Tag: grocer

Alaska Herring Week In The News, Participating Grocers, Recipes

Pre-Brined Alaska Herring Fillets From Central Coop!

Pre-Brined Herring Fillets from Central Coop for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo by Zachary D. Lyons.

Pre-Brined Herring Fillets from Central Coop for Alaska Herring Week 2017 make enjoying any of our chefs’ great recipes at home easy! They’ve already done the 3-hour bone-softening brine step for you. All you need to do is soak them for about 30 minutes in ice water to “freshen” them (a.k.a., remove the vinegar flavor), then use them in any of our chefs’ recipes, skipping their bone-softening step! (Note: recipes still may include additional brining steps for flavor.) (Note: herring pin bones are perfectly safe to eat… just texturally bothersome to some folks. This brining step renders the bones texturally inert.)

Featured Dishes, Participating Grocers, Recipes

Herringliciousness From Freshy’s Seafood Market On Mercer Island!

Smoked Herring from Freshy’s Seafood Market for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Freshy’s Seafood Market.

Smoked Herring from Freshy’s Seafood Market for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Freshy’s is a grocery paired with a seafood shack (surprisingly called, “Freshy’s Seafood Shack”) on Mercer Island. Besides have this gorgeous Smoked Herring in the case, check out what else they are offering in the Market for Alaska Herring Week, along with fresh-frozen herring fillets with which you can make any of our wonderful recipes!

Norwegian Pickled Herring from Freshy’s Seafood Market for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Freshy’s Seafood Market.

Norwegian Pickled Herring from Freshy’s Seafood 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:

Norwegian Pickled Herring

Brine:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 3/4 oz sea salt

Brine herring fillets for two hours

Pickling:

  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 2 tbls sugar
  • 1 tbls pepper corns
  • 8 bay leaves
  • 1 tbls mustard seed
  • 1 tbls coriander seeds
  • 1 cup sliced shallots

Bring mixture to a boil and chill. Add herring fillets and pickle for one to two days.

Sweet n Hot Pickled Herring from Freshy’s Seafood Market for Alaska Herring Week 2017! Photo courtesy Freshy’s Seafood Market.

Sweet n Hot Pickled Herring from Freshy’s Seafood 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:

Sweet n Hot Pickled Herring

Season fillets with salt and rest for 20 minutes.

Light Rinse

Season with sugar and rest for 2 hours.

Brine:

  • 10 oz smoked pepper vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seed
  • 1 cup sliced shallots
  • Half cup smoked peppers

Bring mixture to a boil and chill. Add herring fillets and pickle for one to two days.

Featured Dishes, Participating Grocers, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Lemon Dill Herring from Central Coop’s Deli!

Lemon Dill Herring from Central Coop’s Deli for Alaska Herring Week 2017. Photo courtesy Central Coop.

Meet Lemon Dill Herring from Central Coop’s Deli for Alaska Herring Week 2017, available all week from their deli counter!

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! In fact, Central Coop’s Meat & Seafood Department has pre-brined Alaska herring fillets available, if you want to skip the brining step! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:

Bone Softening Brine

  • 1 cup vinegar, white wine, organic (org)
  • .5 cup water
  • 4 fl oz lemon juice, fresh

Combine liquids (enough for about 2 pounds of fillets — adjust proportionally, as needed)

Brine fillets for 3-4 hours (test one fillet for bones, if not soft enough, brine longer)

Pour off brine

Soak brined fillets in ice water for 30 minutes

Lemon Dill Herring

  • 15 lb Alaska herring fillet
  • 1 cup oil, sunflower/olive blend org
  • 2 tsp salt, sea
  • 2 tsp black pepper, ground, org
  • 1 cup lemon juice, org
  • 2 bunch dill, fresh org
  • 4 ea lemons org, sliced for garnish

(Note: ingredients for marinade based on Deli’s 15 pounds of herring. Reduce proportionally, as needed.)

Heat up charbroiler/grill.

Combine oil, dill, salt and pepper and lemon juice.

Place brined and drained herring onto pan and brush on the marinade.

Spray charbroiler with oil.

Sear for about 2 minutes on each side, until herring is crackling.

Garnish with lemon slices.

 

Featured Dishes, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

RECIPE: Swedish Pickled Herring Plate from Old Ballard Liquor Co.

Swedish Pickled Herring Plate from Old Ballard Liquor Co. for Alaska Herring Week. Photo courtesy Old Ballard Liquor Co.

The Swedish Pickled Herring Plate from Old Ballard Liquor Co. for Alaska Herring Week, features pickled herring five ways. While the perfect Midsommar treat, it is available year-round at Old Ballard, though flavors may vary. Wanna make this at home? At Old Ballard Liquor Co., you can also 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:

Swedish Pickled Herring Plate (Allow 7 days)

Step 1: Salt the Herring

Make a 25% salt brine using the following proportions, and scale up to whatever quantity is needed:

25g Salt per 100mls of Water

Bring the solution to a boil until the salt dissolves, and then cool in the refrigerator to 35-40 degrees.

Refrigerate and brine the herring fillets in the salt brine for three days.

