Kippers...

[jenny_haddow]

Rik, I measured half an inch of fish, so I cured for one plus two days. The amount of cure depending on the weight of the fish. Then air dried as with bacon for a day, then eaten. My dad did the last bit and said they passed muster.

[saucisson]

Very similar here Jen!
For 1kg of prepared fish:
20g fine sea salt
10g sugar
0.5g saltpetre
5g smoke powder.

Add the ingredients to a ziplock bag and shake well.
Lay bag flat with cure distributed over the base of the bag but not too near the zip.
Add fish flesh down, zip up the bag leaving as little air as possible and massage gently to distribute the cure.
Redistribute the cure/liquid every day in the fridge for three days, then rinse fish briefy under cold water (or dip in a sink of cold water).
Thread a rod in through one gill and out the other so as to help open the fish up (from the flesh side through a gill, pass behind the head and in through the other gill).
Drip dry overnight over a sink/receptacle and stand for the rest of the day or until the fish is just starting to glisten with oil.
Wrap in greaseproof paper and leave in the fridge until ready to eat (1 day in my case).

[pokerpete]

Rik, I measured half an inch of fish, so I cured for one plus two days. The amount of cure depending on the weight of the fish. Then air dried as with bacon for a day, then eaten. My dad did the last bit and said they passed muster.

I don't understand this moving away into a non traditional method, and on this site it is surely against the ethos.
If you really want to bang out a load of substandard kippers of the lowest common denominator then follow the method below.
Set up a brine bath as previously instructed, add a mixture of water soluble colourants, namely Brown FK (E154) and Quinoline Yellow (E104) to give an authentic colour. Hang to dry, then paint them with liquid oak smoke. Keep in the fridge at -1F for a day, and then eat.
You can pull off the same stunt with Haddock, but eliminate the BrownFK from the brine.
Easy innit?

[Wohoki]

I wouldn't have been quite as blunt about it as old Porker above, but I wouldn't make kippers with smoke powder, I'd just get some sent from Craister or the Isle of Mann. It's not that expensive, the product is superb and it supports an arstisanal and threatened business. No-one looses. (And the postman will love you if the weather is hot )

[pokerpete]

I wouldn't have been quite as blunt about it as old Porker above, but I wouldn't make kippers with smoke powder, I'd just get some sent from Craister or the Isle of Mann. It's not that expensive, the product is superb and it supports an arstisanal and threatened business. No-one looses. (And the postman will love you if the weather is hot )

They are very keen about this on the Isle of Man, and it is the law.
Kippers must be oak smoked and no artificial colourings or dyes are allowed. A severe birching and keelhauling is the punishment for wrong doers.

[Wohoki]

It's their only industry, apart from tax avoidance

[Rik vonTrense]

Well if one of you guys would like to buy me a Bradley for my birthday I will gladly do them the traditional way............

Unfortunately I must cut my kipper the width of the net............

.

[jenny_haddow]

Well I suppose the characteristic spirit, or ethos of this forum allows and encourages us to try out and experiment in all sorts of ways and enjoy it. If tradition precludes this option then I have joined the wrong forum.

Jen

[saucisson]

Well said Jen

Many of us here make our bacon this way, Franco sells a smoked salmon cure to use in exactly this way, what's so special about the humble herring ?

But if the bulk of public opinion is against me and as I have no wish to single handedly jeopardise the British Kipper industry, I have decided not to make any more kippers.

Would anyone like me to share my recipe for Kyppers with them?

[Paul Kribs]

The object is to produce a product that YOU like.. If it means deviating from autheniticity then so be it.. as long as the end product is enjoyed.

That's the way I see it.

Regards, Paul Kribs.

[tristar]

I'm with you guys on this, many of us on this forum I would imagine, do not have the space, facilities, time, environment, or experience to produce a purely traditional product. The experience issue we are working together to fix, but in many cases the other issues are unchangeable.

Where I can, I most certainly use traditional methods, but where I cannot, I am quite willing to use innovative technology or methods to produce a similar end result, If I can share that with others I will do so, and I hope that others would share their experiences with me in return. At least doing this we are aware of what is going into our mouths and stomachs and those of our family and friends thereby making an informed decision as to what we accept and what we don't.

Whilst tradition in itself is a good thing as it allows us to carry the knowledge and experience of our forefathers, without innovation and challlenges we will never be able to move forward and advance ourselves in these fascinating hobbies!

Regards,
Richard

[Paul Kribs]

Spot on tristar.

Regards, Paul Kribs.

[pokerpete]

Oh dear, I seem to have inadvertanty ruffled a few feathers.
It is down to the 'innovative' processes of food processing technology that we are in this state of bastardisation in the name of corporate cost and profitabilility.
I have no misgivings whatsover in posting my appraisals, they are based on what actually happens in large and small production companies, many of which are household names, and were my customers.
So here's a simple question. Why does so called bacon come skinless, and cut as thin as toilet paper, and what happens to the skin?

[saucisson]

Oh dear, I seem to have inadvertanty ruffled a few feathers.

Actually, I was thinking the same thing about you.

We were having a quiet chat about how we can approximate a kipper from a fresh herring in the solitude of our own fridges and you stamped all over us quoting colourings and E numbers.

And as for:

"bastardisation in the name of corporate cost and profitabilility etc. "

What has any of your last post got to do with 2 or 3 herring and a bit of homecure?

Dave

[Wohoki]

Duely chastened I appologise. You are quite right: make, cook and eat what you wish; and I didn't mean to imply that half a dozen home-made kippers would injure the traditional industry, just that if you wanted to, you could be supporting it.


(Another part of it is sour-grapes: I do have a smoker but I can't get fresh herring )

Anyone drawn to the idea of smoking, you don't have to buy a Bradley. You can smoke inside any inert vessel, and cold smoking is something that a home producer can produce results every bit as good as the professionals. My smoker cost �50, has twice the capacity of a Bradley and isn't dependant on the little brick things.