I am never, ever making this (because I am lazy) but I would definitely eat the living daylights out of it, which I suppose is a terrible turn of phrase considering that the herring is necessarily bereft of life and the dish has been prepared in a place where actual daylight will soon enough become a precious commodity.
I’m digging this and I look forward to making it. It’s pretty different from anything I’ve ever tried, and I’m intrigued by the deep dive into details and cooking philosophy.
I really like the way you laid this recipe out so clearly, layer by layer. I like most pickled fish, including some herring that I've had, though I haven't had much of it. I adore sarde in saor, the Venetian preparation of sweet & sour marinated sardines. Not quite pickled, but close.
Thanks a lot, Domenica. I went back and forth about how to structure this nicely, so I'm really glad you liked that part of it. I will also definitely look up sarde in saor!
This sounds fantastic, and I adore matjes herring. Do you know the acidity percentage of the ettika? I have a very strong white vinegar at 10% acidity; most white and apple cider vinegars sold in the US are around 5%. Wondering where to aim.
Sep 21, 2023·edited Sep 21, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie
Fantastic, thanks.
I usually pickle my onions in the 5% stuff so I look forward to playing around with doing so using the "cleaning vinegar" as the label on the bottle calls it.
Ha! It's just a high-test grain alcohol vinegar, nothing else but water in it according to the label. I've pickled burdock root with it before and failed to die, so I feel I have a sporting chance with the onions.
I grew up eating and loving the Ashkenazi Jewish version of pickled herring in wine sauce, so this recipe sounds very interesting. Pickled onions and beets are also familiar flavors and, along with vinegar, are tastes that still make me salivate.
I've always struggled with sour cream — I never liked it as a child, but as an adult I want to learn to enjoy every type of food. After all, I conquered a strong dislike of feta cheese — I used to call it fetid cheese — to nowadays wishing that I could have feta with every meal!
However, when I moved to Texas in 1979 I discovered two cuisines, both of which became lifelong loves: Mexican and Tex-Mex foods. They both feature sour cream, and when I eat those recipes I MUST have sour cream with them!
I have yet to meet a potato salad or egg dish that I don't love. Fresh dill, fronds and stems, is a favorite among herbs; I love strong flavors, and I love dill in Greek and Mediterranean/Middle Eastern dishes.
But I am completely ignorant of all Scandinavian cuisines ... except for the ubiquitous (and probably nothing like it's namesake) Swedish Meatballs served at every IKEA store restaurant. I love the idea of cloudberries, and of fruits with meats in all sorts of recipes, this again going back to my Ashkenazi roots.
So this recipe, combining foodstuffs that I already love with some that I WANT to love, is a recipe that I must make for myself.
Tell me, do you have any suggestions on how to prepare caviar, other than the usual? I've just bought 150 grams of Beluga and Kaluga and perhaps this is the kind of recipe that makes an interesting base for a caviar sauce (with the brown butter, perhaps?).
I apologize for the length of this tl;dr comment, but you've really struck a chord — in a positive way — with me.
You know, I think this comment is more interesting than my original post. I rathe like Ikea meatballs but, you're right, they get much better than that. If you're ever in Stockholm there is a restaurant called Tranan that serves legendary meatballs. They keep them "off menu" and you need to ask for them but they are so good everyone knows about them.
Great question about caviar. I absolutely can make a recommendation. We eat a lot of fish eggs in Sweden and Finland, but much more vendace roe than beluga. One very popular dish comes to mind of roasted celeriac in a brown butter sauce topped with caviar. Another, simpler way I like to eat caviar is on roasted (ideally fermented) potatoes with pickled cucumbers and sour cream. Let me know what you think. Id be happy to share the recipe for either of those.
Please share both of those recipes! I'm thinking of confiting (poaching) small potatoes, sliced, in butter/schmaltz/duck fat and topping with caviar and the usual crème fraîche mixed with minced chives and shallots. But that's just so ordinary. Both of your dishes sound fantastic.
Since reading your herring post, I've been learning about herring. I didn't know that kippers — a most excellent delicacy usually part of our weekend breakfast spread — are smoked herring! And sardines are herrings, too! Or am I wrong? Because I love all of those fish.
I believe that your potato mille-feuille would be fantastic with caviar and/or smoked salmon. I'll try the drained sour cream, too. It's just like making labneh from yogurt, easy and delicious.
P.S. I'll hopefully be able to become a paying member next month. Your matjes herring post bowled me over. This month, I went nuts and bought caviar and black truffles! And more yarn lol!
Sep 21, 2023·edited Sep 21, 2023Liked by Wil Reidie
Oh wow, sounds amazing! Now I need to find matjes herring. You’d think, with France being so geographically close to Finland that things like that would be easier, but the two are worlds apart cuisine-wise. But being expat-y, I’ve learned to be creative, so I’ll figure out a way to either make or buy what I need. I am at least somewhat familiar with the taste of pickled herring as my dad used to eat it straight from the jar. That was his way of remembering the pickled fish his mom used to make for him growing up in Minnesota. Which I think was based on a recipe *her* mom used to make, having some Nordic ancestry. Heh, long comment, but it comes full circle. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely report back when I make my own (probably altered to accommodate provision availability).
Minnesota huh, theres a big Finnish community that ended up there. I think some of my wife's ancestry settled there... And thanks for the comment! Personally I prefer long ones.
I am never, ever making this (because I am lazy) but I would definitely eat the living daylights out of it, which I suppose is a terrible turn of phrase considering that the herring is necessarily bereft of life and the dish has been prepared in a place where actual daylight will soon enough become a precious commodity.
Sir, this is a Wendy's.
I’m digging this and I look forward to making it. It’s pretty different from anything I’ve ever tried, and I’m intrigued by the deep dive into details and cooking philosophy.
