Cookery Feature - King of Fish & The Black Stuff - Inspired by Tradition

A very interesting (and enjoyable) event took place recently at Kish Fish on the West Pier in Howth. Named after a nearby lighthouse, the business dates back 1966 when Tadgh O’Meara - father of the current owners, Tadgh & Damian - had a stand at the old Dublin Fish Market. Nearly six decades on it’s a thriving business employing 150, and – in addition to their core wholesale trade - they have four fish shops (Howth, Coolock, Bow Street, and Avoca Dunboyne), a Production Kitchen (ready-to-cook meals and sauces), a Smokehouse, their Kish Café. in Howth, and the Baily Bites food truck… The reason for the event (which included a smokehouse tour and sustainability details) was to launch a light rebrand and a unique and seriously delicious new product, Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish, which has been in development for two and a half years and is proving to be well worth the wait.

The shared values of the family-owned fish business and the massive enterprise that is Guinness – notably respect for heritage, consistent quality and sustainability - are proudly acknowledged as the raison d’etre of the new product, and the idea actually originated in The Guinness Storehouse, which is one of Kish Fish’s largest customers. Their executive chef, Sean Hunter (see right) had started curing Salmon in GUINNESS™ and smoking it himself in small quantities for tourists to enjoy as part of the visitor experience at St. James's Gate, and the recognition of the product’s potential and mass appeal led to the partnership with Kish Fish – and the really delicious product that is now included in the company's food service range and available in the Kish Fish shops.

With smoked salmon mainly seen as a premium convenience product for use in cold dishes, it is unusual for a new rendition to be chef-led and with versatility to the fore. Yes, it is super-delicious eaten straight from the pack, but it has many other uses and everyone involved with it is keen to emphasise that “it’s not just another smoked salmon, it’s a totally new product”. Which is true. And, as they say themselves, “It’s a product that promises to be a sure-fire hit with Irish diners, international visitors and home cooks alike.” Interestingly, many people have suggested that smoked salmon and Guinness might not be natural combination – so the best way to decide on that is to try it.
*Available from Kish Fish’s four retail fish shops - Howth, Coolock, Bow Street, and Avoca Dunboyne - in individual 150g (€8.99), 400g (€17.99), and pre-sliced 1kg (€43.99) sized packs.

RECIPES from The Guinness Storehouse

Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish Starter Plate 
This is one of the most popular dishes served by Executive Chef Sean Hunter and his team at The Guinness Storehouse and it’s easy to see why. Bringing together several much-loved themes in traditional Irish cooking, Sean transforms them into a beautiful and thoroughly modern starter composed of Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish, Guinness™ Brown Soda Bread, Saffron Aioli, refreshing Pickled Vegetables and a pretty Apple Gel. Everything is prepared from scratch at The Guinness Storehouse but home cooks might want to take one or two well-judged short cuts – a quick Saffron Aoili, for example, can be made by flavouring a quality product such as Ballymaloe Mayo with a few strands of pre-soaked saffron and a little crushed garlic. Agar agar may not be in every Irish pantry but this versatile setting agent is a handy product to have in stock and it’s available from some supermarkets and speciality food stores such as Asia Market 

COMPONENTS OF THE STARTER PLATE: Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish; Pickled Vegetables; Apple Gel. Garnish: Trout roe (Goatsbridge, Co Kilkenny) and fresh dill. To serve: Guinness™ Brown Soda Bread & Saffron Aioli

Pickled Vegetables: Diced carrot, beetroot, kohlrabi / apple
Pickling Liquor Ingredients
1/1 sugar / vinegar (1 part each)
Double amount of water
Thumb of ginger
Whole peppercorns (about 6)
Mustard seeds
Fennel seeds
1 x star anise
Method: Bring the liquids and aromats to the boil in a pot then, in separate containers, pour the liquor over the diced carrot, beetroot, kohlrabi and/or apple - don't mix the vegetables/fruit as they release their flavours and colour, so need to be pickled separately. Allow them to cool in the pickle and store in it until required. When ready to plate, strain the vegetables and reserve the pickling liquor to use again. It is important to draw excess liquid away before plating, so place the drained vegetables and fruit on heavy kitchen roll to absorb it.

