Herring escabeche, rye, caraway from The Walrus & The Carpenter for Northwest Herring Week! Pow!
Tag: Seattle
Herring with a Southern Mediterranean flare: Roasted Herring-Pimenton, Green Shallots, Chickpeas, Butter Lettuce from Stoneburner for Northwest Herring Week! Boom!
Salt and vinegar cured herring, sea bean relish, seaweed gremolata from Joule for Northwest Herring Week! Because we care, we did quality control on this one. If you want to try Togiak, Alaska herring in its purist form, this dish is for you!
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.
Bratherring from Altstadt for NW Herring Week!
Brine and Pickle herring:
(inspired by Hunter Angler Gardener Cook Swedish Pickled Herring Reciper)
- 1/2 c kosher salt
- 4 c water
- 1# herring fillets
- 1 c water
- 2 c white wine vinegar
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1 T mustard seed
- 2 t whole allspice
- 2 t black peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 cloves
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch dill
- 4 sprigs thyme
Heat 4 cups of water with salt until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Submerge the herring fillets in the brine and refrigerate 24 hours.
Combine the sugar, vinegar, water and all the spices in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
Remove the herring from the brine. Layer in a 1 qt container with the lemons, onions, dill and thyme. Pour the cooled pickling liquid over and cover. Allow to pickle at least two days before using.
Breading:
- 1 c cornstarch
- 3 eggs
- 2 c AP flour
- 2 t dill seed (ground)
- 2 t caraway seed (ground)
- 2 t dried marjoram (ground)
- 2 t onion powder
- 2 t garlic powder
- 2 t celery salt
- 2 t mace
- 1 t cayenne
- 1/2 t granulated sugar
Mix flour and all seasonings together. Beat eggs.
Dry herring fillets from the pickle. Dredge fillets in cornstarch. Dip in egg. Dredge in flour mixture.
Fry at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 3 minutes)
Hot Smoked Alaskan Herring with olive oil roasted potatoes, Spanish chorizo, pickled goat horn chilies & espelette, from Orfeo for Northwest Herring Week!
Etta’s Fried Herring with Cherry-Frisee salad and Mint-Dill cream for Northwest Herring Week!
Recipe:
Brine fish in the following for 2 hours
- 1c champagne vin
- 2c h20
- 1/2c sugar
- 1/2c salt
- 1 whole lemon cut into rings
Mint and Dill Cream:
- 1c sour cream
- 1c mayo
- 5T mint finely chopped
- 5T dill finely chopped
- 2T parsley finely chopped
- Salt and lemon juice to taste
Dredge for fish:
- Equal parts AP flour and cornstarch
Cherry and Frisee salad garnish:
Toss ingredients together with a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt.
- Baby frisee
- Sliced Rainier cherry
- Red currants
- Pickled mustard seed
- Pickled Ramps
Meet Le Petit Cochon‘s contribution to Northwest Herring Week:
Togiak Herring “Old Bay” Escabeché, Snap Pea and Fava Bean Panzanella, M.F. Ranch, Collins Farm Peaches, Pickled Onions, Mustard Dill, Tempura Squash Blossom
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
This simple but lovely poster for NW Herring Week is ready for you to plaster all over Seattle! Just click the image to download, print and post a copy (or six). (Note: While this black and white PDF is sized to fit letter-sized paper, if you have any issues printing it, just select “Print to Fit,” and it will print just fine!)
Alaska Herring Week 