Sill -- Swedish pickled herring

Herring, especially pickled herring, is a social institution in Sweden. Here is my take on it.
Before you begin you may want to be familiar, process-wise, with Gravlax ( • Gravlax ) and Pizzasalad ( • Swedish Pizzasalad )
Pickled herring recipe:
=====================
for 1kg fish
Dry brine:
6T salt6T sugar1-2T black pepper, ground
Pickling brine:
500ml/2c apple cider vinegar
2T sugar2-3 large bay leaves1t or so allspice, whole2t mustard seeds
2t whole black peppercorns
1-2t juniper berries (optional)
Other elements:
1 lemon, sliced thin1 red onion, sliced thin
Fillet the fish. Layer dry brine on bottom of container,
then add layer of filets, then layer of dry brine, until all
fish and all dry brine is used up. Any remaining dry brine
can be poured over the top. Let sit in refrigerator for 8 hours.Optional step for longer-term storage: rotate fish so those on
the top end up on the bottom and leave for another 4 hours.
Remove fish and rinse, removing excess dry brine from the
surface. Set aside (can go back in fridge until ready for
pickling).
Combine pickling brine ingredients and bring to boil. Let
simmer 5 minutes and then cool down so not hot to touch.
Layer fish in jars with skin facing out. Place onion and
lemon between layers. Cover with brine. Set in fridge
for at least one day. Keeps a month or more.

[@paulcallahan3897]

Clear, straightforward no bullshit recipe. Thank you.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Thanks! Glad you like it!

[@Dr_Enoch_Metatron]

excellent presentation. perfect narration. precise directions. excellent choreography. greatly appreciated. have a great day always.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Glad you like it?

[@DavidKozinski]

Love these but were too young to learn how my grandfather did this. I have bought them forever though but will make this now that you have taught me how. I do however make my own Gravlax and can vegetables from the garden harvest. Thank you from Cleveland!

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Glad you like it!

[@cheebacheeo5876]

Heya, I made this pickled Baltic Herring - with a slight twist tho. I added some ginger and a bit of grated carrot in it. I also didn't put the fish in as a whole but cut them in slices and tossed them in the jar alternating with spices as a layers just like you did. I'm happy with the result. Well, maybe a hint of on the sour side but I like more sauer than sweet anyways. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

That sounds delicious. I also prefer more sour than sweet. Your recipe sounds like something I would try. thanks for sharing your techniques!

[@geertboer7548]

Uses the basics of your recipe lots of times, used my owm ingredients, always good. Thank you.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Thank you so much!

[@Scafys]

i did it and it came out perfect, thanks fo the recipe, now it is part of my recipe book :)

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Thank you! Glad you like it!

[@kk440635NORWAY]

Nice video. I love herring, I love to make it myself. I am norwegian, its very popular here as well as in Sweden. I love to make curry harring, tomato herring and sourcream herring 😃🐟

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Yeah, all of those are great. I also remember lingonberry herring as well. Glad you like the video. Super tak!

[@magic2066]

thx for sharing. great video.😃

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Glad you like it!

[@dummatube]

Thank you SO MUCH! All my life I have enjoyed smoked seafood and pickled fish in all forms and started to wonder how I could perhaps get into my own small levels of production and tailor my tastes (and lower my costs) to move up to the next level of fragrances and mild chili infusions. You told me everything I need to get on the right path so I have ordered a coupe of 1.5L Mason jars and am going shopping for other items. THANKS!

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Glad to hear this is helpful! Wish you the best success here. Anything I can comment on when you get started....

[@marcinm.7674]

Great video, thank you for sharing your wisdom. How long can you keep it in the fridge or outside the fridge for?

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

I have never reached the limit. The salt and acidity renders it fairly sterile and the brining keeps the fish from deteriorating. I have made batches and continued to eat them (refrigerated) a year and a half after preparation though.

[@ursus9104]

Put the fish in a sieve in the bowl will make the procedure much easier.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Not sure I understand. you mean during the dry brining?

[@ursus9104]

It’s easier to let fish dry out if you put them in the sieve so you can get rid of their water. I use the same method with Aubergine that I put in the frifge over night.

[@josepmir4530]

This is very well explained. I have seen other recipes use vinegar+water as pickling brine. Are you using pure vinegar here?

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Yeah I am using 5% acidity vinegar. Depending on the salt/sugar composition in the dry brine phase, you could probably cut it with some water.

[@sel7245]

Thank you for the video. Made some pickled herring yesterday (before watching your video). Did it a bit different. 1. Usen whole herrings 2. Brined in very salty saltwater for 3 hours (200g of salt/1L of water. 3. Brought the vinegare+ sugar and peper to a boil, before pouring it over the herring. Today I had some for breakfast. Delicious..But a few hours more brining would probably have been a +.. And cold vinegar would have been better, because Omega-3 gets destroyed vere fast by heat..Next time.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Sounds delicious. Certainly wet brining also works as you say. And a simple vinegar/pepper secondary brine sounds good. How do you eat it? With cheese and bread?

