To Salt Herrings
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the herring
Cut the herrings open, separating the guts from the roes; discard the guts and leave the roes in the fish.
Wash the herrings and place them in a brine strong enough to float an egg for 12 to 16 hours.
Remove the herrings from the brine and drain them well.
Pack and store
In a keg or jar, layer salt at the bottom, then add a row of herrings, sprinkling more salt over each layer until all are packed.
Cover the top with salt and seal tightly to exclude air.
Prepare and serve
To prepare, place the herrings in cold water and bring to a boil; let them boil for 10 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes.
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
- Herrings
- The main fish, which is preserved by salting and then cooked before serving.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the fish by inhibiting spoilage microbes.
The step that matters
Packing the herrings in salt. Salt must cover every layer and the top must be sealed against air. Gaps let air reach the fish and allow spoilage, while enough salt draws out moisture and keeps the fish preserved.
“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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