Northern Ireland: Whiskey and Castles

image from lonelyplanet.com

If you go to the town of Bushmills in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, you can both visit the Giant's Causeway, a site of gorgeous and unusual rock formations.  Then you can warm yourself with a whisky tasting tour of the Bushmills' whiskey factory.

We started with Giant's Causeway which is remarkable.  It sits on the Northern edge of Northern Ireland and has a large, very organised visitor center.

 

There is a local legend about what caused the rock formation involving the giant Finn McCool or you can believe the scientific explanation of how these mostly 5-sided columnar rock were formed. 

Either way, its definitely worth the walk down the hill to experience it first hand and enjoy the gorgeous sea views.

We also went to see Dunluce Castle, a now-ruined medieval castle situated on a basalt outcropping that can be reached by crossing the bridge.  It's a fascinating site to learn about what it was like to live in such a castle from the 13th to 17th centuries, including where the staff worked and lived.   There's even a map of the nearby village of cottages, each with its own private garden in which to grow vegetables.

The whiskey inspired me to make a Northern Irish version of gravlax and here is the recipe:

Serves 4 as an appetiser with a beetroot or cucumber salad and lemon.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup demera sugar
• 1/4 cup fine salt
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
• 1/4 cup  whisky
• 2 salmon filets, approximately 1/4 kilo each, skin on

Directions:

1. Place the sugar, salt, vanilla seeds and whisky in a large bowl and mix together.
2. Lay a large piece of cling film on the bottom of a non-reactive baking tray.
3. Spread some of the mixture the size of a filet on the cling film and lay one of the salmon filets on it, skin-side down.
4. Cover the filet with the mixture and then lay the 2nd filet on top it, skin side up.
5. Spread the rest of the mixture on the top of the 2nd filet and and wrap it with cling film.
6. Place something heavy like a copper pan on top of the wrapped salmon.
7. Place in the fridge for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
8. When the salmon fillets have cured, rinse away the curing liquid and pat the salmon fillets dry using kitchen paper.
9. Carve the salmon fillets into the thinest slices on an angle, then chill in the fridge, covered, until needed.