i bought a smoked herring today at the market - kipper like, flat and ready to go - but, my own fault, i was chatting to someone further down the queue, and i've actually bought a WHOLE SMOKED HERRING...
um, what do you do? shall i gut it and make a couple of fillets? or perhaps gut it and BBQ it?
it looks lovely i might add!
x merci b
Bruce, Bruce, how could you so malign one of my ex-students? Come to think of it, you missed a point - you really have to like the smell (of sanctimony) ;-)
Kippers reminded me of Nick Clegg......Two faced and gutless!
I miss bloaters, and especially the roe. Lucky you!
thank you all SO MUCH - great ideas... after a bit of head scratching, a trawl online and a an email from a friend in whitby - all agreed it was a BLOATER i had bought - not a kipper... a herring that has been lightly smoked whole, so it's less smokey but more 'gamey'
jane grigson says...
cut off the head, tail and fins,
slash the belly and remove the roe and anything else you don't fancy (easy - no skill required)
three slashes on each side, butter and pepper, cover with foil and in a medium oven for 10-15 mins
it was delicious! much milder, more delicate than a kipper - not something for a dinner party, but for supper in front of the tv - fantastic.
AND, i made a pate (thanks Sarah C) from the roe and leftover meat...
I have found it, strangely enough in Intermarché in Lalinde! But yes, the proper haddie is by far the best.
It would be nice to see undyed smoked Haddock. Our French friends are still buying the bright yellow stuff.
Ask nicely and we may invite you over to take a bowl sometime! ;-)
Oh Cullen Skink too delicious and fun to explain it doesn't actually contain real skinks
Yes, an excellent pâté at that.
Fishcakes! Or it makes a fine pâté too!
...and great fortune is that they are quite easy to find. Leclerc, Grand Frais and my favourite market fishmonger all have them and the latter told me that far more French people buy them than Anglais. Such good taste! Now how do I get a breakfast kipper followed by toast and marmalade lined up?
Vous avez raison Véronique.
Look up a recipe for Cullen Skink, that is the supreme soup. Purists will say you need a finnan haddie but there is no good reason why smoked herring should not be used instead of the haddock shown in most recipes. I have done it often. I have had many comments and enquiries about this from people I gave it to, including French folk. So must be good.
Kipper for breakfast is a great joy. Kipper for breakfast prepared by someone else is the only thing better.
Herring whether split and smoked;kippers;harengs fumés or unsplit and smoked bloaters;bouffis are hot smoked so are already cooked. You could put them in an ovenproof dish and cover with boiling water to reheat them which is the traditional English way or lightly grill them whether kipper or bloater.I quite like them lightly reheated in the oven.
You can have it in a potato salad - boil up some new potatoes, peel them & cut them up. Chop up a small onion & chuck in with the potatoes, make some vinaigrette & add that, then your herring cut up in bite-size bits. Stir it around a bit, eat lukewarm.