Apple Gel
Ingredients
2.5g agar agar
200ml apple juice
Lime juice
Seasoning (salt, sugar)
Method: Blitz all ingredients together and bring to the boil. Allow to cool and set, then re-blitz.
Plating: As in the photo, place the salmon straight down 2cm from the centre of the plate (so 2cm off centre). Add 5 dots of Apple Gel asymmetrically to the right of the salmon (or create your own style - practise first on an empty plate), then dot 3 pieces of pickled vegetables around the apple gel. Sean’s team bake the Guinness bread mix in tall ring cutters lined with greaseproof paper to give a perfect circular slice of soda bread, which looks cool and is a great talking point. Then they add about 5 dots of saffron aioli around the edge and finish with the Goatsbridge trout roe and chives in the centre

Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish Sambon 
Avoiding waste is a big thing at both Kish Fish and The Guinness Storehouse, and this recipe was devised by Executive Chef Sean Hunter to make the best use of their salmon trimmings. A clever fishy variation on the familiar jambons (ham & cheese pastries), this simple finger food is easy to make and seriously tasty. It’s good to see the gorgeous Armagh cheese Ballylisk Brie used at The Guinness Storehouse and Sean suggests freezing it before grating, to firm it up – a handy hint for other cheeses too. Alternatively it can be chopped - the aim is for even distribution.

Ingredients:
30g flour
30g butter
250ml milk
60g Ballylisk Brie
100g Guinness™ Smoked Salmon by Kish Fish, chopped
Handful of parsley, chopped
1 sheet pre-made puff pastry
Egg wash (2 egg yolks/1 whole egg whisked with a little water or milk)
Method:
Place a heavy based baking tray in the oven and preheat to 200°C.
Add the flour and butter to a small pot. Warm your milk. Cook out the flour for 1 minute before whisking in the milk. Bring the sauce to the boil until it thickens.
Turn off the heat and add in the grated Brie. Allow to chill slightly.
Mix the cured salmon through the cheese sauce with the parsley. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
Lay out the puff pastry sheet on baking parchment, cut into 4 squares.
Place a large spoonful of the cheese and salmon mix into the centre of each square, then fold the 4 corners into the centre to create the ‘jambon’ shape.
Brush egg wash evenly over the pastry to glaze it.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish with ‘Dead Easy’ Potato Skins and Red Onion & Caper Salsa 
At the launch of Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish, a guest asked The Guinness Storehouse’s Executive Chef Sean Hunter to suggest a really easy way to use the product in something hot for cooking at home – and this more-ish dish was his response. There is no need to be too fussy about the salmon slices (leftover fish from another dish would be fine) and it’s interesting to see that Sean suggests potato starch for coating the potato wedges. This naturally gluten-free ingredient is easy to use for thickening sauces, coating fried foods, baking etc. It's a very good replacement for imported products such as cornflour, and deserves to be more widely known. Irish potato starch is produced at Meade Farm, Co Meath, and suppliers include Down To Earth on Dublin’s South Great George Street, who offer online sales: https://downtoearth.ie/products/meade-farm-potato-starch-250g
[A variation, to avoid frying, might be to brush the potato wedges with oil and crispen them in the oven. GC]

Red Onion & Caper Salsa
1 red onion finely diced
Small handful of washed capers, chopped finely
Zest and juice of 1 lime
25g chopped dill
80ml good quality olive oil
Salt and pepper
To serve: Slices of Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish
Lemon wedges; crème fraiche for dipping
To make the Salsa: Place all of the ingredients for the salsa into a bowl and mix them thoroughly.

‘Dead Easy’ Potato Skins
Method: Wrap potatoes in foil, cut an ‘X’ across the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake at 160°C for 35-40 minutes until soft.
Remove the potatoes from the foil, let them cool and cut into quarters.
Scoop out the centre a bit, leaving about 3cm of potato to the skin - and essentially creating thick potato wedges. Coat entirely in potato starch then fry until golden and crispy.
To serve, lay slices of Guinness™ Smoked Salmon By Kish Fish on your plate, stack up the potato skins in the middle, and then spoon the salsa around. Serve with lemon wedges and crème fraiche for dipping the potato skins.