The fishing industry is in Iain Boyd’s blood.
In the early stages of the now 82-year-old’s career, he spent a great deal of time lobster fishing, scallop diving and mussel farming.
It’s a passion that has never dwindled through the decades.
Even when Iain went on to work in the oil business, he still “yearned to be involved” in the fishing trade, so much so that his downtime was spent smoking kippers, mackerel, haddock and salmon.
“He spent many years perfecting a traditional artisan method [to smoking salmon] before starting up the smokehouse about 20 years ago,” says daughter Louise.
The smokehouse in question is Ullapool Smokehouse which is, of course, based in the picturesque fishing village of Ullapool. More specifically, in Morefield Indstrial Estate.
Ullapool Smokehouse: ‘one of the few small smokehouses left in Scotland’
The small, traditional smoking business utlisises the locally-grown salmon from Wester Ross Fisheries.
They are renowned for the quality of salmon they produce, winning countless awards worldwide.
Ullapool Smokehouse prides itself on being one of the few small smokehouses left in Scotland today, producing on average 500-600kg per week.
Iain said: “Our aim is to produce the very best quality, traditionally smoked salmon.”
The team consists of Iain and three other members of staff, who “together do all the work” – from smoking to slicing, packing, selling and dispatching.
Ullapool Smokehouse also boasts a small, seasonal shop which sells all of its products alongside some other artisan ones, too.
What’s involved in the smoking process, and where is the range stocked?
“The smokehouse produces its own whisky cured traditional smoked salmon, which involves a 36-hour process to produce a very traditional and robust product,” says Louise.
The process starts with the curing element using a dry sea salt and brown sugar cure for 12 hours, which is then rinsed off and placed in the cold store for the ‘pellicle’ to form.
Louise explains: “This is a reaction between the cure and the protein in the fish, resulting in a lovely, glossy finish on the flesh.
“Then, this allows the proceeding 20-hour-long smoking process in a traditional brick kiln to absorb into the product.”
The salmon is gently smoked over smoldering oak shavings from used whisky barrel staves without the use of artificially warmed air and forced ventilation.
Other popular products include their heather honey cured hot smoked salmon and trout.
On top of this, a selection of smoked cheeses are also produced at Ullapool Smokehouse. They can be purchased individually or as part of platters and packs.
“The flavour and texture of the finished products reflect the time and effort that we put into them,” says Iain.
“After the process is complete, we slice and pack. Our standard is the traditional D-cut and everything is closely inspected to ensure quality assurance.”
Excluding what is sold at the seasonal on-site shop, the products are supplied wholesale to local, quality restaurants and guesthouses, and to suppliers based as far as London.
Customers can also purchase the range for mail order on the Ullapool Smokehouse website.
Iain Boyd passes years of expertise onto apprentices to keep his legacy going
Louise says that Iain “has loved running the Ullapool Smokehouse with his small and tight-knit team”.
She went on to say: “Due to his age, he is currently passing years of expertise onto his apprentices to carry on running this wee local gem, although he still refuses to retire!”
Iain added: “Ullapool Smokehouse products speak for themselves due to the quality of the raw materials and long traditional curing and smoking process.
“[This is] something that can be lacking in mass produced smoked salmon today.”
For more information and orders, call 01854 613881, email service@ullapoolsmokehouse.com or visit www.ullapoolsmokehouse.com.
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