Author: Zachary D. Lyons

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants

Midsommar Smörgåsbord Herring Plate from the Swedish Club

On Friday, june 23rd, the Swedish Club celebrates one of the most important holidays on the Swedish calendar, Midsommar, marking the summer solstice, the longest day of the year — kind of a big deal when you live as far north as the Swedes do! Midsommar celebrations often include a feast, called a smörgåsbord, which usually features herring prominently. Hmm…. a feast that stars herring… during Alaska Herring Week. Yup, that works for us!

Pickled Fried Herring On Hardtack from the Swedish Club for Alaska Herring Week. Photo courtesy the Swedish Club.

The Midsommar smörgåsbord at the Swedish Club features herring five ways, including this Pickled Fried Herring On Hardtack, above, as well as Dill and Tomato Herring Rollups, below.

Dill and Tomato Herring Rollups from the Swedish Club for Alaska Herring Week. Photo courtesy the Swedish Club.

For the complete menu, as well as some interesting background information on herring and Alaska Herring Week, click here to see the Swedish Club’s June 2017 newsletter. The Midsommar smörgåsbord is only $30, but it sells out fast! Make your reservation now by calling 206-283-1090 or emailing rsvp@swedishclubnw.org.

Pickled Citrus Herring from the Swedish Club for Alaska Herring Week. Photo courtesy the Swedish Club.

Pickled Citrus Herring, above, will also be featured on the Swedish Club’s Midsommar herring plate.

Fried Herring with Apples and Beets from the Swedish Club for Alaska Herring Week. Photo courtesy the Swedish Club.

Also on the herring plate, Fried Herring with Apples and Beets from the Swedish Club for Alaska Herring Week.

Pickled Midsummer Herring with Sour Cream and Herbs from the Swedish Club for Alaska Herring Week. Photo courtesy the Swedish Club.

Pickled Midsummer Herring with Sour Cream and Herbs rounds out the Swedish Club Midsommar herring plate for Alaska Herring Week.

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Teriyaki Herring Sandwich from Mean Sandwich

Teriyaki herring sandwich from Mean Sandwich for Alaska Herring Week 2017. Photo courtesy Mean Sandwich.

Ballard’s Mean Sandwich presents a Teriyaki Herring Sandwich with vegan kimchi and burnt scallion mayo for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Once you have fallen in love with it, you can use the recipe below to make it at home. (Pick up Alaska Herring fillets from nearby Old Ballard Liquor Co. or Wild Salmon Seafood Market.)

Teriyaki Herring Sandwich Recipe:

Brine:

  • 1 C rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 C water

Mix ingredients. Soak fillets for 2-2.5 hours. Rinse. Pat dry. Transfer to teriyaki sauce for additional 1/2-1hr.

Teriyaki sauce:

  • 1 C Soy sauce
  • 1/2 C mirin
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1 knob ginger, chopped
  • 1 bu Scallion
  • 8 pc dried red chilies

Cook until viscous and flavors are married. Strain, cool.

Kimchi (make more save for later):

  • 6 head napa cabbage
  • 1 bu scallions
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1 C salt
  • 2 T sugar
  • 1/4 C kochukaru
  • 2 T red miso or ssamjang

Chop napa cabbage and add salt and sugar, let sit for an hour or two. (Can sit up to 24hrs) Add remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly and put in airtight container preferably on counter top for 3 days then transfer to refrigerator. The mixture can also just go directly into the fridge. It will just take longer to jumpstart. Wait minimum 1 week. The longer the wait the more sour the kimchi.

Burnt scallion mayo:

  • 1bu scallions, green and white separated.
  • 2 C mayonnaise
  • Salt
  • Black pepper

Grill, griddle or torch scallion bottoms until literally black. Reserve. Chop scallion tops (greens). When cool, chop charred whites, fold both parts into mayo and season with salt and pepper.

To finish:

Sort fish on sheet pan with rack. Torch on skin side until black. Drizzle excess teriyaki on fish. Assemble sandwich: kimchi on bottom, fish on kimchi, mayo on top bun. Serve.

Teriyaki Herring Sandwich from Mean Sandwich for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Mean Sandwich.
Featured Dishes, Participating Grocers, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Smoked-Then-Fried Herring From Old Ballard Liquor Co.

