Fried herring is a classic dish in the North Carolina and Virginia coastal areas and the dish brings back memories of hard times for many like my grandfather who relied on herring, cabbage, and potatoes pretty heavily during the Great Depression and World War II. Fried salt herring is one of my husband’s favorite foods. Herring is an oily fish, containing many essential nutrients and healthy fatty acids. Its nutritional value and fat content are at their highest just before the spawning season. Herring is usually caught when it contains the minimum of 16 % of fat.
Salting is a traditional way to preserve fish and herring is often salted because it spoils very rapidly. In Europe, salted herring is most often associated with Scandinavia, where it has been a traditional part of the diet for centuries. Salt Herring played a major role in the destiny of Europe. By the 12th century, it was a staple of the European diet and helped prevent starvation in those beleaguered cities during war time.
Salted herring contains about 12 – 14% salt. Before consuming, the cured herring is soaked to remove the excess salt. After this, it is ready to be used in various dishes, either raw or cooked. Nowadays, also lightly salted cured herring is available, being ready to use without soaking. Thus the water-soluble healthy fatty acids and nutrients are maintained in the fish and will not be lost during soaking. Although called lightly salted, this type of herring still contains a considerable amount of salt, about 6 – 7%.
Fried herring could be considered an acquired taste due to the strong fish flavor as well as the bony presentation. Many cooks in America are confused about what to do with salted herring because they aren’t familiar with the salting process but all that is required is to soak the fish in fresh water overnight and then cook. In my home, at my husband’s insistence, salt herring is always served with fresh from the oven biscuits. When my son was small, my husband taught him to take a bite of herring and then a bite of biscuit – and that’s the way they still enjoy it today.
Salt herring fillets are available in most grocery stores in the seafood section and are normally sold by the jar or in 5 gallon buckets. These are the easiest to prepare as you aren’t required to fillet the fish yourself. To fillet a whole herring, cut the gutted herring in half from head to tail along the backbone. Remove the skin by pulling it off the flesh. Remove the backbone and the smaller bones — note that it is almost impossible to remove the thinnest and smallest of the bones, which are quite soft and are simply eaten along with the fish. Use the cleansed fillets whole.
Fried Salt Herring
Ingredients:
- Herring Fillets
- ½ cup Cornmeal
- ½ cup all purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
Place herring fillets in a large glass bowl and cover with cold water. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, drain off the water and refill bowl to cover fillets. Return to refrigerator until ready to cook.
Drain water from fillets.
In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat until almost smoking.
In a large, shallow dish combine the flour and cornmeal together and mix until thoroughly combined.
Dredge the drained fillets in the flour/cornmeal mixture and add to the skillet skin side down. Cook until crisp and golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and place on a dish covered with paper towels to drain.
Serve while warm.
Savor! West Virginia 