There are few foods with such global appeal as smoked salmon, which is wildly popular everywhere from Norway to Tasmania, Scotland to Chile. Smoked salmon was enjoyed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, was held in high regard by the native Americans, and can be traced back to Stone Age coastal communities in the United Kingdom.
Salmon was originally smoked to better preserve the fish, but archaeological evidence is finding flavor was also a factor. At excavations of Viking settlements in Norway, elaborate smoking plants have been found, with the furnace and the smoke chamber positioned so the smoke was led through a channel kept cold by the surrounding earth, where it chilled and the tar contained in the smoke condensed. The cold, cleaned smoke gave the food a pleasant, aromatic taste while at the same time preserving it.
Nowadays, smokehouses are as abundant and as varied as the fish they source. Some use state of the art technology to develop equipment which will produce the perfect smoke and perfect consistency, others swear by old brick kilns and traditional methods. Some source the world for innovative flavors, some stick to tried-and-true recipes to allow the quality of their particular salmon to remain the hero.