Smoked-Then-Fried Herring from Old Ballard Liquor Co. for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Old Ballard Liquor Co.

Meet Smoked-Then-Fried Herring, just one of the herring dishes being offered by Old Ballard Liquor Co. for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Wanna make this at home? At Old Ballard Liquor Co., you can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

RECIPE: Smoked-Then-Fried Herring

Tasty Smoking Brine

You’ll need:

  • 1 C Apple Cider Vinegar
  • ½ C Pickling Salt
  • 1 C Sugar
  • 1 tsp Juniper Berries
  • 1 tsp Allspice Berries
  • ½ tsp White Peppercorns
  • 6 C Ice Cubes

Prepare the Brine:

Add all ingredients except the ice cubes to a pot and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Add the ice to cool the brine. Store brine in the refrigerator for up to 45 days if not used immediately.

Prepare the Herring:

Peel the skin off of the Alaskan herring fillets, and brine for 2-3 hours.

Lay the fillets on a cooling rack on a small pan and put uncovered into a refrigerator for three hours to dry slightly.  The fish should be sticky to the touch when ready.

Cold smoke the herring in alder smoke at 120 degrees max for 30—45 minutes.

Remove from the smoker. If the fish is dry to the touch, moisten by lightly brushing fresh brine over both sides.  Set aside.

In a wide frying pan, heat ¼ Cup clarified butter on medium-high heat (substitute 1/8C butter + 1/8C canola oil).

Dredge the fish in plain, unseasoned rye flour.

Pan-fry on each side until golden.

Serve with mashed potatoes and sweet dill cucumber pickles (pressgurka).

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

From The Harvest Vine: Arenque (a.k.a, Keith Haring Herring)

Arenque, Spanish for Herring, from The Harvest Vine. Photo courtesy The Harvest Vine.

Meet Arenque, featuring olive oil poached herring with piquillo peppers, piparras, cured black olives and alioli, from The Harvest Vine. (Click here to download recipe.) Arenque is Spanish for “herring.” But the crew at The Harvest Vine is having a little extra fun with its herring dish, with its alternate name, Keith Haring Herring, as an homage to the great artist.

Arenque, a.k.a., Keith Haring Herring from The Harvest Vine. Photo courtesy The Harvest Vine, with a shout out to the original artist who inspired it, Keith Haring.
Featured Dishes, Recipes

RECIPE: Charred Citrus Cured Herring from Collections Café at Chihuly Glass and Garden

Charred Citrus Cured Herring from Collections Café at Chihuly Glass and Garden for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Collections Café.

Meet Charred Citrus Cured Herring, with Compressed Melon, Marcona Almond Butter, Heirloom Tomatoes, Banyuls Vinaigrette and Orange Leek Ash, from Collections Café at Chihuly Glass and Garden in Seattle Center, for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Want to make it at home? Here’s the recipe from Sous Chef Max George:

Charred Citrus Cured Herring, with Compressed Melon, Marcona Almond Butter, Heirloom Tomatoes, Banyuls Vinaigrette and Orange Leek Ash, from Collections Café

Recipes

  • Charred Citrus Cured Herring
  • Marcona Almond Butter
  • Banyuls Vinaigrette
  • Compressed Melon
  • Orange Leek Ash
  • Heirloom Tomatoes

Charred Citrus Cured Herring

Herring Brine

  • 1 cup White Wine Vinegar
  • .5 cup Water
  • .25 Cup Lemon Juice

Citrus Cure

  • 2 Cup Sugar Granulated
  • 1 Cup Kosher Salt
  • 5 ea Zested Lemon
  • 1 Bunch Cilantro

Brine for 2.5 Hours. Remove from liquid and soak in ice water for 30 minutes. Drain Liquid and soak in ice water for an additional 30 minutes.

Smoke at 125 Degrees F for 30 minutes. Char both sides of herring with a torch and cure for 24 hours.

Marcona Almond Butter

  • 1 Cup Marcona Almonds
  • Hot Water (Just enough to cover the Almonds)
  • 3 Tbl Almond Oil

Soak Almonds in hot water for 3-4 Hours Covered. Place in Vitamix and puree slowly adding the almond oil until smooth.

