I am really very fortunate to live in a lovely little community in rural Devon, and am surrounded by wonderful produce, and talented craftspeople, my next door neighbour is a wonderfully energetic and creative lady called Barbara Clift, who works wonders with willow in all its forms, as well as being a passionate foodie.
She had mentioned to me an idea she had come up with for willow fish baskets, for smoking and BBQ, when I saw what she had created I knew they’d be perfect, and so was asked to trial them.
I’d decided to hot smoke a side of salmon, but these would be perfect to BBQ a whole fish such as a trout or similar too. Just soak the basket in water for a few hours so it chars slower.
I cured the side of salmon with a handful of coarse sea salt and a handful of dark brown sugar mixed together and rubbed into each side of the salmon, wrap the salmon in clingfilm and place on a tray in the fridge for 24-48 hours. Carefully remove the fish and rinse off under a trickle of water to remove excess cure. Pat dry with a paper towel and leave for at least 12 hours on a plate in the fridge to form a pellicle.
I then placed the salmon on one of the lovely willow fish baskets, and smoked using beech wood chips in a BBQ with a lid at 80-100degC for 1.5-2 hours until the fish is just cooked through and starting to flake but still moist. The basket proved to work perfectly so the fish didn’t stick to the grill of the BBQ and was an ideal way to serve the smoky fish.
COUNTRYWOODSMOKE 