Step 2: Make the Herring Pickle Brine

Add the following ingredients to a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally:

  • 1 C Water
  • 2 C White Sugar
  • 2 C Distilled White Vinegar
  • 2 Tbl Allspice Berries
  • 4 ea Crumbled Bay Leaves
  • 1 Clove

Turn off the heat and allow to steep for 30 minutes.  Do not remove spices.  Chill overnight to 35-40 degrees. Brine can be refrigerated and should be used within 60 days.

Step 3: Soak and Peel the Herring

  • Soak the salted herring for one hour in fresh, cold water
  • Change the water and soak the herring for a second hour.
  • Peel the skin off of the fillets and trim off any large rib bones or bruised portions.

Step 3: Pickle the Herring

Cut the fillets into serving size pieces

Drain the water, put the pieces into a plastic or glass (nonreactive) container and cover with pickling brine.

Refrigerate and allow to pickle for a minimum of three days

Step 4: Flavored Pickled Herring

In a clean, dry container, layer the pickled herring with spices, fruit or vegetables.  Cover with fresh brine and allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours.

  •     Onion Herring
  •     Lemon Herring
  •     Dill Herring
  •     Nectarine-Cardamom Herring
  •     Etc…

Step 5: Cream Herrings

For cream herrings, drain the pickled herring well and make a cream of:

  • 1 Cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream
  • Powdered spices to taste

Mix the cream with the herring and refrigerate.

  •     Sour Cream
  •     Curry Cream
  •     Horseradish Cream
  •     Garlic Cream
  •     Etc…
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).

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

 

 

 

Participating Grocers, Participating Restaurants

2017 Alaska Herring Week Participants: Six Weeks Out, 45 Strong!

Smoked Herring, summer squash, radish and herb vinaigrette by Bar Melusine for NW Herring Week 2016. Photo copyright 2016 by Zachary D. Lyons.

We just updated our website with the first comprehensive list of participants in Seattle’s Alaska Herring Week for 2017. This year, Alaska Herring Week will celebrate gorgeous Pacific herring from the cold waters of Alaska for the week of Monday, June 19th through Sunday, June 25th, and six weeks out, we already have 45 restaurants, grocers and events committed to participate. Compare that to 33 total participants in 2016! And this year, we expand across Lake Washington to include East King County. This year’s lineup includes neighborhood favorites like Ballard’s Porkchop & Co., as well as world-renowned destinations like Woodinville’s The Herbfarm and SkyCity At The Space Needle, and every kind of eatery in between, and we continue to add more! Please check out our 2017 lineup now!

Participating Grocers, Participating Restaurants, Recipes

Recipe: Basic Brines from Old Ballard Liquor Co.

FreshHerringFillets
Freshly filleted Togiak herring for Northwest Herring Week at the North Pacific Seafoods plant in Naknek, Alaska, on Bristol Bay.

If you would like to try your hand at preparing herring at home, it is available from several Seattle retailers as fillets.

All small, delicious, nutritious oily fish like sardines, anchovies, smelt and herring have small pin bones that are not easily removed by filleting, but these bones are not unsafe to eat. It’s more a texture/psychology issue for eaters. Because Togiak, Alaska herring are larger than most, their pin bones are a little larger, too. If you have an issue with these little bones, we recommend that you marinate your herring in an acidic brine before you proceed with the rest of your recipe. Here are two such brine recipes from Old Ballard Liquor Co.

Basic Bone Softening Brine:

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

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

(Optional) At this point, if you would like to remove the vinegar taste from the fish before moving forward with your recipe, soak the brined fillets in ice water for 30 minutes, change the water and soak for another 30.

Tasty smoking/marinade brine:

  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup pickling salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon juniper berries
  • 1 teaspoon allspice berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
  • 6 cups of ice cubes

Add all ingredients to a pan and bring to a boil, then turn the heat off and allow to steep for 30 minutes.  Add the ice cubes to chill the brine. When brine is fully cool, brine the fillets for 2-3 hours.

Featured Dishes, Participating Grocers, Participating Restaurants

Old Ballard Liquor Co. Unveils Traditional Swedish Pickled Herrings Bord

OldBallardLiquorCo_1
Traditional Swedish Pickled Herrings Bord from Old Ballard Liquor Co. for NW Herring Week!

Old Ballard Liquor Co.’s Traditional Swedish Pickled Herrings Bord includes Blood Orange & Rhubarb, Classic Inlagd Sill, Curry Cream Herring with Tart Apple, Dill Herring, and Smoked Cream with Chives and Citrus Zest. Served with rye and barley flatbread, of course!

Old Ballard also has the following herring products for sale for you to take home… or wherever you are going. We try not to judge.

  • Frozen fillets
  • Salt fillets
  • Smoked pacific herring (canned)
  • Pickled herring by the pound
Participating Grocers, Participating Restaurants, Pop-Up Restaurants

Three New Restaurants, A Grocer & A Pop-Up!

It’s getting serious up in here… about herring! We’ve just added five more participating businesses to our Participating Grocers & Restaurants page, where you will find links to these and all our other participants. They are:

  • Central Co-op on Capitol Hill, where you’ll find herring in their fish case during NW Herring Week;
  • Loxsmithbagels, which will be having a pop-up with their amazing bagels and accompanying herringliciousness on Saturday, June 26th in the Rhino Room at Pine & 11th, to close up NW Herring Week;
  • Salted Sea Seafood & Raw Bar in Columbia City;
  • San Fermo on historic Ballard Ave; and
  • The London Plane in Pioneer Square!