Ingredients
Herring and sprat (fresh)
Other Names: Herring: Ammassassuaq (Greenlandic); arenque (Portuguese, Spanish); aringa (Italian); Atlanticheskaya seld (Russian); hareng (French); haring (Dutch); hering (German); nishin (Japanese); régha (Greece); ringa (Turkish); sild (Danish, Norwegian); sledz (Polish). Sprat: Breitling (German); espadín (Spanish); esprot (French); nishi-no-rui (Japanese); papalina (Italian). Clupeidae.
General Description: Herring (Clupea harengus_) are one of the world’s most important fish, especially in northern Europe. The small, iridescent herring are enjoyed worldwide fresh, cured, pickled, smoked, or for their roe. The humble herring was once important enough to determine the fate of empires: The powerful German and Scandivanian Hanseatic League collapsed in the fifteenth century when the lucrative fish stopped spawning in the Baltic Sea. Treaties worth millions of dollars were negotiated for herring rights in the New World. There are two types of commercially significant herring: The Atlantic herring (C. harengus_) and Pacific herring (C. harengus pallasi). Sprat (Sprattus sprattus) are smaller, closely related fish.
Locale and Season: The best fresh herring are available in spring and summer, just before spawning. Herring are found in
colder waters of the western and eastern Atlantic.
Characteristics: Fresh herring have deep green coloring along their backs and bright silvery scales that slide off easily.
They are bony with off-white, soft, rich meat; they average less than 2 pounds. Small herring are rich and delicate in flavor; large herring are coarse and oilier. They are sold whole. Yield is 45 percent.
How to Choose: Choose bright herring with firm bellies. The higher the fat content, the more flavor.
Storage: Herring are highly perishable. Store on ice, refrigerated, up to 2 days.
Preparation:
Slit open along the belly from the head nearly to the tail, pulling out the head, guts, and backbone, but leaving the tail in place to hold the fish together.
Grill, pan-fry, bake, hot-smoke, or broil.
Suggested Recipe: Baked Herring with Mustard (serves 4): Combine 3 tablespoons oil with 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 finely chopped onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over 2 pounds herring fillets and marinate 1 hour refrigerated. Place herring in an oiled baking dish and broil 20 minutes or until the fish flakes, turning it
halfway through.
Flavor Affinities: Allspice, bacon, bay leaf, butter, coriander seed, cream, dill, garlic, mustard, onion, parsley, potato, soy sauce, sugar, tarragon, vinegar, white wine.
from Quirk Books: www.quirkbooks.com
