Fish: The Element of Water and Fire

Man is perhaps the only creature on Earth that does not run from smoke. For me, smoke is magical. When I catch a particular kind of it, the smell triggers an avalanche of memories and carries me to a specific place on the line of time.

A few days ago I bought smoked fish. Unfortunately smoked in the modern way, chemically and without any real smoke. And yet, the fish itself and those faint traces of smokiness were enough to take me back to holidays from years ago, on the Polish Baltic coast, where every seaside town had its fish smokehouses.

Smokehouses is too grand a word. They were often primitive shacks nailed together from planks, or great barrels in which the fish hung. The smoking was done by the wives and children of fishermen, because the men themselves were out at sea, catching the next haul.

The smell of those fish mixed with smoke was extraordinary. It drifted far along the shore, drawing the hungry towards it. The fish were sold still hot, and that taste is something you never forget. We ate them almost every day, sometimes straight away, with our fingers, walking back to the holiday cottage where we were staying. Those were beautiful times spent with family and friends, and that is why that taste and that smell carry such tremendous power.

I looked again at what I had bought and decided that next time I would do it properly. The Polish way. The real way.

I remember the world through smell. And that is exactly why I want to recreate that taste and that smell I experienced all those summers ago on the Baltic coast. It will be my bridge from here and now to the flavours and places of years gone by.

Smoked Sea Bream on a Kettle Grill

Ingredients for two fish: sea bream, sea salt, a pinch of brown sugar, fresh dill, a few slices of lemon, a handful of alder wood chips.

Dry cure:

Rub each fish thoroughly inside and out with the salt and brown sugar. Add the dill and lemon slices. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours.

When you take the fish out, remove the marinade and rinse gently under cold water. Dry thoroughly and leave in a well-ventilated place until the skin is completely dry and glossy. This is the most important step- damp skin will not take the smoke properly. If the air is humid, a fan placed near the fish helps considerably.

Smoking on the grill:

Soak the alder wood chips in water for 30 minutes before you begin.

Light the coals on one side of the grill only. The fish sits on the other side, away from the heat. It should smoke in the warmth, not cook over direct flame. This is the single most important rule of grill smoking.

Place a handful of wet wood chips directly onto the glowing coals. Close the lid. The temperature inside should hold between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius. Add another handful of wet chips every 20 minutes.

Smoking time for sea bream: approximately 45 minutes to one hour, depending on the size of the fish. The fish is ready when the flesh near the backbone is white and comes away from the bone cleanly, and the skin has turned a deep golden brown.

Leave to rest before serving. The flavour deepens considerably after 15 minutes.

Best eaten with your fingers. Just like back then.