Rolmop's,Bismark Herring & pickled herring

[aussiefool]

G'day all,
was talking to a fishing bubby the other day about different typs of fish we have eaten and rolmops came up. Anyway I have heard of people pickling their own herring and it got me thinking if anyone here did this and if so would you be willing to put the recipe up so I can do my own as some of the herring I get out of the tweed are huge at times.
anyway thanks to all
Aussiefool

[rando]

Gday Aussiefool
Im not sure but i think the herring you refer to are the Northern hemisphere variety and are somewhat like a sardine.

[bidkev]

Rando's correct mate. The herring are mainly caught in cold waters by drift netters and I think that nowadays the russian factory ships have the near monopoly on processing.

They are ideal for pickling because of the high oil content. Was gonna try doing a few mullet myself, as the flesh is a very similar texture and oil content. If I pull any from the Pine tomorrow, I will give it a go and let you know how it goes.

The rollmop recipe is simply herring fillets soaked in vinegar and refrigerated for a couple of days, prior to eating or jarring, with added peppercorns and onions, and the bismark (from what I learned when I was a young 'un), was similar but with an added bayleaf and sugar. There may be variations.

kev

A day for firm decisions!!!!! Or is it?

[szopen]

I am your man.

As correctly stated above all of these are made of northern hemisphere herring.
Very different fish from sardine.

This fish for hundreds of years was one of the staple fish for people living along Baltic and North Seas.

I know for a fact that you can get a very simmilar results using other fish, best if you can get your hands on some fish with as little bones as possible.

If Kev is right about mullet you can try.

What follows is maybe not the exact way they are made but belive me it will work. Impotrant thing is to start with fish as fresh as possible.

1. Scale and fillet the fish leaving skin on.
2. Salt them. Place them in a large jar and put coarse sea salt between each layer of fillets, roughly you should have 50g of salt per kg of fish.
3. Cover the jar and place it in the fridge.
4. Wait 3 days. Drain any liquid.

Now you have salted fish that is a base for further recipies.

Rollmops.

1. Mix white vinegar (6%) and water, proportions 1:3.
2. Put the mixture into a pot and throw in some sliced onions, a spoon of black poppercorns, put it on the stove and bring to a boil.
3. Take each fillet (herring fillets are about 15cm long so other fish would have to be cut to size), place it skin down on the plate, put in a quarter (cut lengthwise) of pickled cucumber, roll the fillet around it and use a toothpick to keep it together.
4. Place your rolls in a jar and pour in the hot mixture. Wait until it cools and put it in the fridge.
5. Wait 2-3 days.

Ready.

Bismarck herring.
Different mixture: winegar + water, proportions 1:5, add peppercorns, sliced onions (more than for rollmops), some bay leaves, a bit of thyme, a bit of nutmeg, a spon of sugar, bring to a boil.

Place fillets (without rolling) in a jar, pour in the mixture and put in the fridge as above.

Plenty of different pickilng mixture variations possible.

[manchild]

well done szopen you doing itv a same way as i am:) exept im using lime instead of winegar makes it somewhat more tender and assiefool if ya can get your hand on some garfish try them as well they fit for the king pickled:) cheers

[szopen]

I would say that rollmops would be a bit too far from original without vinegar but other pickling mixtures are fine with lime juice.


I might add that the salted fish that is used as a base is actually very nice as well.
This (just salted) is how most of herring was eaten over centuries.
But if salted and kept out of the fridge much more salt has to be used (200g per kg of fish) than it keeps for a very long time.

Before eating must be soaked in water for a while otherwise dreams of desert are common during the night.

[Grand_Marlin]

Please ignore my comment, but after eating Rollmops in England .... why would anyone bother [smiley=end.gif] [smiley=freak.gif]

[aussiefool]

thanks guys just what I'm after..... looks like mullet is the go then [smiley=book2.gif] [smiley=book2.gif] [smiley=chef.gif] [smiley=chef.gif]

[maztez]

When I lived in Darwin a mate of mine (a dutchman )used to make nummice or rollmops from poddy mullet . same recipe as listed previous ....yummie with a few cold tinnies ;D ;D ;D
cheers Terry

[Gorilla_in_Manila]

Don't know how to make them, but those sweeter Danish ones with the dill and onion in the mix (sildt?? spelling) should be forced into people I reckon.
Yummo! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Cheers
Jeff

[DICER]

I can't add to what szopen said .... though my missus worked in a herring packing factory in Cuxhaven, Germany. She always said the one and the same fish is packed in different labels regardless of price!! Best fish fillet always faced outwards!!!

I've eaten them here in the Netherlands, Germany and Australia. I find the best ones are not too far from where they were packed.

So I think you should definitely try making your own. Fish with reasonably fine bones will work because the bones disintergrate in the vinegar.

It is amazing to watch the guys at the market skin and fillet a herring. It's done in about 3-4 seconds. I eat them in about the same.

;D

[bidkev]

Got me mullet , now I'm just off to Coles for some vinegar. Will tell you how they go. Got a salmon as well so I may just try that too.

kev

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

[szopen]

The worst part will be waiting until it's ready. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[shaman]

talking about herring fillets, I recently purchased from Aldi some in a white garlic & herb sauce. Sensational & only about $1.40 a can. They also do them in a curry & mango sauce which is good also. I've gotta tell you the overall quality of the products I have tried from Aldi is very good and bloody cheap. some of their products are imported while the majority is locally produced (try the BBQ Shapes they kick the real ones butts at 1/2 the price).

[DICER]

I didn't know they had ALDI already in Australia - wow talk about that supermarket springing up everywhere round the world.

ALDI supermarkets, correct me if I'm wrong, originated in Germany. They are one of the cheaper supermarkets here also.

If I'm right what you're talking about is Matjes - a type of herring fillet done in that sauce you mention. I also buy them from ALDI here in the Netherlands,

[Hoges]

I didn't know they had ALDI already in Australia - wow talk about that supermarket springing up everywhere round the world.

ALDI supermarkets, correct me if I'm wrong, originated in Germany. They are one of the cheaper supermarkets here also.



Aldi set up its first two Australian stores in Marrickville and Bankstown three years ago.(2001) It now has about 56 stores, most in NSW. (2004)

Most shoppers probably know two things about Aldi supermarkets — they are from Germany and they promise “everyday low prices”.

From running their mother’s corner shop at the end of World War II, brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht today command the Aldi empire with a US$50 billion turnover and more than 6500 stores worldwide.

The Aldi chain began in 1960, then was split the next year into Karl’s Aldi Sud, covering the southern half of Germany, and the younger Theo’s Aldi Nord in the north.

Then they moved on to divvy up the world market. While over half the 6500 Aldi stores are in Germany, they can also be found in 13 countries across Europe, the USA and Australia. China is now in their sights.

Karl Albrecht is worth a staggering US $23 billion, making him one the world’s top five richest people. Theo Albrecht is only worth around US $3 billion.

[szopen]

The "matjas" herring fillets (salted and than pickled in oil with a bit of vinegar) are available in a lot of supermarkets in Oz.

[roz]

Szopen,

My newly acquired net casting skills have resulted in some very unlucky mullet coming my way, soooo....... I am gunna give it a go!! as I also love those sorts of things, particularly if Dicer gives it the thumbs up.

I am surprised (baldyhead) hasn't jumped onto this, he was after similar recipes a while back.

roz

[szopen]

Cooking, preparing and eating food is one of the most important things in my life so I can usually help with related questions.

I have also been working in food maufacturing for quite some time.
(Ice cream plant at the moment).

Good luck with the mullet.