BURREN Smoked Irish Eel from the Burren Smokehouse in Co Clare was the recipient of 3 stars at this year’s Great Taste Awards, the Guild of Fine Food has announced.
Nearly 3,500 companies from around the world entered Great Taste this year and each entry was meticulously blind tasted by the Guild’s expert judging panel of over 500 food critics, chefs, recipe creators, buyers, retailers, and other specialists in the field of food and drink.
Only 1.9% of all entries (266 in total globally, one of which was the Burren Smoked Irish Eel), received a 3-star award.
This year, the Burren Smokehouse celebrates thirty five years in business. It was won multiple awards for its product range. The latest recognition carries weight, owner Birgitta Hedin-Curtin said. “I am thrilled that the Burren Smoked Irish Eel has been awarded 3 stars. The product is extremely special to me personally as it was inspired by my childhood growing up in Sweden fishing for eel with my father and getting it smoked in the local fishing village. This recognition is a testament to our dedication to preserving traditional smoking methods and it is an incredible achievement for our team”.
Burren Smoked Irish Eel is made using an artisan method of hot smoking silver eels, sustainably caught by the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Coop in Northern Ireland, in a unique patented smoking oven with oak shavings.
Judges noted, “The oak smoking adds a mouth-watering aroma. It is glistening with natural oil, once filleted”. The adjudicators stated, “Lusciousness is the sense that remains and inspires us to cut another section”.
