Home-made herring has a taste that cannot be compared to a store product. Frozen fish can also be cooked at home and will not taste much different from fresh fish.
Taste preferences are different for all people, and therefore choosing a herring in the store is a rather tedious task. In addition, the freshness of store fish and the naturalness of the marinade are often questioned. To avoid eating low-quality fish, you can cook pickled herring at home. There are three main ways to pickle frozen herring at home: spicy and dry pickling, and soaking in brine.
Spicy salted herring
Spicy salted herring is prepared for further serving in its pure form: it is cut into small pieces and spread on a plate, garnished with fresh herbs and onions. For salting, you will need one thawed herring, a liter of water, 1.5 teaspoons of sugar, 100 grams of salt, 10 grains of allspice and black pepper, as well as several bay leaves.
First of all, you need to remove the gills from the herring, so that in the future the fish does not taste bitter. Next, you need to boil a liter of water, then pour salt, sugar and spices into the water. After adding the spices, you need to bring the water to a boil again and cool the finished brine. Herring is laid out in it, after which the container with fish is placed in a dark and cool place. After 24 hours, the fish can be cleaned and served.
Dry salting method
To prepare dry salted herring, you need one freshly frozen herring, a teaspoon of sugar, 1.5 teaspoons of salt, black pepper, bay leaf and cloves.
Before starting cooking, you need to cut off the head of the herring, clean the insides and remove the gills. Then the fish is washed and dried from excess moisture using paper towels. When the fish is prepared for salting, you need to mix salt, sugar and 0.5 teaspoon of ground pepper in a separate container. Next, the herring is thoroughly rubbed with the resulting mixture, and several bay leaves and clove twigs are put inside the fish. After the entire procedure, the fish must be wrapped in a plastic bag and placed in a cool place. After 1-2 days, the fish is washed from the remaining spices and is considered ready for serving. This method of salting is good because it takes less time to cook, and the resulting herring can be either served neat or added to various dishes.
Soaking fish in brine
Herring in brine is prepared in a similar way to the herring that is sold in stores. For cooking, you will need: 4-5 freshly frozen herring, a pack of salt, 3 liters of water, allspice, cloves and bay leaves.
To prepare a brine solution, it is necessary to heat the water to 60-70 ° C, then add salt and mix the liquid thoroughly. When the salt stops dissolving and just settles to the bottom, you can add spices in any amount. When the brine has cooled, they need to pour over the herring and leave for an hour and a half in a warm room. Next, the container with fish is placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This recipe is only suitable for quality fish that does not have external damage. If the skin of the herring is broken, the fish will absorb too much salt and the taste will be spoiled.
