Smoked Rapeseed Oil launched by local smokery
North Coast Smokehouse in Ballycastle has launched an original smoked rapeseed oil for a range of culinary applications.
The rapeseed is smoked by the small company, which is owned and managed by
Ruairidh Morrison, near the Co Antrim town.
The family-owned and run business is best known for its award winning organic hot smoked salmon which is supplied to leading restaurants as well as retailed at markets around the Causeway and Glens council area especially at the monthly Coleraine market. The company, a Food NI member, also produces condiments such as black pepper and sea salt.
“The new rapeseed oil is the outcome of work over a number of years to develop a smoky flavour, which is on-trend at the moment, for adding to dishes,” Ruairidh says. “it’s ideal for both professional chefs and home cooks wishing to introduce a distinctively different flavour.”
“The new culinary oil is based on my experience of smoking organic salmon in small batches to ensure consistent quality in both taste and texture. It’s essentially a handcrafted product using my own recipe and hot smoking technique in our own small kiln in which we burn beech wood for a distinctive aroma and flavour.
“Our smoke is produced the old fashioned way, by simply burning small quantities of wood. We don’t use liquid-smokes, paints or dyes,” he adds.
“I decided to start smoking dulse seaweed because it is plentiful around the coasts of Northern Ireland and is now widely recognised as being a very nutritious food that’s a very rich source of minerals and vitamins. It contains all the trace elements, such as iron, sodium and potassium, needed by humans and has a high protein content,” he adds.
