Salting is a traditional way to save fish. For example, herring is most often found salted on sale, because it spoils very quickly. Most often, the product is associated with Scandinavia, where this species of fish has been a traditional part of the diet for many centuries.
Salting herring is soaking it in a liquid with salt, sugar and spices. Salted herring is a very popular traditional dish not only in Russia, but also in Holland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and some other northern countries. In the former Soviet republics, this fish has always salted in large quantities in wooden barrels. Then it is peeled, chopped and served with chopped onions and boiled potatoes. This combination is known as a classic vodka snack. However, salting herring entirely at home requires a slightly different technique, mainly for safety reasons.
Precautions
Always remember that short-term salting does not guarantee that fresh fish will be free of parasites that may be present in marine fish and mammals. They are usually destroyed by treatment at high temperature or by deep freezing. To ensure safety, make sure that:
- You are buying the freshest herring that can only be found for sale in your area.
- You must carefully remove all gills and entrails and wash each fish from the inside.
The cleaned and washed herring should be quickly frozen at home at -16 ° C or at the minimum temperature of your freezer. Freeze fish for at least 20 days. How to cook herring after freezing?
What is needed:
- 3 medium herring;
- 1.5 teaspoons of salt;
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar;
- 3 bay leaves (crushed);
- 1 tablespoon of sunflower or olive oil;
- juice 1/4 lemon;
- 1 large red onion.
How to cook salted herring
Combine salt, sugar and chopped bay leaf. Cover the herring with these spices on both sides, as well as from the inside. Place the herring in a glass bowl, close and refrigerate for 2 days. About halfway through this period, flip the herring to the other side.
After that, your dish is ready. Now you can chop and serve herring. Cut the fish across into pieces about 2-3 cm wide. Gently lay the pieces next to each other on a tray or a large flat plate. When the fish is chopped and folded, chop the onion and lay it on top. Serve this appetizer should be cold or room temperature.
How to make pickled herring?
Unlike salting, this method is placing fish in a spicy marinade. Such herring dishes are most often national among the northern peoples. For example, the Scandinavian classic recipe comes to life very simply. He will need the following ingredients:
- 1/4 cup salt;
- 5 glasses of water;
- 500 grams of herring fillet;
- 2 cups of white wine vinegar;
- 1/4 cup sugar;
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds;
- 2 teaspoons allspice peas;
- 2 teaspoons black pepper;
- 3 bay leaves;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced;
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced.
Heat 4 cups of water to a temperature sufficient to dissolve the salt. Let the brine cool to room temperature. Then immerse the herring fillet in it and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours. After this time, you will get a light-salted herring that you can eat.
To prepare pickled fish, mix sugar, vinegar, a glass of water and all the spices, bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off the stove and let the marinade cool.
Remove the herring from the brine, put in a glass jar in layers with chopped lemon and red onion. Divide the spices between your containers if you are using more than one. Pour the fish with chilled marinade and close the jars. Let it brew for at least a day. You can store pickled herring in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
The second version of the marinade
Marinated herring, the recipes of which are numerous, can be cooked with mustard sauce. It is also a Swedish national appetizer, which may seem interesting to many.
For this dish you will need:
- about 0.5 kg of slightly salted herring;
- 3 tablespoons of sweet mustard;
- one tablespoon of Dijon mustard ;
- one tablespoon of brown sugar;
- one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar;
- 50 ml of neutral vegetable oil (e.g. rapeseed or sunflower);
- ½ cup dill;
- shallots (1 pc.).
Mix mustard, apple cider vinegar and sugar very carefully. Add vegetable oil gradually while stirring. Chop shallots and dill very finely and add to the sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the pieces of herring in the marinade and mix very carefully so that the fish is evenly coated on all sides. Leave the herring to marinate for several hours, preferably for a day. Delicious homemade herring is ready! Before serving, cut the green onion into small pieces and sprinkle them with fish on top. Serve herring with new potatoes or just on dark rye bread with chopped boiled eggs. Enjoy it!
What is smoked herring?
Smoking is another way to preserve the product. In order to make smoked herring, the fish is gutted, cut along the spine, divided into 2 parts along the carcass and salted. Subsequently, salted herring is hung on wooden pegs or "peaks". If cold smoking is expected, sawdust of oak or beech is also used. Surprisingly, smoked herring in its current form appeared only in the early 19th century, when one of the sellers began to regularly offer it in the London market, borrowing the term from the methodology used with salmon. The best fish made in this way has an aroma, which is a clever mixture of smoke and salt. Smoked herring also has a very soft, but juicy and buttery texture.
Herring cooked in this way is traditionally served on the table with thinly sliced and watered butter and lemon juice. How to cook smoked herring? To do this, you need special smoking equipment, without which the cooking process will not work. Therefore, it is better to purchase this type of fish in finished form.
Culinary experts argue that the classic submission is a thinly sliced smoked fish fillet, laid out on the edges of a well-buttered rye bread, with egg yolk in the middle as a sauce.
Dishes from smoked herring
If desired, you can make a paste or "caviar" from smoked herring. For him you will need:
- 1.5 cups fillet of finished smoked herring (chopped);
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened;
- 300 grams of cream cheese;
- juice of 1 lemon;
- cayenne pepper or paprika (to taste);
- 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley.
Mix or mash the fish with butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and parsley. Put on portioned saucers or in one large salad bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool for several hours. Serve with crackers or toasts with butter and lemon slices.
What else can you cook?
Many housewives wonder what to do with salted herring, because they are not familiar with the salting process. How to cook herring, which has become very salty? All you have to do is soak the fish in fresh water overnight, and then cook it in any way. Herring, recipes for which require heat treatment, should be almost fresh.
Herring saute
Place the salted fish in a large bowl and fill it with several glasses of water - so as to cover it whole. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bones from the herring with a sharp knife, cut off the head and tail. Divide the herring into two halves. Remove the skin and discard it.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke slightly, add the garlic. Lay the halves of the herring and fry them for three minutes on each side (or until they become opaque and soft). Add fresh ground pepper to taste and garnish with lemon slices.
Deep-fried herring
Soak and clean the fish in the same way as in the previous manual.
Heat 3 cups of olive oil in a deep frying pan over high heat until boiling. Dip herring fillet in milk, roll in flour or oatmeal with spices.
Put the fish in a pan and sauté until lightly browned and crisp. Serve the deep-fried herring with parsley and lemon.
Baked herring
Soak the herring and make the fillet, as in the previous recipes. Grease each piece of olive oil on all sides and place in a baking dish. Bake for three minutes. Remove the herring from the oven and add fresh ground pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.