10 Best Smoked Salmon in the UK 2024 (H. Forman & Sons, Inverawe and More)
The sight of a slither of peachy smoked salmon always seems to add a little luxury to any meal. Being such a versatile ingredient, it's excellent for adding to scrambled eggs for breakfast, balancing on a blini for canapés, mixing into pasta or risotto, or more often than not, being used as a bed for poached eggs at brunch!
Smoked salmon is also super high in omega-3 fatty acids, becoming a bit of a health trend in recent years, but which smoked salmon is the best? If you've ever wanted to know the difference between hot and cold smoked, or wondered what Scottish smoked salmon really is, we've researched the top contenders on Tesco, ASDA and Waitrose to bring you this guide on how to buy the tastiest smoked salmon in the UK, and our top 10 recommendations.
Quick List - Top Smoked Salmon
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How to Choose Smoked Salmon in the UK - Buying Guide
Choosing smoked salmon is a little more complicated than one might initially think - that is if you're looking for a quality catch. This section will go through all the key points to look out for when shopping for smoked salmon. Let's dive in!
Look at the Appearance of the Salmon to Tell if It's High Quality or Not
When it comes to the appearance of smoked salmon, there are a few tell-tale signs that will let you in on the secret of whether it is good quality or not. Here's everything you need to know to train a keen eye for choice cuts of fish.
The White Streaky Lines Are Fat, and Depend on Personal Preference
First off, you want to look for neatly carved slices to ensure that you're getting the best bits of the fish, and not just the left-over slithers. Sometimes, you'll see smoked salmon with white lines streaking through, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad bit of fish.
Those white lines are fat, and the amount of fat you want, all comes down to preference. It's a bit like chicken - the thighs are fattier than the breast, which some may prefer, while others might choose the leaner cuts of meat.
Dark Brown Edges Mean the Meat Is Low Quality
Dark brown edges indicate that the producers haven't trimmed the salmon properly, meaning that it's probably not the best quality. That's not much of an issue on its own, but it does give the impression the company lacks care.
Dark brown in the actual salmon meat, however, isn't a good thing at all. This is the muscle, and muscle goes bad quickly bringing the surrounding flesh with it. So that is definitely something to avoid!
Moisture Makes Salmon Slimy
While salmon is an oily fish, you shouldn't see much moisture in the packet. The oils from the fish should be retained within the actual flesh. When it's not appropriately cured, the water will seep out onto the fish's outer layers.
Sometimes producers will try to save money by not curing it correctly so that the water and moisture are left in, looking like you get more for your money. But that leaves a much lower quality smoke, and therefore a slimy salmon.
A Dark, Dense Colour Indicates That It Might Have Been Frozen
Let's reiterate - smoked salmon should not only be cured, but freshly cured. When it has been cured from fresh, the colour is typically translucent. But if the salmon has a deep, dark colour, then it's often a sign that the salmon was at some point frozen.
But why is frozen salmon bad? If the salmon wasn't properly cured, it would retain some water. When that's frozen, it turns to ice which breaks down in the flesh, leaving behind a nasty, mushy texture.
Check the Label for Any Misleading Information
Unfortunately, due to high competition and savvy marketing graduates, the labels on products are becoming increasingly difficult to decipher. They don't always mean what they seem to at first glance. Here are a few tips for things to look out for.
'Scottish Smoked Salmon' Is Not What You Think
When a label reads "Scottish Smoked Salmon" in that order, it is often a way of hiding the fact that it is actually not Scottish salmon. What this label actually means is that it's salmon that's just been smoked in Scotland, while the fish itself is from elsewhere.
Norwegian Salmon is much cheaper, so it is often used instead of Scottish. However, fish coming from Norway won't be as fresh as if it were caught in Scotland and smoked straight away. Ideally, you'll want to look for 'Smoked Scottish Salmon', not 'Scottish Smoked Salmon'.
The Use-by Date Shouldn't Be More Than a Couple of Weeks
When smoked salmon doesn't go out of date for 3 - 4 weeks, that is a bad sign. This means that the producers have used too much salt and even sugar to preserve it, meaning its not very fresh.
Check the list of ingredients on the back. There should be no sugar involved at all, unless it's an artisanal product cured with brown sugar. Otherwise, if it has sugar, that means that the salmon has been artificially preserved, which is not what you want.
Price Is a Good Indication of Quality
Salmon is one of the more expensive ingredients in your shopping basket, and if you're after high-quality meat, then it should stay that way! A lot of hard work goes into catching, curing and preserving salmon, so there's no way that the cheapest one on the shelf will provide you with the same level of high-quality meat as the more expensive.
