Smokehouse

Our kingdom

Tradition and craft

Fish processing is one of the oldest and most beautiful craft in the world and has always been an important source of livelihood for mankind. Fish used to be the main source of nourishment - especially in Nordic countries - and people had known very well that fish is a valuable source of protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. That is why they learned how to farm all year round and preserve fish surplus for the winter time by using cold smoke.

On the other hand, smoking by a hot smoke is favourite way of preserving fish in middle Europe and is very favourite delicacy in Czech. That is why we also offer hot smoked fish.

The result of each smoking process is not only functional way of preserving food, but also very very excellent delicacy.

Our smokehouse

Our smokehouse was designed to smoke smaller batches of fish, so we could pay attention to each fillet that undergoes the smoking transformation. The smoke is produced by an external generator and allows us to perfectly control the amount and temperature of the smoke. When smoking by the cold smoke, the temperature don ´t exceeds 25 °C - hence the name of this method of smoking. When smoking by the hot smoke, the temperature never exceeds 65 °C.

By curing fillets in salt or other marinade, the process of smoking begins. After curing, the fillets are washed, dried and placed on racks that go straight to the smokehouse. Than fillets undergo a quiet and long transformation. The smoke dissipates, flavor of the wood and marinade is being absorbed and the structure of fish meat becomes slimmer and fragile. Thanks to both methods and special care, the finest and tastiest smoked products with a perfect structure and rich flavor are created.

The time matters

Last few decades had been full of hurry and rush and we are used to have food on table within a minutes. But we know that exceptional things take time and although cold smoking process is time and technology consuming, nothing compares to the outcome of it. Our production does not follow recommended time intervals or preset computer programs. The whole smoking process is based on intuition, personal evaluation of all input factors and close connection with production process. Each batch of fish is simply different and therefore each needs its own specific time.

Thanks to personal experience, respect for input raw materials and individual approach to each smoke, a unique product is created. A product, that had not been introduced in Czech market never before, and of which - on behalf of Trnečka Smoked Fish - we are very proud.

What we smoke on

The choice of wood has a major impact on the taste of the final product. Beech wood chips are mainly used for smoking and emphasize the natural taste and tenderness of a fresh fish. Beech gives the fish a specific smell and a delicate smoky aroma.

When some of our special marinades need a wood, that adds a stronger smoky aroma or more sweetness we use alder wood chips or apple wood chips.

What kind of fish we smoke

We mainly focus on smoking fish from the salmonid family. Our pilot product is rainbow trout, but over time we introduced also brook trout and atlantic salmon. Additionaly we smoke traditional czech carp and we plan to slowly expand the assortment with new other kinds of fish.

We cooperate with Czech and foreign fish farms and we do care about the way of breeding methods and quality of the meat. We do our best to support responsible approach to production.