German Brathering etc.

I have quite a few recipes for “Brathering” Pronouced brat –hering

Some are for rolled, some are for fillets, but this is one of the most common and is very easy to make!

For 4 people and it can be made well in advance, keeps well, best with a nice bitter North German Pils like Flensburg or Bittburger from the Eifel

Ingredients

8 fresh herring

Salt to season

4 desert spoons of flour

2 large onions cut into rings

50 grm of mustard seeds

About 10 pepper corns

1 large bay leaf

1 desert spoon of salt

250ml vinegar (white 10%)

250 ml water

2 desert spoons of fat or oil for frying.

To Prepare


Gut, trim de-head and clean the fish

Dry and rub with salt

Now dredge in flour making sure all the fish is covered.

Fry in the fat at a high heat so that they get a nice golden brown.

Do them two at a time if your pan is not large enough.

Carefully remove from the pan and keep warm in a single layer in a large dish.
While the fish are cooking make the marinade
Put the water in a saucepan

With the onions, peppercorns, bay leaf, salt and mustard seeds.

Bring to the boil after a couple of minutes add the vinegar

Bring to the boil and immediately remove from the heat

Let it cool a little and then pour over the herring to cover.

Let the fish fully cool down in the marinade, they can now be eaten but they taste a lot better if you leave them in the marinade for at least 3 days, this allows the marinade to soak right into the fish. If the fish are really large leave them another day or two. If they are kept covered and stored in a cool place they will keep at least two weeks.

You would eat these with new potatoes (Pellkartoffeln) with melted butter poured over them or my favourite fried potatoes with smoked bacon pieces and onions(Bratkartoffeln mit speck und Zweibeln) and a cucumber/dill salad (gurkensalat).

I had my first two as a light lunch with toast (I had not Pumpernickel a great addition)

Gurkensalat


1 cucumber, skinned

1 onion

4 desert spoons of Greek yogurt

3 desert spoons of white wine vinegar

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Pinch of sugar

3 desert spoons of sunflower oil

1 bunch of dill


Peel and cut very fine (on a mandolin is best) the cucumber. Add the onion finely sliced. Mix the yogurt, vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper and oil together in a salad bowl. Wash the dill shake dry chop fine and mix in with the sauce, add cucumber and onion. Serve with the herring as a side dish.

guten Appetit

Cheers

Dick