Would you like a smokie?

I'm a little picky when it comes to seafood. I don't eat oysters, clams, or mussels. However, I do love lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops, and certain types of fish (ones that aren't too "fishy" tasting). I will try almost anything once though so when Ross kept raving about the smokies from Arbroath, I was curious to see what the fuss was all about.

First, a little history! Arbroath is on the North Sea Coast of Scotland, about 16 miles east of Dundee and 45 miles south of Aberdeen. In 1839 a new harbour was built and became one of the larger fishing ports in Scotland by the 20th century. The fishing industry grew, however, from the 1980s onwards quota cuts and decommissioning affected the industry throughout Scotland. Today, the fish processing sector is still one of the largest employers in Arbroath, however, fish for processing now comes from other areas such as Aberdeen, Norway, and Ireland.¹

Arbroath Harbour

Arbroath is most famous for its smokies, which was first created in the village of Auchmithie. Line-caught haddock from the North Sea is gutted and head removed, then salted before being tied up in pairs and hung on rods to dry. Once they are dry, the haddock is smoked over beach or oak hard wood. Arbroath was awarded a Protected Geographical Indication in 2004, which means the smokie can only be called such if it is produced within 4km of Arbroath. Today, family-owned and run smokehouses still fill the town with its delicious smokie aromas with recurring surnames like Spink, Cargill, Swankie, and Smith claiming their smokies as the best.^1,2,3

Looking out onto the North Sea

We drove from Ross' hometown of Leven, which is just north of Edinburgh, and it took us a little over an hour to get to the little coastal town of Arbroath. We found a spot to park at the harbour and went for a walk around the Fit o' the Toon, the area of land given to attract fishermen to Arbroath in the 1800s.² You could immediately smell the delicious smokie air and we'd arrived around lunch time so I was ready to feast!

M&M Spink looking out onto the harbour

We came across M&M Spink's, a small family-run business founded by William (Bill) Spink in 1965, who continues his family's tradition that began in Auchmithie.³ The smokehouse overlooks the harbour with its modest yet inviting entrance located at 10 Marketgate. It felt like we were walking into someone's backyard and they just happened to have a lot of smoked fish hanging around. They had also just gotten back from sea so there were crates of fresh fish ready to be gutted and beheaded. They let us into the back where the magic happens - there were batches of fish being dried whilst others were about to go into the smoker. It all smelled so good, I had to refrain myself from grabbing a fish and eating it right then and there. Ross and I finally decided on getting haddock and salmon and the lady who was taking care of our orders said she'd just made fresh fish cakes so we told her to throw a couple into the bag as well. We made our purchase, thanked them, and off we went to find a place to eat our smokies.

M&M Spink at 10 Marketgate (left)

We found a place overlooking the sea on King's Drive next to Victoria Park where we indulged in the smokies. You could taste the fresh smokey-ness in each bite that melted in your mouth. Both were so delicious, however, I think I prefer the salmon just a little more than the haddock. We ate with our fingers and didn't even need side dishes because one each of the haddock and salmon was enough to fill both Ross and I up. We saved the fish cakes for breakfast the following day and boy, were they yummy! I'm not really one to have seafood for breakfast but I'd have an Arbroath smokie fish cake any day.

M&M Spink's smoked salmon

M&M Spink's smokie

The fish were delicious but what I found the most interesting was Arbroath's history behind the smokie. There are so many huge companies taking over and taking small businesses out so seeing the family-run smokehouses still practicing years of tradition was really cool. Though the town is not bustling like it was many years ago, I'm glad that people still make it a point to travel to Arbroath just for the smokie. I would definitely recommend a visit to Arbroath, if not for its smokie, then for its history.

Sources:
1) Wikipedia: Abroath
2) The Larder (9 July 2012) by Catharina Day
3) M&M Spink Arbroath 10 Marketgate, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland DD11 1AY UK