Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Poaching smoked haddock
• Method 2 of 4: Oven baked smoked haddock
• Method 3 of 4: Pan-fried smoked haddock
• Method 4 of 4: Smoked haddock with mustard sauce
• Tips

Fish is a tasty and healthy addition to any diet. Haddock is a type of fish that you can buy fresh as well as smoked. Smoked haddock can be yellow in color (dyed) or unpainted, which you choose depends on your preference. There are a few ways to prepare smoked haddock. Count on about 180 to 240 grams of fish per person, and ask the fishmonger to fillet the fish for you so that you don't have to do that yourself.

• Prep: 5-10 minutes
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 15-20 minutes

To step

Method 1 of 4: Poaching smoked haddock

1. Fill a pan with milk. The size of the pan and the amount of milk depend on how much fish you want to prepare in one go. The pan should be large enough to fit all the fillets, and you also have room to stir with your spatula. You need enough milk to cover all fillets completely.
   • You can also use half whipped cream, half water.
   • Don't just use water, as this will take all the flavor out of the fish.
2. Season the fish with pepper. Grind fresh black pepper over the pan with milk to give the haddock some extra flavor. You can also add other spices at this point if you wish. Other spices or herbs you can use are bay leaf, onion, garlic, parsley, or dill.
3. Heat the milk. Do not let the milk boil, but heat the pan to just before the boiling point. When the milk boils, immediately remove it from the heat until the foam subsides. When the milk is warm, reduce the heat to prevent it from boiling.
4. Put in the haddock. Place the fish in the almost boiling milk. Place the fillets in the pan so that they are all covered with milk.
5. Cook the haddock. Let the fish simmer in the milk for about 10 minutes. If the fillets are very small, you can also remove the pan from the heat and leave them in the hot milk. When you do this, remove the pan from the heat, add the haddock and put the lid on the pan.
6. Check that the fish is good. When cooked, the fish will become completely opaque, and the flesh should fall apart easily. If the fish is still slightly translucent, or if no pieces come off when you poke it with a fork, cook the fish a little longer.
   • Make sure to check the thickest part of the fish for doneness. The narrower ends are done earlier than the rest.
7. Serve the haddock while it is still hot. Poached smoked haddock is a typical English dish, and it is originally served with fresh bread and butter. The milk is drained and used as a sauce, and the bread serves to dip in the excess sauce.
   • You can also chop the haddock into small pieces and use it in other dishes, such as fish pie or Kedgeree.

Method 2 of 4: Oven baked smoked haddock

1. Preheat the oven. Turn the oven on to 180ºC.
2. Place the haddock on a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil. You can use a large piece for all fillets, or use a separate piece for each fillet. In any case, the foil or baking paper should be about twice the size of the fillets.
3. Season the haddock. Put a little butter on each fish and put herbs or spices on top. For example, you can use pepper, parsley, bay leaf, dill, or chili powder. Lemon juice is also delicious. Most smoked haddock is already salted, so you don't need to add more salt.
4. Fold the aluminum foil or baking paper. After you cover the fish with foil or paper, roll up the sides so that it becomes a package. The fish is now trapped in the package.
   • If you want, you can also put vegetables in the package, but keep in mind that hard vegetables take longer than the fish, so they are not suitable for adding to the fish package, unless you cook them until cooked first.
5. Place the fish in the oven. You can place the aluminum foil directly on the rack of your oven, or on a baking tray first. Baking paper is a bit less firm, so it is better to first place it on a baking tray and then put it in the oven.
   • If you have made a large package of all the fillets, it is also better to put it on a baking tray first, then it is easier to put it in the oven without dropping it.
6. Fry the fish until done. Leave the parcels with fish in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. When the fish is fully cooked, it will be opaque and the flesh will fall apart easily. If the fish is still translucent, or if no pieces come off when you pierce it, fry the fish a little longer.
   • Always check the thickest piece for doneness. The narrower ends are done earlier than the rest.
7. Serve the haddock with side dishes. Serve at least two types of vegetables or one type of vegetables and potatoes with your fish to create a balanced, healthy meal. If you want to make it real English, add a few slices of black pudding.

