Succulent smoked duck breasts from Morton's Traditional Taste

Photo: ©Morton's Traditional Taste

Rob Morton is carrying on his family tradition of farming and butchery, by creating local quality produce from his free-range poultry farm in Norfolk.

Hall Farm was established as far back as 1945 when Rob’s grandfather came down from Scotland with a dairy herd. Wishing to maintain the family’s farming and butchery heritage, Rob’s father and now Rob, himself are continue to provide their quality service and meats to other local meat producers, the local catering industry including fine restaurants and bistros in Norfolk and to the surrounding  local community.

The traditional Norfolk farm consists of a large family farmhouse and courtyard of barns and outhouses. Some of these buildings had largely become redundant as they were no longer suitable for modern day farm machinery. Rather than letting them sit unused, Rob converted one of them into a smokehouse with a fully hygienic area. This became an extension of their farming business in November 2012 to cure and smoke the game and meats that Morton’s farms produce.



The video shows Rob preparing and smoking duck breast.

The duck breast in placed in brine for 2-3 hours. The meat is then rinsed and washed to get rid of the excess the salt off the surface. The duck breasts are placed briefly on racks to dry out, before putting them straight into the smoker for 3 hours. The meat is smoked slowly to allow the aromas from the selected wood chippings to infuse throughout.

For a particular flavour, Rob has chosen the chippings from old whiskey barrels which are ground up finely and placed in the bottom of the smoker. After lighting, the chippings are left to smoulder allowing the smoke to permeated the duck breasts sitting above, giving the meat its distinctive taste and flavour.

Rob says: “A good smoked meat, is still moist, with a hint of the smoked flavour, that’s not overpowering just from the curing process of salt and smoke; but when you put the meat in your mouth, it melts on your tongue and  you want to taste the smokiness and moisture of the meat infused with the flavours from the smoke”.

Rob personally recommends slicing the Smoked Gressingham Duck or Morton’s own Smoked Chicken thinly on a freshly prepared Caesar Salad as a delicious summer meal.

To find out more about Morton’s Traditional Taste visit their page on The Artisan Food Trail here

January Offer: Free delivery from The Artisan Smokehouse

The Artisan Smokehouse has a FREE delivery offer until the end of January 2012 on all orders over £25 when you order through their website – this offer is only available to people in the UK and you’ll need to use the coupon code: @artisansmoker

Choose from a selection of handcrafted smoked goods, including meats, cheeses, fish, garlic and oils.

Visit The Artisan Smokehouse's page on The Artisan Food Trail here to find links to their website where you can place your order.
OFFER ENDED – SORRY

Luxury hampers and gift packs from The Artisan Smokehouse

A new and exciting range of beautiful hampers are available from
The Artisan Smokehouse which have been carefully put together to meet all tastes and budgets. Choose from British, Italian, Vegetarian, Spicy, Award Winners, or Chef's Ingredients hampers, or why not spoil someone (or yourself) with the ultimate Luxury hamper. All products are beautifully presented in an elegant black presentation box and hand tied with ribbon.
Hamper prices start from as little as £18 and Spice & Herb gift packs from just £4.50, so giving a gift of the finest smoked produce couldn't be easier.

Orders required in time for Christmas need to be placed by 19th December (latest dispatch will be 22nd December).

The British Hamper
A classic hamper containing the best British products.
Contains:
Smoked British beef, smoked free-range duck breast, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Freedom Food salmon, smoked Suffolk garlic, smoked Suffolk rapeseed oil, smoked Stilton, smoked Cheddar and accompanying Artisan cheese biscuits.

The Italian Hamper
A delicious selection of finest Italian products. 
Contains: 
Parmesan cheese, smoked Milano salami, smoked Spianata Calabra salami (contains red chillies), smoked Italian olive oil, Italian dried herbs and smoked dried forest mushrooms.

