Ballyhack Smokehouse

Ballyhack Smokehouse is rated 3 out of 5 in the category food production. Read and write reviews about Ballyhack Smokehouse. Located in County Wexford, Ireland, Ballyhack Smokehouse is a proud family-run business. The Walsh family’s expertise has been handed down for five generations; ensuring that our renowned highest quality product and respect for sustainability is paramount. We like to go to every extreme to ensure that this philosophy is maintained. Fish were traditionally caught by driftnet, and men from the village returned home from the U.K. and USA from February until the salmon season ended in August. With great enthusiasm, little else was spoken about. Salmon, was nearly one the first words uttered by many of the youngsters in the village. The Walsh’s were all fishing for salmon from the age of 9 or 10. It was considered an honour for a boy to be allowed to carry the fish by the gill up to the local shop for sale. If the boy was not big or strong enough to stop the tail from touching the ground they were given a smaller fish to carry until they were tall enough to handle the larger salmon. The artisan smoking method is distinct to Ballyhack Smokehouse. We only use 3 simple ingredients: beech wood chips, salt and wild or Irish organic salmon. Wild salmon are sourced from a local registered salmon supplier who has a life- long history of fishing and handling salmon. He is passionate about the presentation and quality (weight & flesh) of each salmon he supplies. Driftnet salmon fishing was closed in Ireland in 2006 and there are only a limited number of rivers open. The season runs from mid May to the end of July. Snap-net method of fishing is now used to catch this valuable and increasingly rare commodity. Tags are issued to these select few fishermen who respect these rivers. Salmon are chilled on ice immediately after being caught and are delivered to the buyer on the same day to ensure that the integrity of the fish is maintained.