Method 3 of 4: Pan-fried smoked haddock

1. Heat a frying pan. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, then reduce the heat slightly to prevent the fish from burning.
2. Add a little oil to the pan. Any kind of oil (or butter) is good, but olive oil often works best for frying fish. You don't have to measure it; just drip some oil into the pan and let it get hot.
3. Prepare the haddock. While the pan is preheating, prepare the fish. There are two ways to prepare the fish: you can marinate it in oil or mix it with some flour. In both ways, you can add herbs or spices such as pepper, parsley, bay leaf, dill or curry powder, or lemon juice.
   • Marinate the fish in oil by smearing olive oil on both sides of the fillet, then sprinkling herbs on top. Coat the fillets well with the oil and spices mixture, then let them rest for a few minutes to allow the flavors to soak in.
   • Pass the fish through a mixture of flour and herbs and shake off any excess flour from the fillets.
4. Place the haddock in the pan. If the fish has skin on one side, put that side down in the pan first. Cook the fish for about 8 minutes, until crisp and brown. Be careful not to burn the fish. You can prevent this by baking on medium heat.
5. Flip the haddock. Cook the other side for a few minutes, until brown and crispy. If the pan has become too dry, you can add a little more oil or butter when you flip the fish.
   • The skinless side probably won't need to bake as long, so keep an eye on it.
6. Check the haddock. When the fish is fully cooked, it will be opaque and the flesh will fall apart easily. If the fish is still translucent, or if no pieces come off when you pierce it, fry the fish a little longer.
   • Always check the thickest piece for doneness. The narrower ends are done earlier than the rest.
7. Serve the haddock when it is hot. Make sure to serve the fish immediately before it cools down. You can sprinkle some lemon juice on top, or add a lemon caper sauce. Serve the fish with at least 2 types of vegetables or 1 vegetable and potatoes to create a balanced, healthy meal.

Method 4 of 4: Smoked haddock with mustard sauce

1. Prepare some potatoes. Cut potatoes into pieces and steam, boil or fry them until done. Divide the potatoes over several plates.
   • You may not need to cut baby potatoes into pieces.
2. Poach the smoked haddock. See Poaching smoked haddock above for details. When the haddock is cooked, remove it from the milk and place a fillet on each pile of potatoes.
3. Drain the milk from the pan. Reserve the milk, but toss it through a sieve to extract large chunks of fish or herbs.
4. Melt a piece of butter. Melt some butter in the pan in which you cooked the fish. Then add a little flour (about the same amount as butter and flour), stir the mixture well and let it bake for 2-4 minutes.
5. Pour the milk into this mixture. Slowly pour the strained milk into the butter and flour mixture, stirring while doing this. Keep adding milk until the sauce has the desired consistency.
   • You can make the sauce thinner by adding more milk, or adding flour if you want the sauce to be thicker. Make sure that the sauce thickens even more when it cools down.
6. Add mustard. Stir about 1 tablespoon of mustard into the sauce, stirring to combine well. You can now also add other herbs, such as fresh tarragon.
7. Pour the sauce over the haddock and potatoes. The sauce should be piping hot so that it reheats the fish and potatoes. When all the sauce has been poured over the fish, serve the plates immediately.
   • If you are concerned that the fish and potatoes have become too cold, you can also throw them in the sauce and stir them in, but be careful not to break the fillets (they will still taste good but will show doesn't look so nice anymore).
   • You can sprinkle some fresh parsley over it for presentation.
8. Consider some adjustments. You may also want to add some vegetables to this. You can put a bed of spinach between the potatoes and the fish, or you can serve the haddock on a bed of peas instead of potatoes.
   • A poached egg is also often placed on top of the fish before the sauce is poured over it.

Tips

• Try to cook haddock in different ways until you find the one you like best.