Author: Zachary D. Lyons

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Marinated Herring with Pickled Vegetables from Salted Sea!

Marinated Herring with Pickled Vegetables from Salted Sea Seafood & Raw Bar for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo by Zachary D. Lyons.

Marinated Herring with Pickled Vegetables is the second dish from Salted Sea Seafood & Raw Bar in Columbia City, for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Marinated Herring with Pickled Vegetables

Marinated Herring:

  • 1 qt. soy sauce
  • 1 qt. rice vinegar
  • ½ qt. fish sauce
  • 7 Thai chilies, sliced
  • 3 T ginger paste
  • Herring fillets, thawed and trimmed if necessary

To make ginger paste, combine 4 oz. minced ginger, 1 oz. minced garlic, 1 oz. minced shallot, 3 tbs. fish sauce, ¼ cup canola oil, and 1 tsp. salt in food processor. Run until smooth.

Place herring filets in marinade with a plate or something to weigh them down so they are completely submerged.  Chill 48 hours, stirring the filets once to make sure that all surfaces of the filets are in contact with the brine.  Drain filets, discarding brine.

Plate as you desire! Have fun with it!

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Etta’s Presents – Alaska Herring with Allspice-Pickled Fennel, Horseradish Cream, and Caraway Breadcrumbs

Alaska Herring with allspice-pickled fennel, horseradish cream, and caraway breadcrumbs from Etta’s for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Etta’s.

Let us introduce you to Alaska Herring with allspice-pickled fennel, horseradish cream, and caraway breadcrumbs from Etta’s in Pike Place Market, for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Alaska Herring with allspice-pickled fennel, horseradish cream, and caraway breadcrumbs

HERRING BRINE:

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup salt
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • Peel of one lemon
  • 1 small shallot, sliced
  • 1 small fennel bulb, sliced
  • 4 tablespoons dried allspice berries
  • 1 teaspoon each juniper berry, mustard seed, whole coriander
  • 4 cups ice water
  • 2 pounds herring sides

Bring all ingredients excluding herring and ice water to a boil. Simmer for five minutes, then cool to room temperature. Combine with ice water and pour over herring. Allow herring to brine for at least eight hours.

HERRING DREDGE:

  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 1 cup potato flour

Combine in a mixing bowl with a whisk.

HORSERADISH CREAM:

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
  • 1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

Mix well and allow at least one hour before serving.

ALLSPICE-PICKLED FENNEL:

  • 3 cups champagne vinegar
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup dried allspice berries
  • ½ cup fresh dill
  • 2 large fennel bulbs, sliced ¼” thick

Bring all ingredients excluding fennel to a boil, then pour over sliced fennel. Cool to room temperature, then store chilled. Allow at least two hours before serving.

 

Remove herring from brine and pat dry. In a sauté pan, heat a neutral-flavored oil – such as rice or grapeseed oil – to about 400F, enough oil to almost submerge the herring. Thoroughly coat both sides of the herring with dredge. Once oil is hot, fry on both sides, about two minutes skin-side down, then one minute flesh-side down. Remove herring from oil when crispy and place on paper towels. Spoon a few tablespoons horseradish cream onto a plate, then place herring on the cream, skin-side up. Sprinkle caraway breadcrumbs on the crispy skin, then place the pickled fennel cascading off the side of the fish. Garnish with early summer blossoms, such as mustard or arugula flowers.

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Ray’s Boathouse Presents – Fried Herring with Potato Blini & Pickled Radish!

Fried Herring with Potato Blini & Pickled Radish from Ray’s Boathouse for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Ray’s Boathouse.

Meet Fried Herring with Potato Blini & Pickled Radish from Ray’s Boathouse, on beautiful Shilshole Bay in Ballard, for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Fried Herring with Potato Blini & Pickled Radish

By Executive Chef Paul Duncan

Makes 2 servings

For the herring:

  • 4 Herring fillets
  • 1 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • Teaspoon yellow mustard seed
  • Teaspoon fennel seed

Bring to simmer until sugar and salt dissolve. Cool completely. When cool, place herring fillets in flesh side down to completely submerged. Place in refrigerator and let sit for 5 hours, this will soften the small bones and render them edible.

Remove herring fillets from brine and pat dry. Season lightly with kosher salt. Dredge in equal parts cornstarch and all-purpose flour. Fry in neutral oil at medium high heat, or deep fry if possible. When skin has crisped remove from heat and allow excess oil to drain of fillets.

For the blini:

  • 2 pounds russet potato
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 3 scallions chopped
  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
  • Clarified butter for cooking

Peel potatoes and cook until fork tender in salted water. Place in a food mill and rice them. Let cool. Add all other ingredients to potatoes and fold the ingredients together lightly making sure not to overwork. Make 1/4 cup sized portion of batter and brown on medium heat in non-stick pan using clarified butter.

For the pickled radish (black and red varieties):

  • 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup champagne vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons pickling spice mix including (coriander, mustard seed, fennel, cumin, clove, juniper, thai chili, bay leaf)

Bring ingredients to a simmer in saucepan until sugar and salt dissolve. Cool completely. Slice radish thin on mandolin slicer and submerge completely for 6 hours. Remove slices when ready to complete your dish.

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Damn The Weather Presents Herring Pastrami Tartine with Sauerkraut and Pickled Mustard Seed

Herring Pastrami Tartine with Sauerkraut and Pickled Mustard Seed from Damn The Weather for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Damn The Weather.

Herring Pastrami Tartine with Sauerkraut and Pickled Mustard Seed from Damn The Weather for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Marketon Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, just use the recipe below! (Note: the initial brining step is necessary to soften the remaining tiny pin bones in the fish. They are safe to eat, but not texturally pleasing.)

Herring Pastrami Tartine with Sauerkraut and Pickled Mustard Seed
(makes 6 fillets)

Brine:

  • 2 C white distilled vinegar
  • 1 C water
  • 2 lemons, halved

Mix ingredients and soak filets for 2.5-3 hrs.  Purge in cold water for additional 30 minutes

Pastrami Cure:

  • ¼ C kosher salt
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 1 T cracked black pepper
  • ½ t ground allspice
  • 10 cloves, ground
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 t yellow mustard powder
  • 1 ½ t ground fennel
  • ½ t red chili flake
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 T beet juice, or 2 T chopped cooked red beets

In a food processor, combine ingredients.  Coat herring fillets and let sit for 48 hours.

Rinse herring fillets and allow to dry in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.  Hot smoke herring until cooked through, approx. 10 minutes on medium-low heat.

Pickled mustard seeds:

  • 1 C yellow mustard seeds
  • 2 T whole caraway
  • ½ C apple cider vinegar
  • 2 ½ C water
  • ½ C white sugar
  • 2 t kosher salt

Bring 2 C water to a boil and pour over the mustard and caraway seeds; let steep for 10-15 minutes to soften and then drain.  Bring the remaining ½ C water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil and pour over mustard and caraway seeds.  Let the pickled seeds refrigerate overnight.

To assemble:

Place slices of rye bread onto a sheet tray, brush with melted butter, and season with kosher salt.
Place tray into a 325 degree preheated oven and cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Cut or break chunks of herring and place onto rye bread; garnish with sauerkraut and pickled mustard/caraway seeds, and sea salt.

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants

Luc Presents: Butter Poached Alaskan Herring, Black Garbanzos, Charred Romanesco, Castelvetrano Olive Relish

Butter Poached Alaskan Herring, Black Garbanzos, Charred Romanesco, Castelvetrano Olive Relish from Luc for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Luc.

Introducing Butter Poached Alaskan Herring, Black Garbanzos, Charred Romanesco, Castelvetrano Olive Relish from Luc, in Madison Valley, for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants

Issian Japanese Stone Grill Presents: Stone Grilled Alaska Herring with Miso Glaze

Stone Grilled Alaska Herring with Miso Glaze from Issian Japanese Stone Grill for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Issian Japanese Stone Grill.

Meet: Stone Grilled Alaska Herring with Miso Glaze from Issian Japanese Stone Grill in Wallingford for Alaska Herring Week 2017! And the hits just keep on coming!

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Vodka Battered Herring from Thackeray!

Vodka Battered Herring, house salt n’ vinegar chips, farm herbs, tom-olive tartar from Thackeray on Lower Stone Way for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Thackeray.

Vodka Battered Herring, house salt n’ vinegar chips, farm herbs, tom-olive tartar from Thackeray Café & Bar on Lower Stone Way for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Vodka Battered Herring, house salt n’ vinegar chips, farm herbs, tom-olive tartar

Basic Bone Softening Brine:

  • 1 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

Brine herring fillets for 2-3 hours, then pour off brine.

For the batter:

  • 3 TB cornstarch : 1 cup Drake’s crispy fry mix, make a double batch of this so you have some to dredge the fish in.
  • 2-3 oz vodka
  • 2-3 oz sparkling mineral water

Mix together the dry ingredients with two thirds of the wet. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients until light, runny batter with no clumps has formed. Set aside no longer than an hour in advance and chill.

Lightly dredge the fish in some of the dry mix then dip into the batter and scrape the excess with your index and middle fingers. There should be an uncomfortably little amount of batter left on the fish. This is ok!

Fry at 350 degrees until light golden brown and crispy.

Season with fleur de sel to taste

For the tartar:

  • 3 oz mayo
  • 1 tsp minced shallot
  • 1 tsp minced celery
  • 2 oz chopped tom-olives
  • 1 tsp tom-olive brine
  • Pinch cayenne

Simply mix together all ingredients

For the chips:

  • 1 ea large russet potato
  • 1 tsp salt and vinegar powder

Slice the potatoes about one eighth of an inch thick on a mandolin and soak in lightly acidulated water

Fry at 250 degrees until golden brown and crispy

Remove from oil, drain onto paper towel, and immediately season with salt and vinegar powder

 

Plate on large round with smear of tartar on one side, and chips topped with the fried herring on the other. Garnish with fresh herbs of your choice, but we recommend celery leaves, lovage, basil, flowering chives, shaved fennel and fennel fronds.

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Tilth’s Smoked Herring Pate + house pickles, frisée salad, radish

Smoked Herring Pate with house pickles, frisée salad, radish from Tilth for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Tilth.