Of course, a high price doesn't always mean high quality, but it is a good indication in this case.
Cold-Smoked Salmon Preserves More Nutrients
There are two main ways to smoke a salmon - hot and cold, and there's quite a difference between the two. Hot smoked is cured quicker as it's smoked at a much higher temperature than cold-smoked, which is smoked at a lower temperature for longer.
The appearance of the two usually differs. For example, hot smoked salmon is much lighter in colour, similar to cooked salmon, whereas cold-smoked has a more 'raw' look, like salmon you find on sushi. But the main reason for choosing cold-smoked over hot, is that it preserves more nutrients as the hot smoked method cooks out many of the vitamins, omegas and healthy fats.
Wild-Caught Salmon Contains More Nutrients
Salmon packets should indicate whether the salmon was wild-caught or farm-raised. Whilst farm-raised might sound like a good idea, for health reasons, the other option is the better choice.
Wild-caught essentially means that the salmon was, yes you've guessed it, caught in the wild. This salmon has lived a natural life, and that means it's had a natural diet, so the salmon itself is healthier and full of nutrients.
On the other hand, farm-caught salmon are raised and bred in fish farms, and as such, do not eat their natural diet. They may be larger, but they provide significantly fewer nutrients than wild-caught salmon.
10 Best Smoked Salmon in the UK
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LEAP Smoked Sockeye Salmon | | Cold-Smoked Salmon From the Wilds of Alaska | |
2 | Waitrose Lightly Smoked Scottish Salmon Fillets | | Thick Cut Fillets of Smoked Salmon | |
3 | Bleikers Smokehouse Yorkshire Peat Smoked Salmon | | Salmon Smoked Over a Fire and Tended to by Hand | |
4 | Loch Fyne Bradan Orach Cold Smoked Salmon | | Cold-Smoked Salmon From Loch Fyne | |
5 | H. Forman and Sons Smoked Scottish Salmon | | Salmon Smoked-by-Hand From A London Smokehouse | |
6 | ASDA Extra Special Mild & Delicate Scottish Smoked Salmon | | Buttery Smoked Salmon That's Full of Flavour | |
7 | Tesco Finest Smoked Scottish Salmon | | The Best Supermarket-Brand Hot-Smoked Salmon | |
8 | Inverawe Smoked Scottish Salmon | | Wild Smoked Salmon Presented With Ease | |
9 | Grants Smokehouse Traditional Smoked Scottish Salmon | | Salmon, Traditionally Smoked and Sugared | |
10 | Young's Scottish Smoked Salmon | | A Luxury Ingredient at a Budget Price |
Cold-Smoked Salmon From the Wilds of Alaska
Sockeye is another term to know if you really want to get into your smoked salmon. Sockeye is a much oilier fish, which naturally has a deep red colour. These extra oils provide healthy omega-3 fatty acids, so this is definitely one of the most superior salmon types for health its health benefits.
This particular salmon is sustainably sourced from Alaskan waters and cold-smoked to retain as much of the nutrients as possible. It has a nice strong flavour, cured over wood to leave a buttery, creamy taste. Delicious!
Thick Cut Fillets of Smoked Salmon
These salmon fillets from Waitrose are an excellent buy for your money. You get two thick-cut fillets with a decent amount of fat running through the meat, and no slimy texture. Plus, the salmon is caught and smoked in Scotland, meaning it's local and fresh.
Fillets are an excellent alternative to thin slithers, providing a versatile centrepiece, topping or side to almost any meal. We recommend choosing this one for dinner parties, if you want a starter to impress your guests.
Salmon Smoked Over a Fire and Tended to by Hand
The Bleikers family-run business produces some of the best quality smoked salmon in the UK. This particular choice has been slowly smoked over a pile of oak shavings and natural Yorkshire Peat, in the heart of Yorkshire itself.
The smoking is done by tending a fire by hand, giving the salmon a smooth, gentle flavour. The company is proud to host only dedicated artisans, and is committed to using only the freshest fish to keep their product at the highest quality possible.
Cold-Smoked Salmon From Loch Fyne
Bradan Orach smoked salmon from Loch Fyne is some of the tastiest smoked salmon on the UK market. It's cold-smoked which allows for optimal nutrient retention, and adds a smooth, silky texture which is simply divine.
The cuts are sliced by hand, so each one is as even as it could be. The fish is never frozen throughout the production process, but is cured with natural sea salt instead. No sugar at all is involved, just the raw ingredients of salmon and salt. Perfect!