Banyuls Vinaigrette

  • .25 Cup Banyuls Vinegar
  • .5 Cup Oil Canola Evo Blend
  • 1 Tbl Stone Ground Mustard
  • 1 Tbl Honey Clover
  • .25 oz Brunoise Shallot
  • 1 Tbl Salt
  • 2 tsp Pepper Coarse Ground

Mix all ingredients together.

Compressed Melon

  • Cantaloupe
  • Tangerine Oil
  • Thyme Sprigs

Melon ball desired amounts of cantaloupe and place in vacuum seal bag with thyme sprigs and a drizzle of tangerine oil. Vacuum seal. Use as needed.

Orange Leek Ash

  • 2 ea Leeks
  • 3 ea Orange
  • 2 ea Lemon

Cut leeks into 8 pieces length wise and and place on grill until charred on all sides. Shave oranges and lemons ensuring that there is no white attached to the zest. Place all ingredients into dehydrator at 145 Degrees F for 24 hours.  Place all ingredients in spice grinder until combined. Finish with Salt and Sugar to taste.

Promotional Media, Recipes

Wild Alaska Herring Recipe Book for Alaska Herring Week 2017!

For Year Three of Alaska Herring Week in Seattle, we are proud to offer a new Wild Alaska Herring Recipe Book, produced by Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, using recipes from Seattle chefs for Alaska Herring Week 2016! You can get your own lovely, printed copy for free when you visit one of the restaurants or grocers participating in Alaska Herring Week 2017, or you can download a PDF of it now by clicking the image below. Check out the recipes, then visit a participating grocer to pick up some great wild Alaska herring of your own to take home and prepare during Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Click this image to download a PDF of the Wild Alaska Herring Recipe Book!
Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants

FareStart Offers Two Herring Dishes With A Southern Flair!

Herring Fritters, Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette, Cuttlefish Ink Aioli from FareStart for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy FareStart.

Now we’re talkin’! Check out these Herring Fritters with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette and Cuttlefish Ink Aioli from FareStart for Alaska Herring Week 2017, beginning Monday, June 19th! But wait! There’s more!

Herring Po’Boy, Creole Mayo, Mama Lil’s Peppers, Butter Lettuce, Served with Grilled Corn Salad from FareStart for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy FareStart.

Not satisfied with just one dish, FareStart will also offer this awesome Herring Po’Boy with Creole Mayo, Mama Lil’s Peppers, and Butter Lettuce, Served with Grilled Corn Salad during Alaska Herring Week 2017! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Alaska Herring Week In The News, Promotional Media

Press Release: Alaska Herring Week 2017!

Seattle Places Alaska Herring at The Center of the Plate
with Third Annual Alaska Herring Week

Nearly 60 of the Area’s Top Restaurants and Grocers will Feature Alaska Herring
for a Limited Time Starting June 19

SEATTLE, Washington – June 1, 2017 – From Monday, June 19 through Sunday, June 25, a sea of the region’s best restaurants and grocers will showcase unique dishes and products featuring one of Alaska’s unsung, yet delicious, seafood heroes during the third annual Alaska Herring Week. Given the tremendous response to Alaska Herring Week in 2016, the number of participants has doubled to nearly 60, providing seafood aficionados and foodies an even wider array of opportunities to try these exclusive Alaska herring creations.

The participating culinary experts and chefs, many of whom are James Beard Award winners, jumped on board to support Alaska Herring Week and shine the spotlight on this “underloved,” wild, abundant and sustainable fish. Alaska Herring Week is an opportunity to taste this delicious and healthful fish, while supporting the fishermen that bring Alaska herring from sea to table and a fishery dedicated to providing a sustainable food supply.

