Atlantic Herring
[Clupea harengus harengus]
The most abundant and economically important herring, this fish figures
prominently in the cuisines of Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia
and the Baltic States. A round bodied fish, it can grow to nearly 18
inches and 1.5 pounds but the photo specimen was 13-1/2 inches and
weighed 15 ounces.
The photo specimen is salt pickled, heads, guts and feathers intact,
which is how herring is normally sold - and the way most herring
recipes expect it. It is eaten raw in Holland, and fresh is sometimes
specified in recipes from Northern Europe, particularly Poland, but
fresh herring is not likely to be found here in California. Marine
ecologists classify Atlantic herring as a sustainable harvest with
proper fisheries management.
Herring are oily fish, which makes smoking an option. The photo specimen
was first salt pickled, then smoked, so it was fairly salty. This
specimen was 14-1/2 inches long and weighed 11-1/8 ounces. Smoked herring
have a lot of tiny bones and a skin too tough to eat, and are quite
salty, but it's all manageable. Smoked herring is also called for in
some recipes.
More on the Herring Family.
See also Herring - Pickled, Canned,
Kippered and Dried
Many recipes I have encountered from Poland, the Baltic States and
Russia call for "herrings" - just that, no further information. I could
tell they were talking about a fairly large herring, but how large, why
would I need to soak them overnight, and where could such herring be
found?
Fortunately I found good shopping advice in one of my Lithuanian
cookbooks. Unless "fresh herring" are specifically called for they are
presumed pickled entire, "heads guts and feathers", in salt brine. You
buy them from a barrel where they should be very tightly packed and of
uniform size (if mixed size they are probably remnants of the catch and
may be poor quality). The liquid in the barrel should be pale yellow,
if dark brown the herring will be off flavor. Good quality herring has
white flesh but it will be pink in poor quality fish. Herring that do
not contain milt or roe are fattier and have better flavor, but some
recipes call for using the milt and/or roe.
Buying:
These fish can be found in specialty markets
serving a community heavy in people from countries around the North
and Baltic Seas. They are large herring, salt pickled whole and
are in excellent condition, just as one would expect from reading the
recipes. Jon's Marketplace in Glendale CA is now getting theirs from
Lithuania in plastic tubs - just like the ones they used to have except
these are gutted - which is not a problem. A number of markets here in
Southern California now have them individually packed in plastic vacuum
bags. The main difference is, the ones at Jon's are 2020 US $3.99 /
pound ($2.99 when on sale), while the vacuum packed run about
2020 US $6.00 / pound.
Scales:
Both brine pickled and smoked herring have
already been scaled.
Cleaning:
The body cavity is very long, like on a trout.
Just slit it from under the head back to the vent and pull the guts out.
With both brine pickled and smoked herring they are soft and easy to pull.
Then cut off the head and tail. Rinse out the body cavity well.
Skin:
First make shallow cuts through the skin down
the backside on both sides of the fin and under the tail. Peel the skin
off. On brined herring the skin is thin and delicate. I find it best to
start at the top about one third back and peel downward and in both
directions. You need to get the outer skin off, but some of the silver
or gray inner skin is likely to be left, and that's not a problem. On
smoked herrings the skin is tough and inedible. It peels easily.
Fillet:
Cut downward to the backbone as usual, and over
the backbone at the tail end to free the fillet. At this point I often
find it easiest to use your fingers to peel the first fillet off the
backbone and ribs for the length of the body cavity. This will leave
most of the fine bones attached to the backbone, but some will need to
be pulled from the fillet. Next pull out the backbone from the tail
forward which will take out most of the bones from the second fillet.
Note: on a particularly firm fish, pulling the backbone won't
be possible and you'll have to deal with it like a regular fish.
Use your long nose pliers to pull out any remaining bones that are
stiff enough to be worth pulling. There is also a row of pin bones that
point upwards from the centerline. You can grab them with the pliers
right at the surface just above the centerline. Very thin bones are
usually not to be a problem for pickled herring, as the vinegar softens
them.
Prep Salted:
Most recipes call for soaking fillets in
water or a mixture of milk and water for 12 hours or more to reduce the
saltiness. I fillet the fish first and soak the fillets in water,
refrigerated overnight.
Prep Smoked:
With long nose pliers, pull as many of the
fine bones that you can find. Smoked herring can also be soaked for a few
hours to reduce saltiness, but this may also affect flavor.
Yield Salted:
An 11-1/4 ounce fish yielded 6-3/4 ounces
skinless fillets (60%).
Yield Smoked:
A 10-3/4 ounce fish yielded 6-1/8 ounces
skinless fillets (60%)
Pickleling Herring:
See our recipe
Pickled Herring for a
very fine treat, as a snack or on buttered bread with onions.
sf_herraz 070330 - www.clovegarden.com
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