From the kitchen of James Beard Award winne, Chef Maria Hines’ restaurant, Tilth, in Wallingford, we have Smoked Herring Pate + house pickles, frisée salad, radish for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Smoked Herring Pate + house pickles, frisée salad, radish

Ingredients:

  • 1300 g herring confit
  • 800 g smoked butter
  • 2 ea lemons, zest
  • 2 ea lemons, juice
  • salt (to taste)
  • pepper (to taste
  • pinch cayenne
  • chives, minced

Procedure:

  1. Confit herring in olive oil w/ thyme, garlic, bay leaf and lemon peel.  145 F for 1 hour.
  2. In robo coupe, place confit herring and pulse.
  3. Add softened butter to robo coupe a bit at a time until mixture is smooth.
  4. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and pinch of cayenne.
  5. Pass through a fine tamis using a plastic scraper.
  6. Fold in chopped lemon zest and chives.
  7. Place in a piping bag or in an appropriate size mold  (half hotel pan lined w/ parchment for 1 x recipe).
Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Smoked Herring Quenelles — A Taste Of Vietnam from Salted Sea!

Smoked Herring Quenelles from Salted Sea for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo by Zachary D. Lyons.

Salted Sea Seafood & Raw Bar, in Columbia City, presents Smoked Herring Quenelles, a wonderful taste of Alaska Herring a la Vietnam, right here in Seattle.

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Smoked Herring Quenelles by Chef Noah Zavatsky

(makes 10 Quenelles, or about two servings)

Smoked Herring:

Dry brine 2-3 herring fillets in equal parts salt and sugar, by weight, for 24 hours. Cold-smoke (125 degrees) with applewood smoke for approximately six hours.

Đậu Phụ Sốt Cà Chua Sauce (make first):

  • 5 roma tomatoes, diced
  • ½ cup fish sauce
  • 3 tbs. sugar
  • 1 tbs. minced garlic

Đậu Phụ Sốt Cà Chua Sauce recipe:

In medium sauce pan, add about 2 tbs. canola oil. Bring to high heat, adding in diced tomatoes. Allow tomatoes to reduce ¼ of the way. Add fish sauce, continuously stirring. Add sugar and minced garlic. Allow tomatoes to break down and reduce until sauce is thick. Adjust to taste.

Panade Ingredients:

  • 225 mL whole milk
  • 3 tbs. unsalted butter
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • ¾ cup smoked herring
  • ¼ tsp. ground white pepper
  • ¼ tsp. ground star anise
  • ¼ tsp. fresh ground turmeric
  • 1 ¼ egg whites
  • ½ cup fish sauce
  • 5 whole eggs

Panade recipe:

Boil milk over med. heat. Add 1 tbs. butter and flour, stirring continuously. Continue to cook until mixture is dry. Let panade cool for 2 hours. Puree smoked herring with spices and pass through sieve. Return to food processor. Add egg whites, then add cooled panade. Add whole eggs, followed by remaining butter. Shape into quenelles. Drop in deep fryer for approximately 6 minutes, or until fully cooked, without burning exterior of quenelles.

Serve immediately as follows: fill bottom of bowl with generous layer of warm sauce, top with five quenelles, and top quenelles with another layer of sauce, to coat.

 

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Crispy Fried Whole Herring From Little Uncle!

Crispy Fried Whole Alaska Herring, doused with palm sugar and fish sauce, topped with sour green mango, chilies and lime from Little Uncle for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Little Uncle.

Check this out! Crispy Fried Whole Alaska Herring, doused with palm sugar and fish sauce, topped with sour green mango, chilies and lime from Little Uncle for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Wow!

Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! (Note: whole Alaska herring are not currently available for retail sale.) Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Crispy Fried Whole Alaska Herring, doused with palm sugar and fish sauce, topped with sour green mango, chilies and lime
Get these 4 components ready before finishing:
The fish:
1 whole herring (note: herring fillets can be substituted)
  • Butterfly from tail to head.
  • Cut through the bones and head, too.
  • Splay the fish open and dry with paper towels.
Oil or the fish:
  • 2 cups oil for frying
Place the oil in a wide and deep pot that will hold and shallow fry the herring.
For the glaze:
  • 2 tablespoons palm sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
Melt the palm sugar in the fish sauce in a wide pan that will eventually hold the herring.
For the sour green mango topping:
  • 1 cup shredded sour, firm green mango
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 Thai chilies, sliced thin
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons sliced green onion
  • 2 tablespoons sliced shallot
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
In a small bowl gently toss all the ingredients.
To finish:
  1. Heat the frying oil till hot enough to fry the fish, about 360 degrees F.
  2. Gently lay the fish into the oil inner side first (it will stick less).
  3. Fry the heck out of the fish until crispy, you will want to be able to eat the bones and head.
  4. Once the fish is fried enough, immediately place into the pan with the palm sugar glaze.
  5. With a spoon, baste the fish with the glaze a few times. Some glaze will be left behind in the pan.
  6. Place the fish on a plate.
  7. Top the fish with the green mango topping.
  8. Serve and eat with steamed rice.