version)


OK so by now your probably wondering what the feck i am going on about well rest assured Ive not given up my fluff addiction and changed it over to a cooking addiction , you what happened this morning was i had just got my breakfast kippers (below) out of the fridge when the phone rings .



its ken from pike adventures in America although it was breakfast time for me ken unfortunately couldn't sleep and it was 3.30 am for him well he asked what i was doing and i told him

" id just got my breakfast out the fridge "

"what ya having"

"kippers i answer"

silence

"what the feck is a kipper" asks ken

well to save a long phone call and it is kinda fish related i decided to do this on my blog so here we go this is what a kipper is .........

Kipper - fish (usually a herring) cured by splitting, salting, and drying or smoking. A breakfast food in Scotland, kippered herring is poached, grilled or baked.


my kippers being grilled this morning


if you haven't tasted these before well you really should they are very very very tasty with a lovely smoked flavour , i prefer mine grilled or poached in full fat milk beautifully for quickness i do just grill them you can actually by kippers in tins and to be quite honest they are so cheap i often buy a couple of cans to go out fishing with for lunch , and they are just as nice cold .

grilled for 15 Min's and ready to go

you'll notice that I've added a small blob of Heinz tomato sauce this is a great complement to the taste of the smoked herring , lovely golden brown smoked kippers ready to eat and i bloody enjoyed them

however there is a down side to eating kippers , you find yourself belching a lot and when you do all you can taste is kippers although this can be great for a laugh if your up wind from your boat partner although not good if your trying to score chicks .

i now no longer have kippers as a starter before my fried breakfast i have them instead of a fried breakfast

ready to go and i really enjoyed them totally melt in the mouth (ken will be eating them when he visits in July)


OK so that's kippers but there is a holy grail of smoked fish oh yes there is something far more tasty in fact I'm watering at the mouth just writing about it it is the famous arbroath smokie it is indeed the king of smoked fish .

unfortunately arbroath is on the train line when i head north to my favorite fly fishing loch in the north of of Scotland and indeed i have been know to get an earlier train so i can get of the train and buy some of these and get the next train from arbroath

why is this the king of smoked fish well read below.....

Only haddock can be used to produce an authentic 'Arbroath Smokie'. The fish are gutted at sea, washed and boxed ready for auction at the fish market. Once back in the fish house, they are headed and cleaned, or 'sounded'. They are then dry salted in tubs for a given period. This helps to draw excess moisture from the fish and toughens the skin in preparation for the smoking process. The length of salting time depends on the size of the fish and how fresh they are (amongst other factors). After salting, they are thoroughly washed off, then tied by the tail in "pairs" and hung on sticks.

The smokie pit is then prepared. A hole is dug in the ground, and a half whisky barrel is set into it. The base of the barrel is lined with slates to protect it, and a hardwood fire of beech and oak is lit inside.

The sticks of fish are then placed over the pit and the hessian cover allows the fire to breathe and maintain the required heat. The number of layers and dampening of the 'cloots' depends on the weather, and may be adjusted throughout the smoking to prevent the fish either smoking too quickly and burning, or smoking too slowly and drying out. The cooking time is usually a minimum of 30 - 40 minutes but only an experienced smokie maker knows exactly when they are ready. The resultant golden brown fish, eaten straight from the barrel is a truly mouth-watering experience that has to be tasted to be believed!....

here's the link to



OK so that's that and for those of you who have no interest at all in my breakfast habits here is a subbug tied on an 8/0 circle hook this morning




tight lines and full stomachs
Dave mcfluffchucker
(a cave in Scotland

1 comment:

ChuckingFluff said...

I would love that breakfast, mmmmm mmmm mmm. Now I'm hungry and have to step out. Later