A video by Darren McGrady, former chef to the British Royal House, came up in my youtube feed the other day. He was making Cullen Skink which reminds me a bit of the chowders I've had in New England. This is an old Scottish rustic recipe with some saying it goes back to the 1640s. "Skink" is the Scottish word for a shin, knuckle, or hough of beef (the English word is "shank"). Skink became the name for a soup made with those. When beef was scarce people turned to fish, which was abundant, to make their soups but the name skink stuck. In America a skink is a type of lizard.
Cullen Skink originated in the town of Cullen on the NE coast of Scotland. The fish used is Finnan Haddie, which is haddock cured with salt and sugar then cold smoked. Finnan Haddie is thought to have originated in or near the town of Findon (which is also called Finnan) but some sources say it originated in Findhorn. Finnan Haddie is served different ways but Cullen Skink is one of the most popular foods made with it.
Darren gave a link to a U.S. supplier in Maine who makes Finnan Haddie but I can't justify paying $22 for one pound and $45 shipping. I decided to make my own. No one around here has haddock so I used wild caught cod. Haddock is a type of cod but has a bit bolder taste and a different texture. To make my Finnan Haddie (or should I call it Finnan Coddie?) I dry brined the cod overnight then rinsed and wet brined it for 2 hours. The wet brine method I used is from the Serious Eats website. I saw another site that both dry and wet brined so I chose to dry brine as well. I put the cod on a rack in the fridge to dry for 4 hours then smoked it on the KBQ.
Recipe:
Cullen Skink
Source: Darren McGrady
Serves 6
The name of this rich, tasty soup comes from the fishing village of Cullen.
One large smoked haddock (weighing around 2 lb)
1 medium onion, finely chopped.
1½ pints raw milk (you can use pasteurized)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz diced peeled potatoes
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley or chives
Sauté the onion in the butter with a little salt in a shallow sauce pan until translucent. Stir in the raw milk. Add the smoked haddock, skin side down. Cover with a lid. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4/5 minutes, turning once. Take the haddock from the pan and remove the skin and bones. Break up the fish into flakes and set aside. Return the milk to the pan and add the potatoes. Cook until fork tender. Blend about a third of the potatoes with the liquid to thicken ( the more potatoes you add the thicker the soup will be) Stir in the flaked fish and reheat. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives.
I forgot to take a picture of the cod when I took it off the smoker. Here is a picture of the cod after poaching in the milk. You can see the color imparted to the fish from the smoke.
​
The fish added back into the pot after the potatoes were done cooking.
​
Ready to eat. Yum!
​
Darren McGrady's video on yotube:
Cullen Skink originated in the town of Cullen on the NE coast of Scotland. The fish used is Finnan Haddie, which is haddock cured with salt and sugar then cold smoked. Finnan Haddie is thought to have originated in or near the town of Findon (which is also called Finnan) but some sources say it originated in Findhorn. Finnan Haddie is served different ways but Cullen Skink is one of the most popular foods made with it.
Darren gave a link to a U.S. supplier in Maine who makes Finnan Haddie but I can't justify paying $22 for one pound and $45 shipping. I decided to make my own. No one around here has haddock so I used wild caught cod. Haddock is a type of cod but has a bit bolder taste and a different texture. To make my Finnan Haddie (or should I call it Finnan Coddie?) I dry brined the cod overnight then rinsed and wet brined it for 2 hours. The wet brine method I used is from the Serious Eats website. I saw another site that both dry and wet brined so I chose to dry brine as well. I put the cod on a rack in the fridge to dry for 4 hours then smoked it on the KBQ.
Recipe:
Cullen Skink
Source: Darren McGrady
Serves 6
The name of this rich, tasty soup comes from the fishing village of Cullen.
One large smoked haddock (weighing around 2 lb)
1 medium onion, finely chopped.
1½ pints raw milk (you can use pasteurized)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz diced peeled potatoes
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley or chives
Sauté the onion in the butter with a little salt in a shallow sauce pan until translucent. Stir in the raw milk. Add the smoked haddock, skin side down. Cover with a lid. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4/5 minutes, turning once. Take the haddock from the pan and remove the skin and bones. Break up the fish into flakes and set aside. Return the milk to the pan and add the potatoes. Cook until fork tender. Blend about a third of the potatoes with the liquid to thicken ( the more potatoes you add the thicker the soup will be) Stir in the flaked fish and reheat. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives.
I forgot to take a picture of the cod when I took it off the smoker. Here is a picture of the cod after poaching in the milk. You can see the color imparted to the fish from the smoke.
​
The fish added back into the pot after the potatoes were done cooking.
​
Ready to eat. Yum!
​
Darren McGrady's video on yotube:
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