Red Herrings
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the herrings open and pour boiling water over them to soak for 1 hour.
Drain and dry the herrings, then heat them just until hot over the fire.
Rub cold butter over the herrings before serving.
Alternatively, use a little salad oil while heating them.
Alternative method
For a different method, split the herrings open without soaking and hang them on a cheese-toaster to brown the roe.
If the roe is hard, open the belly and insert a little butter, then close it to melt the butter.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Red herrings
- Their oily flesh and roe are the main flavour and richness of the dish.
- Boiling water
- Soaking the split herrings softens and moistens the flesh before heating.
- Cold butter
- Melting over the hot fish adds fat, moisture and a rich finish.
The step that matters
Heating the soaked herrings. Heating them only until just hot keeps the flesh moist and tender. Overheating dries the fish and toughens the proteins, so the soaking and gentle heat work together.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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