Preparing, processing and smoking fish - the Jollys way
At Jollys we take pride in our produce - especially our fish. We've been processing our own fish in Kirkwall for over 60 years. Read on to learn more about our story.
The Premises
William Jolly founded our fishmonger business in Orkney over 60 years ago. Our current premises at Hatston is a former World War 2 building and when it came up for sale, it soon became clear that it was the perfect home for Jollys. Within the building is an old chimney that looked like an ideal place to house a smokery. One test fire later and that's exactly what it became. We've been smoking our fish here ever since.
Our preparation room is where all the fish gets filleted, brined, rinsed, cut and packaged. Adjoining this is our shop area which is always busy serving local Orkney customers and visitors with our fish and seafood products as well as hot food, ready meals and other Orkney produce.
The Preparation
All our salmon comes from a local supplier located only ¼ of a mile away. We have a chill store that makes sure all fish is kept below 5oC and complies with regulations. The fish is filleted by hand and prepared for the brine.
Our brine is a secret family recipe that has been tried and tested over many years and provides the optimum texture and flavour for the fish. The salmon stays in the brine for 24 hours before being rinsed and drying on racks for another couple of hours.
We also produce our hot smoked salmon and mackerel which is prepared using a dry brine.
Once the fish has been prepared, it's ready for smoking.
The Smokery
We use oak chippings and dust to create our smoke which burns naturally in our unique kiln. The smokery is fired daily and closely monitored to ensure the optimum balance of heat and smoke. We have to pay particular attention to the weather conditions which can affect the conditions in the smokery.
Most of the fish (salmon, mackerel and kippers) are smoked for 6 hours with other seafood such as our smoked mussels requiring less time.
Our kippers are smoked in the traditional method using wooden spits which have been used at Jollys for many years.
The Eating
Our processing here at Jollys has developed over many years of testing, tasting and fine-tuning. They are old recipes which benefit from real experience. We only produce fish that we love to eat ourselves and feed to our own family.
Why not try some for yourself? Our fish selection hamper is a great way to try out our products, or you can always pick your own favourites from our shop. All products have free UK delivery.