Smoked Herring, now what?
Created March 16, 2012 at 2:11 PM
I bought some smoked herring today, it was in the store by the lox and smoked salmon, and it was whole fillets, not moisture-added kippers.
They aren't unpleasantly smokey, or fishy, but they are salty... too salty to eat. The texture is also quite hard, not too far off from jerky.
I don't like throwing away food, and especially don't like throwing away food that costs $14/lb. What suggestions do the fine folks on PH recommend?
Myself, I was thinking of letting them sit in Olive Oil to make my own "kippers", thinking the oil would draw out the salt and soften the flesh of the herring somewhat.
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4 Answers
I do my smoked mackerel and my tinned sardines with a modified version of the fisherman's eggs recipe here: http://paleohacks.com/questions/32830/does-anyone-eat-sardines-on-a-regular-basis#axzz1pIeCQDlb. I eat this stuff once or twice a week, delish.
Actually, a lot of the sardine recommendations in that thread might help you with your mackerel. Good luck!
Edited to add:
Another thing I do with any tinned fish is to mash it up with hard boiled eggs for a cold salad. Eat it straight or with the crunchy carrier of your choice.
This isn't tinned though, this is whole fillets of dry smoked herring. It's much stronger than anything I've ever gotten from a can.
Ah, I understand now. I'm told that my Irish forebears took their salted fish and soaked them overnight in water to pull off some of the salt, maybe there's information on this online somewhere.
Yeah, I'd soak it overnight first, like you would salt cod.
I picked up some wild caught smoked herring on whim and the salt was unpalatable! I immediately wanted to throw it away thinking there was no hope. Instead I threw them in a tupperware container and began to rinse with agitation over and over until the water was only slightly discolored. Then I let them soak for half an hour agitating every ten min until water was discolored then changed the water. At this point the saltiness was more palatable and the moisture was returned to the fish. Repeat this process until desired result is attained then store in oil (seasoning optional) in the fridge for later use or healthy cholesterol cutting snack!
If you eat dairy you can mix with dill and sour cream. Or mustard and dill for a more Swedish version, then eat with sliced cucumbers - it will take the edge off.
Make some whitfish salad with home made mayo
and I found this recipe for a Blind robin scramble on Chowhound:
To make it chop a baked potato into cubes, 1/2 cup of sweet onion, green onions, or whatever you have on hand in the onion family, 1/2 cup of sliced mushroom of your choice, 1 fire roasted bell pepper chopped, 1 can fire roasted tomatoes drained, 1/2 cup of cheese (a strong flavor works best like extra sharp cheddar or parmesean), 6 eggs beaten, 1 cup of milk, half & half, cream, or buttermilk, T hot paprika, 2 T of dried Italian herbs. Put T of butter & T of olive oil in large oven proof skillet add onions and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are cooked, add potato, tomato, herbs, sweet pepper, to skillet heat through, mix eggs, milk , and cheese, pour into skillet and mix, place skillet in 325 degree oven and cook until eggs are done.
and this recipe from the NYtimes looks paleofiable: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/dining/smoked-herring-with-fingerling-potatoes-and-chives-recipe.html
blueballoon
(4347)
on March 30, 2012
at 06:24 PM
Yeah, I'd soak it overnight first, like you would salt cod.
Canis_Minor
(4238)
on March 18, 2012
at 05:01 PM
Ah, I understand now. I'm told that my Irish forebears took their salted fish and soaked them overnight in water to pull off some of the salt, maybe there's information on this online somewhere.
Joshua_1
(21430)
on March 18, 2012
at 12:48 PM
This isn't tinned though, this is whole fillets of dry smoked herring. It's much stronger than anything I've ever gotten from a can.