An appetizer with the unusual name herring mathieu sounds very French. However, do not be mistaken about this. This dish comes from Scandinavia, and its name translates as "herring girl". To prepare a snack by standard Scandinavian standards, you need only from a young herring. Surviving spawning fish, of course, ceases to be a girl and is not suitable for the recipe. In our latitudes, not every person will be able to understand such a delicate detail of herring’s biography as age. Therefore, if the fish is cooked at home, often its "marital status" may remain unknown.
About the appetizer
What is herring mathieu? These are delicious preserves, consisting of tender fish fillets. Herring fillet is marinated with various ingredients, but one thing remains unchanged - the result is a delicious and delicious snack, which has a lot of admirers.
The very first herring mother was marinated in white dry wine. The choice of this drink was not accidental: the wine did an excellent job to make the fish fillet tender and aromatic. Various spices were added to dry white wine, due to which the sauce acquired different shades.
Nowadays
Today there is a huge assortment of herring-mathieu recipes. In stores there is an appetizer in oil and onion filling, with pepper, aromatic herbs and much more. It all depends on the imagination of the one who is preparing this delicate overseas snack.
Cook it yourself
We will cook herring at home. Moreover, such a snack often does not have an adequate price for a few coveted thin slices. Pickled herring is perfect for boiled potatoes, and is also quite appropriate on the festive table.
Salted mathieu herring
To implement the recipe for salted herring, we need:
- 2-4 medium-sized herrings. Fish can be taken frozen or fresh.
Marinade for herring mathie fillet:
- water - at least 1 liter;
- sugar - 5 large spoons;
- salt - 3 large spoons;
- 3 leaves of laurel;
- 6-9 peas of black pepper (allspice);
- cloves - 3 pieces. If you do not like the taste of this seasoning, you can not use it.
Cooking technology
Boil a liter of water. Add salt and sugar to the boiling liquid. Throw laurel leaves and peppercorns into a future pickle. Also add clove heads. Boil the brine over moderate heat for half a minute and, turning off the stove, cool the finished marinade.
While it cools, we will prepare the fillet of herring mother. We will wash the fish and gently but carefully gut it. Remove the fins and tail, remove the fillet. The resulting two parts of the pitted fillet are placed in a bowl and poured with a prepared brine. After a day, remove the fish from the marinade and remove the upper skin from it.
Serve a delicate snack to the table, sprinkled with a slightly lean butter, cut into pieces and sprinkled with a bulb.
Spicy aromatic herring
We cook this appetizer using vinegar. He, like white wine, will soften the fillet and absorb the aromas of seasonings, which, in turn, will give the finished herring mother.
Here's what we need:
- a kilogram of fresh herring (or frozen);
- 2 tablespoons of salt;
- sugar - 150 grams;
- vinegar - 100 milliliters (do not confuse with vinegar essence - a more concentrated product, in its pure form it is not used: it is dangerous!);
- water - 300 milliliters.
For salting (optional):
- salt - 4 tablespoons;
- 1 large spoon of a mixture of peppers (black, white, red,);
- 1 spoon large coriander seeds;
- a couple of laurel leaves;
- a tablespoon of mustard seeds;
- 2 cloves (optional).
How will we cook?
We process the herring, removing all inedible parts of the fish and peeling it. As a result, only peeled fillet remains.
Boil the water and add 2 large tablespoons of salt. After we turn off the fire, pour the vinegar into the brine. Pour the fish with the cooled marinade and leave it in the refrigerator for twelve hours.
In a container (or other container) at the bottom we place a part of spices (salt, mustard, pepper and a bay leaf). Stack the marinated fillet. Top with the rest of the seasonings and salt. We cover the fish prepared in this way with a lid, put it in the refrigerator for five days. To cook herring more evenly, place a load on top of the fish.
Rules for choosing herring for appetizer
- When choosing fish, give preference to the Atlantic or Pacific herring.
- Frozen herring should not be covered with shell of ice, so the probability of acquiring fish of not very good quality increases.
- The skin should not have scales. Also inspect the fish for mechanical damage.
- Eyes are convex, bright and not damaged - a sign of a good fresh fish. This is exactly what you need for cooking herring materie.
- All fins and gills fit snugly to the carcass.
- The thicker the back of a herring, the fatter and tastier the fish.
- A herring sold without a head should not get to your table. Head - an indicator of the freshness of fish (eyes, gills). Stale goods begin to deteriorate from the head, so this part is removed.