The smoked fish you find at Bodin's Fish Market in Bayfield, Wis., along Lake Superior's South Shore, has little to do with the thinly sliced smoked salmon you'll find at a fancy deli or in packages at the grocery's store's fish department.
The Lake Superior smoked whitefish, trout and salmon are brined in a salt solution that often includes brown sugar, then are smoked, skin-on, over a hardwood fire for several hours. Sold whole or in big chunks, this smoked fish is impossible to mistake for the delicate, silky, Nova smoked salmon traditionally layered on bagels or piled onto appetizer trays.
Our local smoked fish is impossible to slice thin. To serve it, remove the skin and pick out the flaky flesh with a fork or fingers, being careful to avoid the bones.
You can crisp the skin on a hot frying pan to use as a garnish or eat like chips.
Unlike the Nova smoked salmon that will keep for weeks if sealed, each packet of our local hot-smoked fish should be refrigerated and enjoyed within a week.
Local smoked fish is available for much of the year, and is available in food co-ops and meat departments of supermarkets.
In my kitchen, smoked fish makes a light, delicious and easy substitute for bacon or ham in soups, pasta, scrambled eggs, whole-grain pilafs and pizza. Fold it into sour cream for a dip or spread, roll it into a tortilla with lettuce for a wrap. It's also terrific tossed into a salad.
The differences between smoked whitefish, trout and salmon seem minimal to me, and I use them interchangeably. Whitefish is the lightest in flavor and texture, trout is darker in color and more substantial, and dark pink salmon is the most distinct with a deeper flavor and richer texture.
Now that the temperatures are rising and the days are lasting longer, a salad of smoked fish with fresh vegetables seems just right for a fine lunch or quick dinner. Plus, just the idea of this lake staple conjures the promise of summer and sunnier days to come.
Beth Dooley is the author of "In Winter's Kitchen." Find her at bethdooleyskitchen.com.