Smoked Whitefish

So anyone from New York/New Jersey or Florida will know exactly what I'm talking about, but no matter where you are from, you may have heard of this.

Whitefish Salad on a Bagel.  I have been craving this for months.  Unfortunately the only place I can get this is in New York when I visit family.  I have a couple of recipes to make it, all calling for fish that is already smoked.  The only problem is, here I always see "Smoked Haddock" which has an awful yellow flesh, instead of a white flesh that I'm used to, and also you then have to cook the fish that's already been smoked.

Does anyone know where you can get smoked fish that then doesn't need cooking, or...how exactly to smoke a fish, or...if anyone knows if you can infact use this smoked haddock without cooking it first.

Cheers!

Thanks to my parents visit two weeks ago I now have a freezer full of Long Island Bagels that need eating, and really they need eating with some chunky whitefish salad, but the truth is, you won't find whitefish here, or sable, smoked salmon, you will find a lot of...but I have been here for almost 20 years, and never seen a whitefish. Even in the Jewish shops here in Manchester....its sad, but true. My mom asked if we could get Nova salmon here...but its just the scottish stuff.  Smoked Haddock is pretty tasty with cream cheese though....you can get the type that isn't dyed yellow.

Mmmmmm...everything flagels!

Thanks to my parents visit two weeks ago I now have a freezer full of Long Island Bagels that need eating, and really they need eating with some chunky whitefish salad, but the truth is, you won't find whitefish here, or sable, smoked salmon, you will find a lot of...but I have been here for almost 20 years, and never seen a whitefish. Even in the Jewish shops here in Manchester....its sad, but true. My mom asked if we could get Nova salmon here...but its just the scottish stuff.  Smoked Haddock is pretty tasty with cream cheese though....you can get the type that isn't dyed yellow.

Mmmmmm...everything flagels!

Yeah my one kosher butcher in Birmingham doesn't stock it, despite me asking for it time after time.  It seems to be a very very NY thing.  I've looked it up and Whitefish itself when made into the fantastic is merely any fish of white flesh, i.e. cod, haddock, etc.  Hence my question about the smoked haddock.  Can you eat it straight away or still need to cook it?

And about the nova/lox thing, if you look hard enough, and are willing to pay for it, I think Waitrose occasionally carries alaskan smoked salmon, which may be as close to nova as you can get.  Failing that, Costco (of course!) sells entire sides of smoked salmon (they may even market it as nova lox).

These people do a great selection of smoked fish.  

http://www.dartmouthsmokehouse.co.uk/smokehouse-selection-2/

I don't know that you should eat smoked haddock without cooking it, but if it is very fresh you probably run the same risk as eating sushi.  I know their smoked trout is hot smoked.  You could also try smoking some yourself I suppose.  

We have an old electric smoker in the US I use when the mood strikes me.

So anyone from New York/New Jersey or Florida will know exactly what I'm talking about, but no matter where you are from, you may have heard of this.

Whitefish Salad on a Bagel. 

Hey, us Philly people know exactly what you're talking about, too (though I haven't had it in many years)!

Do you know what strikes me as hilarious...my parents eat bagels everyday, and they go to their local bagel store pretty much everyday. I think thats pretty amazing! When I go to the Bagel Boss near my parents house, they always seem to know exactly what I have been up to and my kids names and all that jazz. Hilarious.

I don't know if this will help you... not sure if it's the same?
But I have seen both salmon salad and whitefish salad at Whole Foods in the UK.

The only problem is, here I always see "Smoked Haddock" which has an awful yellow flesh, instead of a white flesh that I'm used to,

Yellow smoked haddock is dyed. Most good fishmongers should sell undyed, which is white.

...if anyone knows if you can infact use this smoked haddock without cooking it first.

Cheers!

No... don't eat this fish raw.
There is plenty of smoked fish out there which is already cooked!  Spinks is the brand name that comes to mind.

I don't know if this will help you... not sure if it's the same?
But I have seen both salmon salad and whitefish salad at Whole Foods in the UK.

Really...I'm heading to Barnes for New Years, so i'll have to check the clapham junction store when I'm there.

Thanks!