Śledź marynowany — marinated herring with onions
Herring fillets long-desalted then marinated in vinegar with onions, bay leaf, and allspice, all bound with a drizzle of oil. Salty, sharp, honest — the quintessential Polish zakąska.
Herring fillets long-desalted then marinated in vinegar with onions, bay leaf, and allspice, all bound with a drizzle of oil. Salty, sharp, honest — the quintessential Polish zakąska.
Do not disdain the herring: it has fed more Polish families than all the roasts in the world. We bought it salted, by the barrel, and it kept for months — a treasure for those who counted their pennies as we did. The secret is patience: you must let it desalt in water, sometimes in milk, changing the bath several times, otherwise it will burn your mouth. Then, onions in thin slices, vinegar, a bay leaf, and you wait a whole day. On the Wigilia table, it was always the first thing we brought to our lips.
- •Salted herring in brine — a few (preserved fish)
- •Milk or water — for desalting (removes excess salt)
- •Onions — several (marinade garnish)
- •Vinegar — a little (acidity and preservation)
- •Bay leaf, allspice, pepper — a few (aromatics)
- •Oil — a drizzle (binds and softens)
Śledź marynowany — marinated herring with onions
Herring fillets long-desalted then marinated in vinegar with onions, bay leaf, and allspice, all bound with a drizzle of oil. Salty, sharp, honest — the quintessential Polish zakąska.
Why this dish? Salted barrel herring was the cheap, long-lasting protein of Central European families, and śledź — desalted then marinated in vinegar and onion — appeared both on the meatless Wigilia table and among the zakąski of grand occasions. In a modest family like the Skłodowskis, struck by Russian confiscations, this preserved fish represented safe, economical, and identifiably Polish food.
Do not disdain the herring: it has fed more Polish families than all the roasts in the world. We bought it salted, by the barrel, and it kept for months — a treasure for those who counted their pennies as we did. The secret is patience: you must let it desalt in water, sometimes in milk, changing the bath several times, otherwise it will burn your mouth. Then, onions in thin slices, vinegar, a bay leaf, and you wait a whole day. On the Wigilia table, it was always the first thing we brought to our lips.
Ingredients (period version)
- Salted herring in brine — a few (preserved fish)
- Milk or water — for desalting (removes excess salt)
- Onions — several (marinade garnish)
- Vinegar — a little (acidity and preservation)
- Bay leaf, allspice, pepper — a few (aromatics)
- Oil — a drizzle (binds and softens)
Ingredients
- Salted herring fillets (matjes or brine-cured) — 400 g (base)
- Milk — enough to cover (gentle desalting)
- Onions — 2 large (garnish)
- White or cider vinegar — 4 tbsp (acidity)
- Water — 4 tbsp (softens marinade)
- Bay leaf + allspice + peppercorns — 2 + 5 + 6 (aromatics)
- Neutral oil — 5 tbsp (binding)
- Sugar — 1 tsp (balances acidity)
Method
- Soak herring fillets in milk in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, changing the bath once, to desalt.
- Drain, pat dry, and cut fillets into bite-sized pieces.
- Slice onions very thinly; blanch them for 30 seconds, then refresh in cold water to soften their bite.
- Mix vinegar, water, sugar, bay leaf, allspice, and pepper for the marinade.
- In a jar, layer herring and onions, pour in the marinade, then add oil to cover.
- Close and marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving, with rye bread and, if desired, warm potatoes.
How it was made : Barrel salting was, along with drying and lacto-fermentation, one of the pillars of preservation before industrial refrigeration. Herring from the Baltic and North Seas traveled salted to the heart of the continent; it was desalted in water or milk before each preparation. It was the fish of Lent, of meatless Fridays, and of Wigilia.
The contemporary twist : Serve the herring bites on small slices of buttered rye bread, topped with marinated onion and a dot of cream: a zakąska transformed into an elegant, very Nordic appetizer bite.
Sources : Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa, 365 obiadów, Warsaw, 1860 (preparations of salted herring) · Maria Lemnis & Henryk Vitry, W staropolskiej kuchni (zakąski and Wigilia table)
Marie Curie · Charactorium