Herring

Common Name:

Atlantic herring, Pacific herring, sardine

Product Information:

Fresh herring ranges from delicately flavored small fish to larger fish with a fuller, “oilier” flavor. Otherwise, flavor and texture depend on how the herring has been prepared — whether pickled, smoked or salted.Fresh, whole herring should be bright with hard bellies. Scales are large, loosely attached and cover the entire body. The meat of fresh herring is off-white and soft; sardines range from light to dark brown, with small bones visible; kippers are clear, light meat without bones.

Cooking Tips:

Though fresh herring can be cooked in nearly any fashion except poaching or steaming, it’s rare to find well-handled fresh product in the United States. Most of the herring eaten here is in canned, pickled or smoked form. Because of the high oil content, herring is a good candidate for smoking, and the fish’s soft meat firms up if pickled in brine. The Scots fry fresh herring, rolling it in coarse oatmeal first.

Cooking Methods: