Put some smoky fishy in your dishies (Sainburys Basics Smoked Salmon Trimmings)

Member Name: edinburgher

Product:	Sainburys Basics Smoked Salmon Trimmings
Date:	30/04/09 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, versatile, cheap, sustainable

Disadvantages: A little salty (not to big a gripe seeing as salmon can live in the sea)

*Massive possibilities, miniscule price*

A great product for the miniscule (current) price of £0.88, these smoked salmon trimmings are ideal for use in a variety of cookery projects. Essentially you're looking at dishes which involve cooking, as if you wanted some good quality smoked salmon for a salad, other cold dish or canapé you would probably want to look at spending a little more.

Although the foil tray with the selection of oddly coloured fragments isn't too pretty to look at, this Basics product has a lot of positive selling points. It has been sustainably fished, the fact that it's a budget product means that there's minimal packaging (reducing the amount that goes to landfill), it brings a luxury product into the realm of everyday culinary fun and oh - did I mention that it costs £0.88?

*Tasty, smoky and decidedly meaty - the marks of perfectly good smoked salmon*

As with other smoked salmon products the smell of fishy oils and wood smoke from the pack are noticeable from the moment you pop the item in your trolley. Be sure to wash your hands well after handling this if you're preparing any foodstuffs with more delicate flavours.

I have no complaints about the flavour, which is everything that you'd expect. I would, however, agree with the first reviewer of this product in that it can be a little on the salty side at times. I suspect that this occurs because curing liquid, small salt deposits and the like probably build up when offcuts such as those used in these trimmings are placed in jumbo trays before packaging?

My tip to sort out this small problem would be to leave out salt that you'd normally include in associated recipes when you're using the trimmings - preventing the end cookery from being too salty and saving you a fraction of a penny on salt costs!

*I've no bones with it*

Consistency is on the high side - I think that I've found one tiny fin piece in the months that I've been cooking with this product and no bones to date. It's to Sainsbury's credit that the quality is this high - I've honestly found more bones in their luxury range than this.

Trimmings are scrappy by nature and anyone expecting a lush packet bursting at the seams with fat fish fillets should put this back on the shelf. I'm glad to see that the other reviews to date have acknowledged the fact that these are for cooking; as I had somewhat dreaded a host of reviews that tried to compare them to snooty luxury equivalents.

*Try it with...*

A couple of my favourite cooking methods that include this scrumptious ingredient are:

French scrambled eggs with smoked salmon -

Slowly scramble 4 medium eggs in a saucepan with a little grated unsalted butter and black pepper added. Put in a dash of milk as you beat the eggs, but less than usual. This is a traditionally French way of scrambling eggs and it's worth the longer than usual cooking time.

As soon as the eggs start to scramble, turn off the heat and once most of the liquid has been absorbed fold in half a packet of smoked salmon trimmings, serving on a freshly toasted white muffin.

Risotto with smoked salmon, mussels and green pepper -

Make up a basic risotto, using fish stock and half a glass of a good white wine such as a Sancerre. There are some good recipes that can be adapted on the BBC food website (www.bbc.co.uk/food). Five minutes before the end of cooking throw in a whole packet of these trimmings, a couple of handfuls of cooked mussels and a whole green pepper, finely diced and sweated with a little butter beforehand.

Summary: Sainsbury's have wowed me with this affordable luxury