Since buying herring in a store is a game of Russian roulette. After all, it is difficult to guess how salty the product is. Therefore, I propose a simple recipe for salting herring at home.
Recipe content:
- Ingredients
- Step by step cooking
- Video recipe
Salted herring came to us from Holland. Today in our country it is one of the favorite snacks that decorate our table. We use it on its own, and we use it for cooking in various dishes, like herring under a fur coat, vinaigrette with herring, forshmak, etc. Moreover, the taste of each dish will depend on the herring chosen. But sometimes you buy fish, and it is too salty, and sometimes the herring is not the first freshness, or it simply turns out to be not tasty. The taste qualities of purchased herring do not always suit us, so you should learn how to cook it yourself.
At first glance, it may seem that pickling herring is quite simple, the dish is understandable and without frills. But it is important to choose a good herring for salting. The taste and tenderness of the appetizer depends on the freshness and quality of the purchased fish. Naturally, it is best to take freshly caught herring, but this is absolutely not available to us. We have to be content with frozen fish. Note the ocean species of fish like Atlantic or Pacific herring. Buy Baltic sea herring carefully, it may contain a high content of toxins, heavy metals and other harmful substances. Inspect the fish carefully and carefully before purchasing. Its surface should be naturally colored, the gill covers and fins should be tightly attached to the carcass, the eyes should be light and prominent. Do not buy fish that is crumpled, has lost a lot of scales and is yellowed. Avoid decapitated frozen herring as there is a high probability that the carcass was not the first freshness that went into freezing, but the head, i.e. gills and eyes are the main indicator of the freshness and quality of the fish.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 217 kcal.
- Servings - 1 pc.
- Cooking time - 3-5 days
Ingredients:
- Herring - 1 pc.
- Allspice peas - 4 pcs.
- Salt - 1 tablespoon
- Bay leaf - 2 pcs.
- Sugar - 1 tsp
- Bay leaf - 2-3 pcs.
How to salt herring: step by step cooking
1. Since we can only buy frozen herring, defrost it first. Do this slowly so as not to spoil the taste. Place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and let it sit for about a day. During this time, it will completely melt. Then rinse the herring and remove the gills.
2. Pour drinking water into a saucepan and add salt and sugar.
3. Boil and leave to cool to room temperature. The proportion of liquid is usually as follows: for 1 liter of water 1 tbsp. salt and 1 tsp. Sahara.
4. Then put bay leaf and allspice peas in the saline liquid.
5. We will salt the herring with a whole carcass. Therefore, pick up a convenient container where it fits without problems and put it in it. But if you need to speed up the salting process, then you can gut the fish and salt with slices or fillets. Then the carcass will be salted in a day.
6. Pour the prepared brine over the fish and leave at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Then send it to the refrigerator, where it is kept for 3-5 days. After 3 days, taste the herring, if you have enough salting, remove it from the brine and use it in cooking. If you want saltier fish, keep it for 5 or more days.
See also a video recipe on how to pickle herring.
