Pickled herring is a very tasty and healthy dish. You can also cook it at home. In doing so, it is recommended to take into account some of the secrets of professional chefs.
Herring is one of the most delicious and healthy types of fish. Moreover, this product is relatively inexpensive, which makes it quite popular with modern consumers.
Herring has a very high nutritional value. It is rich in vitamins A, E, PP, phosphorus, calcium, copper and other valuable minerals. It contains a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, most of which are essential.
There are many ways to cook herring, but salting and pickling are especially popular. In modern supermarkets, you can buy ready-made pickled fish, but, as a rule, it contains various harmful food additives and preservatives. This is one of the reasons for cooking pickled herring on your own, especially since this is quite simple to do.
Before starting cooking, the fish must be cut. To do this, rinse it, open the abdominal cavity, remove the insides, then cut off the head and tail fin. Next, you need to make deep longitudinal cuts along the ridge and carefully remove the fillets from the rib bones. After that, you need to remove large bones from the fillet, remove the skin and cut it into pieces about 2 centimeters thick.
When choosing herring in the store, you should give preference to rather large fish. It has a richer flavor due to its high fat content.
To prepare the marinade, pour a glass of water into a small saucepan or iron bowl, add 5 tablespoons of wine vinegar, half a teaspoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 10 black peppercorns and a pinch of coriander seeds. The resulting mixture should be heated until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved in it, but not brought to a boil.
If desired, you can add a few allspice peas or bay leaves to the marinade. Ready-to-use spice mixes are also available in modern supermarkets.
For pickling, you can also use ordinary table vinegar, but with apple cider vinegar, the fish turns out to be more tender, acquires a richer taste. When buying this product in a store, it is recommended to pay attention to its composition. Often, a product is marketed, which is a diluted vinegar essence with the addition of apple flavor and dyes.
The prepared herring should be washed with cold water, placed in a jar in rows. Between the rows should be laid onions, cut into half rings. For 2 medium-sized herring, 2-3 medium-sized onions are needed.
Pour the marinade into a jar with pieces of fish and onions and cover it with a lid.
Allow the marinade to cool slightly before pouring. It doesn't have to be hot. It is best to use a marinade at room temperature.
The dishes should be refrigerated for 3 days. After this time, the herring will be completely ready for consumption. It can be served both as a snack and as an addition to boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or vegetables.
