Articles of Mastication

Smoke On The Water

Between the mainland and islands, the Republic of Croatia claims nearly 6000 kilometers of coastline, and Croatians have been smoking meats of nearly every sort since long before the advent of the electric toaster. With these facts in place, you’d think the republic would have a longer history of smoked fish. And you’d be wrong. Fish is most definitely grilled and roasted over wood fires on the hills, plains and shores of this magical land; any Dalmatian restaurant or konoba worth its salt has a special hearth in which to do precisely this. I nearly lost my composure in Samobor when I beheld this dramatic rig for slow-roasting a vast number of whole fish.

…and I had a minor episode in Metković (near what remains of the Roman city of Narona) when I witnessed eel roasting slowly on a motorized spit at Đuđa i Mate.

They do love their fish in Croatia, but before Branka Petrunić-Becker founded the Marko fish cannery five years ago, a startling number of Croatians had never tasted smoked fish. Now, they can find Marko smoked fish products at Konzum, the republic’s preeminent supermarket chain. Croatian chefs can even call Marko to order local or imported fish smoked to their exact specifications for new menu concepts.

Smoking is done exclusively on beech embers at Marko, utilizing a cold smoke-and-rest technique that maximizes absorption of the wood’s aromatic essence: four hours of smoke, two hours of rest. The cycle is repeated depending on the thickness, density and texture of the fish in question.

Tuna loins receive 48 hours of this treatment, for example, resulting in what Petrunić-Becker fondly refers to as “prosciutto from the sea”.

Indeed, the mild, lean tuna takes on the firm texture of cured, air-dried pork, and the crisp, clean aroma of beechwood smoke actually calls the Schwarzwalder ham of Germany to mind. Marko also deals in sea bream, sea bass, locally hatched trout and North Atlantic cod, and Petrunić-Becker emphasizes that the small staff is happy to import and smoke whatever culinary professionals might require for nightly specials or catering events. After visiting the small production facility in Duga Resa (Marko does have plans to expand and export its products internationally in the near future), I can finally say that I’ve tasted trout caviar and smoked cod pate, but it was the trout filet from a hatchery near Karlovac that had my taste buds breakdancing for joy. Trout is prized for its delicate texture and subtle flavor. While many smokehouses manage to fumigate each of these characteristics right out of the fish, Marko’s technique not only keeps them intact, but also imparts a buttery quality to the filet.

Smoked fish hardly needs embellishing, but I often enjoy it from my fingertips with thinly sliced onions, capers, sprigs of fresh dill, or perhaps even a smidgeon of crème fraîche to cement everything together on a fork. Ordinarily I prefer not to diminish the experience with the addition of a starch (not even toast points!) but I had some cooked pasta that needed dispatching, so I took my parcel of samples from Marko and produced this:

Cold-smoked river trout and sea bream with Jastrebarsko goat cheese on a bed of penne rigate, dressed plainly with an olive oil infusion of garlic, saffron, lemon zest and nutmeg.

Coming soon: Fewer poorly lit photos of brown things