Photo of
November 12, 2014
Loch Etive Peat Smoked Trout infused with Sheep Dip Whisky.
Loch Etive Peat Smoked Trout infused with Sheep Dip Whisky.

Last week, the 5pm Dining blog had the good fortune to be at the launch of two new limited edition products from RR. Spink and Sons.

Well known for their smoked and cured fish, the Arbroath-based family company were promoting their Loch Etive Peat Smoked Trout infused with Sheep Dip Whisky and their Loch Etive Smoked Trout with Warming Winter Spices.

The fish merchants had already experimented with using spirits to flavour their smoked fish when, earlier this year, they unveiled smoked trout which been doused in Edinburgh Gin. Both Sheep Dip Whisky and Edinburgh Gin are made by Spencerfield Spirit.

Smoked over peat and whisky chips

The Sheep Dip-flavoured trout is smoked over peat and whisky chips for a deep rich smoke flavour, before being infused with Sheep Dip Whisky. It is dangerously more-ish.

Before sitting down to write this post, the 5pm Dining blog had a salad made with the Sheep Dip smoked trout. It was simple stuff: some pea shoots, chopped tomatoes and cucumber, loads of dill plus several slices of the fish all dressed with olive oil and a little white wine vinegar.

Your writer is not a natural friend of the salad, and I can take no credit for putting this one together, but it was stunning.

As Christmas parties will soon be looming in the diary, here’s an easy peasy recipe for canapés using RR. Spink and Sons fish.

The recipe calls for smoked trout flavoured with Edinburgh Gin but we reckon that it would be just as good with the Sheep Dip infused trout.

RR. Spink & Sons Edinburgh Gin Smoked Trout wrapped cucumber with lemon crème fraiche

Ingredients

100g RR. Spink & Sons Edinburgh Gin Loch Etive Smoked Trout

1 cucumber

1 lemon

100ml crème fraiche

1 teaspoon of fresh chives finely chopped

Method

Peel the cucumber with a potato peeler then cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the watery seeds with a teaspoon.

Keep one half for salad (or to put in your gin and tonic).

Take the other half and cut 10 by 1cm sticks.

Wrap the end of each stick with half a slice of smoked trout.

Mix a teaspoon of lemon juice with the crème fraiche. This can be served on the side or you could pop it into a piping bag and dot over the trout.

To finish, grate the zest of half a lemon over the trout sticks, sprinkle with the chopped chives and grind over a little black pepper.

Canape season is coming.
Canape season is coming.