The Luxury Hamper
A stunning hamper, which would greatly impress even the most committed foodie! 
Contains: 
Smoked British beef, smoked free-range duck breast, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Freedom Food salmon, smoked Milano salami, smoked Spianata Calabra salami (contains red chillies), smoked Suffolk garlic, smoked Italian olive oil, Parmesan cheese, smoked Stilton, smoked Cheddar, smoked goat’s cheese, Membrillo (quince paste to accompany cheese), Artisan cheese biscuits, smoked dried forest mushrooms, smoked coarse sea salt and smoked paprika.

The Vegetarian Hamper
A delicious selection of vegetarian friendly foods. 
Contains: 
Smoked goat’s cheese, smoked Stilton, smoked Suffolk rapeseed oil, smoked Suffolk garlic, smoked dried forest mushrooms, Membrillo (quince paste to accompany cheese) and Artisan cheese biscuits.

The Award Winners Hamper
A lovely selection of The Artisan Smokehouse's award winning products. 
Contains: 
Smoked British beef, smoked free-range duck breast, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Freedom Food salmon and smoked Suffolk rapeseed oil.

The Chef's Ingredients Hamper
For those budding chefs out there who like to experiment. 
Contains: 
Smoked dried forest mushrooms, smoked Italian olive oil, smoked coarse sea salt, smoked black peppercorns, smoked dried garlic, smoked chilli flakes and smoked paprika.

The Spicy Hamper
A hamper aimed at those who like the spicier side of life. 
Contains: 
Smoked Spianata Calabra salami (contains red chillies), smoked Habanero chillies, smoked Chipotle Morita chillies, hot paprika and cayenne pepper.

Spice and Herb Gift Packs
A beautiful selection of herb and spice gift packs. The perfect present for all those foodies out there. 
Choose from:
Smoked Sea Salt and Black Peppercorns – contains maple smoked sea salt and black peppercorns

Italian Herbs and Smoked Garlic – contains dried Italian herbs and maple smoked dried garlic

Smoked Chilli and Paprika – contains maple smoked chilli flakes and smoked paprika

Smoked Spice Selection – contains maple smoked black peppercorns, sea salt, paprika and dried garlic
Sweet Spice Selection – contains ground cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and allspice berries

Fiery Spice Selection – contains hot paprika, cayenne pepper, black peppercorns & maple smoked chilli flakes

Mulled Wine Spice Kit – contains cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, ground ginger, cloves, a reusable muslin bag and a recipe card (contains several servings)

To find out more about The Artisan Smokehouse please visit their page on The Artisan Food Trail here where you will find links to their website to place your order.

Holy Smoke: The Artisan Smokehouse

Based on the beautiful Suffolk coast, The Artisan Smokehouse is a small family-run business producing award-winning smoked delicacies. Passionate about food and aiming to create the highest quality smoked products, using ethically sourced ingredients prioritising British producers.

Husband and wife, Tim and Gillian Matthews make and sell a range of gourmet foods including Smoked British Beef Fillet, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Salmon, Smoked Salami, Hot Smoked Duck Breast, smoked cheeses such as Cropwell Bishop Stilton, Westcombe Cheddar and goats cheese. There’s also a selection of smoked ingredients to inspire the cook with Smoked Dried Mushrooms, Garlic and Italian Olive Oil.

The Smoking Process
All of The Artisan Smokehouse’s fish and meat products are dry cured for between 24 and 72 hours, using a mixture of sugar and salt. By keeping the curing mix simple a superior and purer taste is obtained.

Before smoking, the fish and beef are first dried for a period of 12 hours in order to assist the smoking process, enhance the flavour and aid preservation.

The majority of products are cold smoked. Cold smoking smokes but does not cook the product and is a very effective way of controlling the flavour of the food being smoked. It is during this process that the food changes both in colour and flavour.

The Artisan Smokehouse uses natural hardwood chippings that contain no additives. producing a cleaner smoke. The majority of food is smoked using maple wood, which gives a rich and distinctive flavour.

Tim is constantly experimenting with a variety of different foods and has even added the infusion of smoke to cinnamon. A visit to any of the shows or farmers’ markets they attend will usually reveal an unusual find or something that is not readily available through their website.

Visit The Artisan Smokehouse on The Artisan Food Trail here