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Pickled Herrings

Pickled herrings are fish preserved by steeping in lukewarm milk and water, then broiled and served with butter, mustard, and potatoes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Pickled Herrings

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Skin, open and trim the red herrings.

  2. If the herrings are old and dry, pour hot small beer or water over them.

  3. Let them steep for 30 minutes or longer if hard.

Broil

  1. Broil the herrings over a clear fire at a considerable distance, rubbing them with oil or butter while broiling.

Finish and serve

  1. Serve the broiled herrings very hot with cold butter or melted butter and mustard, alongside mashed potatoes or parsnips.

  2. Steep the herrings in lukewarm milk and water.

  3. Dry the herrings.

  4. Broil the herrings.

  5. Dish with slices of raw onions.

  6. Serve with oil.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Mustard + potatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,340 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Potato + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red herrings
The main fish, whose flesh is softened by steeping and then firmed and browned by broiling.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture when served over the hot fish, and helps browning during broiling.
Mustard
Sharp flavour that cuts through the richness of the fish and butter.
Lukewarm milk
Mild liquid that softens the dried herrings before the final broiling.
Raw onions
Sharp, pungent bite that contrasts with the rich, oily fish.
Mashed potatoes or parsnips
Starchy side that soaks up the melted butter and mustard.

The step that matters

Broiling at a considerable distance over a clear fire. Distance from the flame lets heat reach the centre of the fish gradually, so the surface can brown without scorching before the flesh is cooked through. Rubbing with oil or butter adds fat that promotes even browning and helps prevent the fish from drying out.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beer, butter, potato, milk, onion):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Tomatofits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beer, butter, potato, milk, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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