Salmon Smoked-by-Hand From A London Smokehouse
H.Forman & Son is one of the oldest producers of smoked salmon in the world. The Scottish fish is matured in a London smokehouse using the traditional curing mentors of rock salt and oak smoke. They cure, carve, fillet, slice and trim all by hand to give it that five-star quality.
The flavour isn't overwhelmingly smokey, which is what you want, allowing for the subtle butteriness to shine through. No sugar is added to prolong the shelf-life either, so you know it's as fresh as it can be.
ASDA Extra SpecialMild & Delicate Scottish Smoked Salmon
Buttery Smoked Salmon That's Full of Flavour
Coming from the UK's salmon haven of Scotland, Asda's fish have been responsibly farmed. But that's the keyword in there - farmed, not wild. This means it may not be as nutritious as wild salmon. That said, if you're just looking for flavour, this is an excellent choice.
The product does contain a sprinkling of sugar that could be masking the freshness. However, the meat itself is streaked with slithers of fat, giving it a lovely buttery taste and texture. This only tastes a little bit smokey, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your preferences!
The Best Supermarket-Brand Hot-Smoked Salmon
The pink slices of Scottish smoked salmon from Tesco's finest range is an excellent buy if you like a bit of sweetness. The added sugar does, of course, mean that the fish might not be as fresh as you'd like, as does the fact that it is 'defrosted salmon'.
Luckily, the sweetness is balanced out with a salty and smokey flavour, created by slowly smouldering oak and hickory with the fish. This is done after the salmon has been given 24 hours to mature, which gives it that rich, full flavour and succulent texture.
Wild Smoked Salmon Presented With Ease
The Scottish smoked salmon from Inverawe is delicious, versatile, of high quality, and it's local! The ingredients include only the bare essentials - fish and salt - with no added sugar, meaning that the salmon should be super fresh.
The salmon has an incredibly smooth, silky texture, without being too slimy or tasting heavily smoked. Each slice is nice and thin and has the bonus of being individually separated with paper for easy presentation. Unfortunately, the product is hot-smoked, which lessens the nutritional value.
Salmon, Traditionally Smoked and Sugared
Grants traditional smoked Scottish salmon is one of the best picks from Tesco. The fish is caught from Scotland's Atlantic waters, then gently smoked over oak wood chips to allow for a subtle smokey flavour to seep through the flesh.
Their artisanal, traditional smoking method provides a succulent texture with no hint of mushiness or moisture insight. The fish is then cured using sea salt and brown sugar which gives a distinctive taste, but unfortunately looses some of the nutrients.
A Luxury Ingredient at a Budget Price
Young's Scottish smoked salmon is an excellent choice if you're looking for a budget buy. It contains no added sugar which is perfect for nutrient retention, leaving the fish full of omega 3.
The fish is selected, cured with natural sea salt, and smoked using oak and beechwood chips to give it a distinctive smokey flavour. The downside is, the packaging is a little ambiguous with its information.
What Is Smoked Salmon?
Smoked salmon is essentially salmon that is caught, cured and smoked before being packed. There's a variety of ways to smoke salmon - some involve special wood chips to add to the smokiness, whereas some are left to cure in a bed of salt.
One of the myths about smoked salmon is that it should be sprinkled with lemon juice, but that isn't necessarily the case. If the salmon is low quality, it will often take on a slimy texture, so it's thought that the lemon's acidity will cut through the grease, improving the dish as a whole.
However, the addition of lemon is not needed if you've bought high-quality fish. Lemon should be mostly avoided with wild salmon, as the acidity could ruin the incredibly lean flavour of the meat. As a serving tip, smoked salmon pairs excellently with a dry, crisp white wine or champagne as it cuts through the oily texture, giving a perfect balance to the meal.
Add a Little Luxury to Your Dinner Table
Whether you're prepping for your next dinner party, or just fancy a taste of the finer things in life, we've found a few more luxurious foods to tantalise your tastebuds! From bubbly Champagnes, to creamy pâtés and rich dark choc, simply click the links below to find out more.
Summary
We hope you've enjoyed our article on the best-smoked salmon you can buy in the UK. Now all that's left to decide is the best way to serve it. How do you have yours? Topped on creamy pasta, balanced on a blini, or straight-up?
Author: Roxy Pratley
Top 5 Smoked Salmon
No. 1: LEAP｜Smoked Sockeye Salmon
No. 2: Waitrose｜Lightly Smoked Scottish Salmon Fillets
No. 3: Bleikers Smokehouse｜Yorkshire Peat Smoked Salmon
No. 4: Loch Fyne｜Bradan Orach Cold Smoked Salmon
No. 5: H. Forman and Sons｜Smoked Scottish Salmon
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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