Restaurants and grocers from a variety of neighborhoods, including Ballard, Bainbridge Island, Capitol Hill, Mercer Island, Kirkland, Woodinville and others are already on board for Alaska Herring Week, including:

  • Altstadt
  • Art of the Table
  • Bar Melusine
  • Barking Frog
  • Bitter/Raw
  • Blueacre Seafood
  • Café Campagne
  • Cafe Juanita
  • Central Coop Deli
  • Central Coop Meat & Seafood Dept.
  • Ciudad
  • Collections Café
  • Dahlia Lounge
  • Damn The Weather
  • Etta’s
  • Fare Start
  • Freshy’s Local Market
  • Freshy’s Seafood Shack
  • Hitchcock Café
  • Hitchcock Deli – Bainbridge
  • Hitchcock Deli – Georgetown
  • Hitchcock Restaurant
  • Issian Japanese Stone Grill
  • Joule
  • Lark
  • Le Grand Bistro Américain
  • Le Petit Cochon
  • Lionhead
  • Little Uncle
  • Luc
  • Mean Sandwich
  • Old Ballard Liquor Co.
  • Orfeo
  • Osteria la Spiga
  • Poppy
  • Porkchop & Co.
  • Purple Café & Wine Bar – Woodinville
  • Ray’s Boathouse & Café
  • Revel
  • Salted Sea
  • Sky City At The Needle
  • SLAB Sandwiches & Pie
  • Steelhead Diner
  • Swedish Club
  • Terra Plata
  • Thackeray
  • The Harvest Vine
  • The Herbfarm
  • The Walrus & The Carpenter
  • The Whale Wins
  • Tilth
  • Wild Salmon Seafood Market

Alaska herring is one of the largest, most abundant and sustainable fisheries in the world, but has largely disappeared from U.S. menus and fish markets. The Alaska Herring Development Project, a program of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, coordinates Alaska Herring Week to re-introduce the fish into the Seattle area’s culinary scene. This year, participants will receive Alaska herring courtesy of North Pacific Seafoods, which produces the herring fillets in Naknek, Alaska.

For more information on wild Alaska herring, and a complete list of participating Alaska Herring Week restaurants and grocers, visit alaskaherringweek.com or the official Alaska Herring Week Facebook and Twitter pages, and join the conversation using #alaskaherringweek.

Alaska Herring Week was founded in 2015 by Lexi of Old Ballard Liquor Co., and is coordinated by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and co-sponsored by Ocean Beauty, Northern Air Cargo, Carlile Transportation, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Alaskan Brewing Co.

Information on additional Alaska seafood species is available on wildalaskaseafood.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Tessa Weber
Edelman for Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
Phone: 206.268.2215
Tessa.Weber@Edelman.com

 

 

 

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Fried Herring and Mash Potatoes from the Swedish Club

Fried Herring and Mash Potatoes for Alaska Herring Week for Wednesday Dinner at the Swedish Club. Photo courtesy the Swedish Club.

The Swedish Club, on Dexter Avenue North, is one place you would absolutely expect to find grand herring dishes any time, whether or not it is Alaska Herring Week. So it is no surprise that they are going all in for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Of course, there is the added benefit of Alaska Herring Week coinciding with the Summer Solstice, or as they know it, Midsommar. After all, the longest day of the year is a big deal in a country so far north.

The Swedish Club will feature multiple traditional herring dishes during Alaska Herring Week, beginning with their Wednesday Dinner on June 21st, featuring this lovely Fried Herring and Mash Potatoes! And here is the recipe, should you like to try making it at home! (And stay tuned for more of their featured herring dishes.)

RECIPE: Fried Herring & Mashed Potatoes

For 4 servings, you’ll need:

  • 8 fillets of Herring
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 pinch of white pepper
  • 1/2 cup dark rye flour
  • 1-2 tbsp butter for frying
First, brine the herring fillets in this mixture:
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • Brine for 2-3 hours and pour off

Rinse the Herring and pat dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper the fish and dip both sides in the rye flower.Fry the Herring a couple of minutes on both sides in butter. Serve with mash potatoes, lingonberry jam, vegetables or small salad.

•••

If there are leftover fried Herring, you can pickled it with this brine:

  • 1/2 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1.5 cup water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 whole allspice
  • 1 sliced yellow onion
  • 1 sliced carrot

Heat up all ingredients except the vegetables until sugar has dissolved. Let it cool down a bit before adding the onion and carrot. Pour it over the fried Herring. It will keep for at least a week in an airtight container in the fridge, and you can enjoy the Herring on dark rye bread or Hardtack
(Crackers). It’s a perfect lunch on a hot summer day.