flipPickled Herring in Vinegar and Onion (Hering in Essig)
Pickled Herring in Vinegar and Onion (Hering in Essig)
Why this dish? Pickled herring, a cheap and sustaining preserved food, was a pillar of German working-class tables and of the diaspora in London. For a family always on the brink of want like Marx's, a jar of herrings in vinegar was a precious reserve for lean days.
Herring fillets marinated for several days in vinegar with onion, bay leaf and juniper berries. Sour, salty, long-lasting — the proletarian fish par excellence.
The herring, my friend, is the fish of the proletarian: it keeps, it travels, it nourishes without ruining you. In London, in the fog, we always kept a jar in vinegar for the lean days — and God knows they were many. One of its recipes was named after that Junker Bismarck; for my part I would have preferred any other godfather, but vinegar, it ignores politics. Let it marinate three days, and it will keep you company for a whole week of lean cows.
- •Fresh herrings — half a dozen (base fish)
- •Vinegar — enough to cover (marinade, preservation)
- •Onions — two (flavor, texture)
- •Juniper berries and peppercorns — a pinch (pickling spices)
- •Bay leaves — two or three (flavor)
- •Salt and a little sugar — to hand (balance, salting)
Pickled Herring in Vinegar and Onion (Hering in Essig)
Herring fillets marinated for several days in vinegar with onion, bay leaf and juniper berries. Sour, salty, long-lasting — the proletarian fish par excellence.
Why this dish? Pickled herring, a cheap and sustaining preserved food, was a pillar of German working-class tables and of the diaspora in London. For a family always on the brink of want like Marx's, a jar of herrings in vinegar was a precious reserve for lean days.
The herring, my friend, is the fish of the proletarian: it keeps, it travels, it nourishes without ruining you. In London, in the fog, we always kept a jar in vinegar for the lean days — and God knows they were many. One of its recipes was named after that Junker Bismarck; for my part I would have preferred any other godfather, but vinegar, it ignores politics. Let it marinate three days, and it will keep you company for a whole week of lean cows.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh herrings — half a dozen (base fish)
- Vinegar — enough to cover (marinade, preservation)
- Onions — two (flavor, texture)
- Juniper berries and peppercorns — a pinch (pickling spices)
- Bay leaves — two or three (flavor)
- Salt and a little sugar — to hand (balance, salting)
Ingredients
- Fresh herring fillets (or mild-cured herring) — 6 fillets (base fish)
- White or cider vinegar — 300 ml (marinade, preservation)
- Water — 150 ml (to soften the marinade)
- Sliced red onions — 2 (flavor, texture)
- Juniper berries, peppercorns, mustard seeds — 1 tsp each (spices)
- Bay leaves — 3 (flavor)
- Salt, sugar — 1 tbsp each (balance, salting)
Method
- If using fresh herrings, fillet them, salt and let them purge for a few hours, then rinse.
- Bring the vinegar, water, salt, sugar and spices to a simmer, then let cool slightly.
- Layer the fillets in a jar alternating with onion rings and bay leaves.
- Pour the warm marinade over, seal and refrigerate for at least 3 days before eating.
- Serve cold on buttered rye bread, with boiled potatoes if you want a proper *Abendbrot*.
How it was made : Before refrigeration, salted or pickled herring was one of the main sources of cheap protein in Northern Europe. Vinegar marinade extended preservation for several days or even weeks. The famous *Bismarckhering* was popularized in Germany in the 1870s; families made herring in vinegar at home long before, as a subsistence reserve.
The contemporary twist : A touch of sour cream and dill on the herring, Scandinavian *smørrebrød* style, to transform the poor man's fish into an elegant appetizer bite.
Sources : Yvonne Kapp, Eleanor Marx (Volume I), 1972 · Gerda Möhler, Deutsche Küchengeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts (historical synthesis of German popular cuisine)
Karl Marx · Charactorium
