Herring in spices at home

March 19, 2017 3446

Herring is a very interesting product because, like chocolate, it contains the hormone of joy. And pickled herring not only cheers up, but also gives wonderful taste sensations on holidays and weekdays.

Before you start pickling, you should make sure that the herring used for this is of really high quality and fresh:

• it is preferable if the purchased herring belongs to the Pacific and Atlantic varieties;
• despite the freezing, the fish should not have an ice shell;
• the meat of suitable specimens is elastic,
• damage can only be on the scaly cover, and they should not be on the skin of the herring (as well as “rusty” marks, indicating that the fat in the fish has oxidized);
• eyes should be bright, whole, bulging;
• protrusion of gills and fins should not be observed;
• in the right fish, the gills are painted dark red, have an elastic structure, do not fall apart (they should also not emit bitter or putrefactive odors);
• male herrings are considered more tasty, which can be distinguished by an elongated and narrow mouth (in females it is round);
• the best taste is given by large specimens with a thick back and rounded sides.

It is better to refuse to buy a herring without a head (there is no way to assess the condition of the eyes and gills), or, if there is no choice, then check it with even greater care for all other points.

To cook lightly salted herring, it is better to choose fish with red iris eyes (it has a higher fat content and is best suited for making a “fur coat”). High-salt marinades are best used on lean fish with slightly cloudy pupils (among other things, this is evidence that it contains caviar).

Marinade for homemade salted herring

It will take only about a day for the fish to marinate in such a brine, although if you wish, you can leave it there for a longer period. A couple of days later, the taste and aroma will only become richer.

Ingredients:

• water - 1 l;
• table salt - 75 g;
• sugar - 0.1 kg;
• peppercorns - 8 pieces;
• laurel leaf - 3 pieces;
• cloves - 3 pieces.

Cooking time: 25 minutes (excluding 30 minutes to cool the brine and 24 hours to marinate).

Calorie content: 37 kcal.

Cooking progress:

1. Pour water into a suitable saucepan and add sugar and salt;
2. Add pepper, cloves and bay leaf;
3. Place the pan on the stove, turn on the gas, wait until the brine boils;
4. Extinguish the fire, let the liquid cool completely (this is important, since the marinade with a temperature even slightly higher than room temperature makes the herring meat mushy);
5. When the brine has cooled down, and the herring has been cleaned, washed, cut into pieces (smaller pieces are salted faster) and laid out in jars, you can start pickling;
6. Pour brine into a jar with pieces of fish (it is desirable that bay leaf, pepper and cloves also get there);
7. Close the jar with a removable lid and put it on the shelf of the refrigerator;
8. 24 hours later, you can enjoy the taste of pickled herring.

Herring in spices at home

This pickling option will require only 12 hours of exposure, and after that the product is already quite ready for use. True, the fish will be lightly salted, but perhaps this is exactly what you need.

Ingredients:

• herring fillet - 800 g;
• water - 2 l;
• shallots - 75 g;
• vinegar - 0.2 l;
• salt - 50 g;
• sugar - 150 g;
• mustard (seeds) - ½ teaspoon;
• pepper (peas) - 7 pieces;
• coriander (seeds) - ½ teaspoon;
• thyme - 5 g;
• chili pepper - 1 pod.

Cooking time: 0.5 hours (excluding 30 minutes to cool the brine and 12 hours to infuse).

Calorie content: 36 kcal.

Cooking progress:

Marinade for salted herring with vinegar

To make lightly salted herring even tastier, you can simply lightly marinate it with onions and apple cider vinegar.

Ingredients:

• slightly salted herring - 0.6 kg;
• onion - 1 piece;
• apple cider vinegar - 1 tablespoon;
• vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons;
• sugar - 2 teaspoons;
• black peppercorns - 1 teaspoon;
• seasoning (universal) - to taste;
• boiling water (chilled) - 50 ml.

Cooking time: 20 minutes (excluding 2-3 hours for pickling).

Calorie content: 202 kcal.

Cooking progress:

1. First of all, you need to prepare the herring by dividing it into parts and pulling out the bones;
2. Cut the fillet into small pieces;
3. Peel and cut the onion into rings;
4. Put onion and herring in layers in a jar, periodically sprinkling a pinch of seasonings;
5. When all the fillets are in the jar, put peppercorns on top;
6. Pour everything with vinegar, vegetable oil and boiled water;
7. Take the fillet with a spoon, sprinkle with sugar and crush again;
8. Let the fish marinate for 2-3 hours.

You can store such herring in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

How to marinate fish in tomato sauce

The sauce in which the fish is marinated is no less tasty than the herring itself. Therefore, products for it need to be especially carefully.

Ingredients:

• fresh herring (large) - 0.6 g;
• onion - 1 piece;
• water - 250 ml;
• salt - 1 tablespoon;
• sugar - 1 tablespoon;
• table vinegar (6%) - 50 ml;
• tomato paste - 150 g;
• allspice (ground) - 1 teaspoon.

Cooking time: 40 minutes (excluding 12 hours marinating).

Calories: 110 kcal.

Cooking progress:

1. Peel the herring (remove the skin, remove the offal, rinse), cut into fairly small pieces;
2. Remove the peel from the onion, cut it into half rings (note that the volume of the onion will become smaller when marinated);
3. Mix fish with onions;
4. You can start preparing the marinade: pour water (250 ml) into a saucepan, heat slightly;
5. Add salt and sugar, stir until the spices dissolve;
6. Add pepper and vinegar, wait until the brine cools down and mix it with tomato paste (the density should come out similar to ketchup);
7. Pour the sauce over the herring, mix everything (the sauce should only slightly cover the fillet pieces);
8. Let the fish brew in the refrigerator for half a day (stir occasionally).

Iwashi in sweet and sour apples

To add unusual flavors to the marinade, you can add an apple and mayonnaise to it. This taste will definitely surprise you.

Ingredients:

• apple (sweet and sour) - 1 piece;
• mayonnaise - 100 g;
• horseradish root - to taste;
• salted herring - 300 g.

Cooking time: 30 minutes (excluding 3 hours marinating).

Calorie content: 230 kcal.

Cooking progress:

1. Rinse the herring, get rid of the head, tail and fins, gut and rinse again in running water;
2. Blot excess moisture with paper towels, cut the carcass along the ridge line, remove the fillet;
3. Get rid of small bones and remove the skin;
4. Cut the fillet into small pieces;
5. Wash the apple, wipe it, cut it into two halves, remove the seeds;
6. Rinse and clean the horseradish, grate with an apple on a fine grater;
7. Combine apple and horseradish mixture in a separate cup with mayonnaise and mix thoroughly;
8. Put the fish on a dish, pour over the brine, cover with cling film;
9. Let it brew for 3-4 hours.

Fish marinated in mayonnaise

The simplest and most "at-hand" recipe, usually all the ingredients necessary for it can be found in the refrigerator in sufficient quantities on any given day.

Ingredients:

• sugar - 5 g;
• mayonnaise - 80 g;
• salt (large) - 5 g;
• vegetable oil - 30 ml;
• vinegar (table) - 40 ml;
• onion - 1 piece;
• fresh-frozen herring - 0.5 kg.

Preparation time: 40 minutes (plus 3 hours for marinating).

Calories: 217 kcal.

Cooking progress:

1. Peel the onion from the top layer, cut into rings;
2. Defrost the fish, separate the fins, tails and heads, remove the backbone and small bones;
3. Rinse the remaining fillet and cut into thin slices;
4. Mix salt, mayonnaise, sugar, oil and vinegar (to achieve the formation of a homogeneous mass);
5. Put the fish with onions in a suitable dish, pour in the marinade there, mix gently;
6. Put oppression on top of everything and let the fillet brew for three hours (at this time, remove the dish on the shelf of the refrigerator).

How to make a marinade for onions for herring

You can pickle not only the herring itself, but also the onion to it. This delicious appetizer will be enjoyed by many.

Ingredients:

• onion - 1 piece;
• sugar - ½ teaspoon;
• salt - ½ teaspoon;
• vinegar - 1 tablespoon;
• boiling water - 250 ml;
• vegetable oil - 30 ml.

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes.

Calories: 204 kcal.

Cooking progress:

1. Peel the onion, chop it into rings, pour a glass of boiling water;
2. Drain the water, salt and sweeten the rings, add vinegar;
3. After 10 minutes, pour the marinade with onions directly onto the pieces of chopped fish;
4. Before serving a treat on the table, you need to season it with vegetable oil.

A distinctive feature of this recipe is that there is no need to wait long for the herring to marinate.

When buying whole herring for pickling, please note that:

1. You will need a very well sharpened knife;
2. It will not be possible to use a wooden board for cutting, since it is simply impossible to wash the fishy smell out of it;
3. To remove the smell of fish from plastic glass surfaces, you can wipe them with fresh lemon.

These small remarks will allow you to get even more pleasure not only from the dish itself, but also from the process of its preparation.