Hot or cold smoked salmon?

Do you know the difference between hot and cold smoked salmon, or which one is the traditional Irish way of smoking? If not, we might be able to clear up the confusion...

The traditional Irish (and central European) way of smoking salmon is cold smoked. That means that the salmon is in the kiln for about 8 hours at roughly 32° Celsius. The exact times and temperatures depend on the size of the fillets. The texture and taste of the salmon is the one that you would automatically associate with smoked salmon: dark pink, soft, juicy.

It comes in plain, or as a unique blend of tastes as the Burren Smoked Irish Organic Salmon with Honey, Whiskey & Fennel. This variety won a 2* Gold Medal at the Great Taste Awards in 2010.

The Scandinavian way of smoking salmon would be hot smoked. The salmon fillets are in the kiln for half the time at double the temperature (4 hours at 80°C). Some people also call it barbecued salmon which is quite an accurate way of describing it when it comes to the texture (but note that it does not mean that it's burnt on the outside!). It is flakier and has a lighter colour. Especially people who find cold smoked salmon a bit "fishy" or oily love our hot smoked salmon. It comes in different varieties:

Plain: nothing added, pure salmon taste

Spiced: a colourful and tasty mix of herbs and mustard seeds are added to give it the extra edge

Honey, Lemon and Dill:
in 2007, we invented the Burren Hot Smoked Irish Organic Salmon with honey, lemon & dill. It won a gold medal at the 2008 Great Taste Awards, and at the 2010 Great Taste, it won 2* Gold Medals!

Honey, Lemon and Pepper:
also invented in 2007. Applied on the Burren Hot Smoked Irish Organic Salmon, it promptly won the "Best Irish Product of the Show" award at SHOP 2007! The lemon makes the salmon very juicy.