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Pickled herring

Fish & seafood · Preserved fish

Pickled herring

Herring fillets cured in vinegar, salt or brine; eaten cold with potatoes, onions, sour cream or on rye.

Also called: marinated herring, matjes, sill, silke, śledź, seledka, herring fillets in brine

Around the world: inlagd sill (sv) · marineeritud räim, heeringas (et) · śledź (pl) · seledka (ru)

A kind of fish

2 recipes with it

Photo: Kagor, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

Pickled herring is raw herring cured in a vinegar or salt brine, often with onions, sugar and spices. Scandinavian sill comes in many flavours (mustard, dill, onion); Dutch matjes is young, mildly salted herring. The cure firms the flesh without cooking it.

How it’s used

  • Smörgåsbord and Midsummer plates with new potatoes
  • Herring on rye with onion and dill
  • Polish śledź w śmietanie (in sour cream)
  • Russian 'herring under a fur coat' salad

Characteristics

Taste
Sweet-sour, salty and briny.
Texture
Firm yet tender.
When cooked
Served cold; it is not cooked.
Sold as
cured
Cooking uses
Usually eaten raw

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep jars in the fridge and use within the time given on the label once opened, keeping fish under the brine.

Diet, allergens and safety

Contains Fish. May contain Mustard, Sulphites — check the label.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Contains fish, a common allergen.
  • May contain mustard and sulphites.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
262 kcal
Protein
14.19 g
Carbohydrate
9.64 g
Fat
18 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
7.71 g

USDA FoodData Central: Fish, herring, Atlantic, pickled.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

Related ingredients

Recipes with pickled herring

More preserved fish