[@sel7245]

​@@WorldTravelerCooking No I eat them with a bit of onion. Due to some auto immune issues I am on a 95% cardivore diet. I can not tollerate cheese. But for some reason homemade kefir is fine..kefir. If you let it age for 3-6 days. Has a very simmilar acidity as vinegar, but much "rounder" (my base milk mix has +/- 14 % fat). So next "project" may be where I substitute the vinegar with kefir..

[@randycushman1669]

Thanks for the video! I have a couple of questions. First, do you pour the brine in hot or do you need to let it cool. Second, is there a reason not to chip the herring before you jar it? Third, can you use honey instead of sugar in the boiled brine? Thanks!

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

I let the brine cool a bit since the goal is not to cook the fish. You can chip if you wish. But it is easier to cut than incut so tty to stick with the largest size you might need. In the boiled brine, sure. about I am not sure about for the dry brine. That would require experimentation.

[@randycushman1669]

@@WorldTravelerCookingThank you!

[@mariaisabelgarciavazquez9675]

Other ones that i had seen, said tha u have to wait 5 days minimun in the fridge, that is very importy. Do u know why? Thanks

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

So I have never tried to eat them too soon, so I am not 100% sure but this is my reasoning based on experience. Ok so some things may depend on how you brine the fish. However a big change that is happening in these initial days is that the salt in the fish from brining is equalizing with the vinegar etc. So I would be concerned about them being too salty. This is also why salt herring needs to be soaked in water for 24 hours before use. Brining by the way is non-optional. If you don't brine the fish they will disintegrate during the pickling process and you will end up with a weird Nordic ceviche.

[@lk6789]

impossible to get herring where I live and I really miss my pickled herring, so I am trying with sardines. I think they are the same family, fingers crossed. Gravlax I make on a regular bases, better 'fresh' but also freezes well.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Indeed, re gravlax. In a pinch you can even male it out of frozen salmon though fresh is always better. Regarding picklimg sardines, I would love to hear how they come out! Best of luck!

[@lk6789]

@@WorldTravelerCooking After about 36hrs in the vinegar mix the pickled sardines have passed the test. Maybe a little stronger than herring but very tasty, so I will definitely be making again. I will ask for just the big ones next time, a little less work but all are good. I also rolled then similar to roll-mops.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

@@lk6789 Thanks! I might have to do something similar now that I am in Indonesia and cannot get herring!

[@josepmir4530]

Great to hear that this works with sardines! I live in Catalonia but I spent some months in Hamburg a few years ago and since then I greatly miss the pickled herring sandwiches. I will probably try to make then this week

[@janquillin1562]

As a diabetic I would prefer no sugar at all what do you think?

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Certainly you could try. My experience though as with gravlax is that it may end up unbearably salty. And if you don't brine the fish enough they will disintegrate. As someone who struggled with blood sugar control issues I don't think much sugar remains in the fish, but not knowing how much is there is certainly an issue. Because the sugar doesn't penetrate the fish as much as the salt does, you could rinse the fish thoroughly after brining, or maybe if you were trying to dry brine without sugar, remove part way through and try to air dry. I have no idea what the results would be like though.

[@ritaperazzo3545]

Thank you for the information about the dry brine,

[@adventureguy4119]

It’s good I didn’t wanna like it but I do

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Thanks!

[@stevenholton438]

Is there any chance this could keep for months and months?

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Yes. It will keep for a very long time once prepared this way. I would try to eat it within a year but I don;t even think that's a requirement. It is worth keeping in the fridge and of course traditionally as a winter food, keeping it cool enough would not have been a problem traditionally.

[@stevenholton438]

@@WorldTravelerCooking Thank you...I have mine brining overnight as we speak (SE Alaska)!

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

@@stevenholton438 Nice! Best of luck!

[@davidcummings5580]

Add a piece of Bondust Swedish Cheese (with or without caraway seed), and yes absolutely this pickled herring is **perfect**.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

Indeed the cheese goes well! Thanks!

[@RB-ik7no]

The correct name is Bond-Ost and it is a delicious cheese!@@WorldTravelerCooking

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

​@@RB-ik7no Indeed. Ost is cheese, Bond is what, farmer? So farmer's cheese?

[@michaelmaruffi662]

Why don"t you cut the herring in chunks ,much easier than rolling up 1/2 fillets.

[@WorldTravelerCooking]

You certainly can cut the herring into chunks after the dry brining stage. Fillets are far easier to work with during dry brining. I chose not to simply because it gives a little more flexibility in what to do with the herring after. You can always cut later.