Thanks. Getting a sense of the details and layers was important to me with this one.
Not a fan of herring, but big fan of this recipe! It reminds me of shuba salad. I usually try to eat everything but the herring in that lol.
I bet this would be nice with some chunky hot smoked fish. Salmon or mackerel would be good.
Yum yum. That sounds delish.
I really like the way you laid this recipe out so clearly, layer by layer. I like most pickled fish, including some herring that I've had, though I haven't had much of it. I adore sarde in saor, the Venetian preparation of sweet & sour marinated sardines. Not quite pickled, but close.
Thanks a lot, Domenica. I went back and forth about how to structure this nicely, so I'm really glad you liked that part of it. I will also definitely look up sarde in saor!
This sounds fantastic, and I adore matjes herring. Do you know the acidity percentage of the ettika? I have a very strong white vinegar at 10% acidity; most white and apple cider vinegars sold in the US are around 5%. Wondering where to aim.
Great question. My ettika is 10% so you're spot on. The wine/cider vinegar recipe variant I gave accounted for about 5 % strength.
Fantastic, thanks.
I usually pickle my onions in the 5% stuff so I look forward to playing around with doing so using the "cleaning vinegar" as the label on the bottle calls it.
Haha, let's just make sure I'm not encouraging you to poison yourself. Im sure you know what you're doing though.
Ha! It's just a high-test grain alcohol vinegar, nothing else but water in it according to the label. I've pickled burdock root with it before and failed to die, so I feel I have a sporting chance with the onions.
Failing to die is my test an ingredient is ok as well. We should start a high-stakes club or something.
I grew up eating and loving the Ashkenazi Jewish version of pickled herring in wine sauce, so this recipe sounds very interesting. Pickled onions and beets are also familiar flavors and, along with vinegar, are tastes that still make me salivate.
I've always struggled with sour cream — I never liked it as a child, but as an adult I want to learn to enjoy every type of food. After all, I conquered a strong dislike of feta cheese — I used to call it fetid cheese — to nowadays wishing that I could have feta with every meal!
However, when I moved to Texas in 1979 I discovered two cuisines, both of which became lifelong loves: Mexican and Tex-Mex foods. They both feature sour cream, and when I eat those recipes I MUST have sour cream with them!
I have yet to meet a potato salad or egg dish that I don't love. Fresh dill, fronds and stems, is a favorite among herbs; I love strong flavors, and I love dill in Greek and Mediterranean/Middle Eastern dishes.
But I am completely ignorant of all Scandinavian cuisines ... except for the ubiquitous (and probably nothing like it's namesake) Swedish Meatballs served at every IKEA store restaurant. I love the idea of cloudberries, and of fruits with meats in all sorts of recipes, this again going back to my Ashkenazi roots.
So this recipe, combining foodstuffs that I already love with some that I WANT to love, is a recipe that I must make for myself.
Tell me, do you have any suggestions on how to prepare caviar, other than the usual? I've just bought 150 grams of Beluga and Kaluga and perhaps this is the kind of recipe that makes an interesting base for a caviar sauce (with the brown butter, perhaps?).
I apologize for the length of this tl;dr comment, but you've really struck a chord — in a positive way — with me.
You know, I think this comment is more interesting than my original post. I rathe like Ikea meatballs but, you're right, they get much better than that. If you're ever in Stockholm there is a restaurant called Tranan that serves legendary meatballs. They keep them "off menu" and you need to ask for them but they are so good everyone knows about them.
Great question about caviar. I absolutely can make a recommendation. We eat a lot of fish eggs in Sweden and Finland, but much more vendace roe than beluga. One very popular dish comes to mind of roasted celeriac in a brown butter sauce topped with caviar. Another, simpler way I like to eat caviar is on roasted (ideally fermented) potatoes with pickled cucumbers and sour cream. Let me know what you think. Id be happy to share the recipe for either of those.
thanks again for reading.
Please share both of those recipes! I'm thinking of confiting (poaching) small potatoes, sliced, in butter/schmaltz/duck fat and topping with caviar and the usual crème fraîche mixed with minced chives and shallots. But that's just so ordinary. Both of your dishes sound fantastic.
Since reading your herring post, I've been learning about herring. I didn't know that kippers — a most excellent delicacy usually part of our weekend breakfast spread — are smoked herring! And sardines are herrings, too! Or am I wrong? Because I love all of those fish.
I believe that your potato mille-feuille would be fantastic with caviar and/or smoked salmon. I'll try the drained sour cream, too. It's just like making labneh from yogurt, easy and delicious.
Holy potatoes! Yes thats a good combo. Very nice idea. Please let me know if you ever try it!!
P.S. I'll hopefully be able to become a paying member next month. Your matjes herring post bowled me over. This month, I went nuts and bought caviar and black truffles! And more yarn lol!
You're very kind. Thanks for the support.
Great post! I love explanation in terms of layers.
Oh wow, sounds amazing! Now I need to find matjes herring. You’d think, with France being so geographically close to Finland that things like that would be easier, but the two are worlds apart cuisine-wise. But being expat-y, I’ve learned to be creative, so I’ll figure out a way to either make or buy what I need. I am at least somewhat familiar with the taste of pickled herring as my dad used to eat it straight from the jar. That was his way of remembering the pickled fish his mom used to make for him growing up in Minnesota. Which I think was based on a recipe *her* mom used to make, having some Nordic ancestry. Heh, long comment, but it comes full circle. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely report back when I make my own (probably altered to accommodate provision availability).
You can buy herring online in many preparations, including matjes herring.
Minnesota huh, theres a big Finnish community that ended up there. I think some of my wife's ancestry settled there... And thanks for the comment! Personally I prefer long ones.
Excellent