Learn how to make this wonderful red herring dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Smoked red herring that is lightly seasoned and cooked up with herbs and spices. Definitely a must try for seafood lovers!
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In case you missed it, I previously posted a Jamaican red herring recipe called Solomon Gundy I recommend you check that one out.
Anyway, smoked herring, it's a true game changer and a totally contrast to regular herring.
If you are someone who likes strong, bold, smoky flavours then this recipe shouldn't be missed.
Smoked red herring plays a crucial role in the Caribbean culture because it has that savoury smoky and salty punch to it.
Similar to how Saltfish is adored by the islands, both herring and saltfish pair very well with a variety of dishes.
This type of fish can be served in the morning, noon or evening for dinner that's the type of versatility red herring has to offer.
Cooked up with spices, herbs and vegetables, definitely a dish that will impress your guests.
As smoked red herring tends to be very salty and we want to keep our sodium levels to a minimum I highly recommend soaking the fish for several hours or overnight and even boiling it (this is optional and to your preference).
Just like saltfish this will remove the excess salt content and all you need to do is de-bone and flake the fish before using it.
I like to cook up red herring with some sauteed greens, coconut dumpling and wash it down with some fruit infused water.
The definition and the history
Smoked red herring is made from a whole fish or fillets.
The fish is heavily salted, hung and then laid on top of racks to be heavily smoked for a number of hours, days or even weeks.
The smoking process is crucial because it creates that red hue as well as curing the herring.
The practice of curing meat or fish isn't new, in fact it goes back to thousands of years.
Many communities would smoke their meat because they believed it would be a great way to preserve their produce.
The concept of a refrigerator either didn't exist or depending on the time, were scarce so desperate times called for desperate measures.
Ingredients you will need
- Red herring - Smoked herring has a red hue and is typically cured. This is the type that you will need for this recipe, fillets are much easier to work with but whole fish works too.
- Olive oil - For sauteing the ingredients
- Onion/garlic/bell peppers - These are the base ingredients.
- Tomato and tomato puree - This gives the fish some moisture without having to depend on adding a splash of water.
- Seafood seasoning - I like to use my homemade version of this.
- Thyme/chadon beni/black pepper - This is also additional seasoning to enhance the flavour.
- Smoked paprika - This compliments the existing smokiness.
- Scotch bonnet - For heat.
The steps
- Place the red herring in a large bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Leave to soak for 1-2 hours or overnight to rid the salt content and to make the herring softer. During the given time, you can change the water a few times (use boiling water each time) to rid the excess salt to your desire.
- When you are ready to use the herring, drain off and rinse with cold water.
- Place the herring in a medium sized sauce and de-bone and break into small pieces, if you are using whole fish make sure to get remove the skin too.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan/skillet on medium heat.
- Saute the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Add the bell peppers and proceed to cook until they are soft (this will take a few minutes).
- Add the tomato, tomato puree, chadon beni, thyme, seafood seasoning, smoked paprika, black pepper and scotch bonnet then stir and cook for a few minutes.
- Fold in the red herring and continue to cook for 5 minutes until it is heated through.
- After the given time, do a taste test and add pink salt, if needed.
Notes and tips
- It is very important to use boiled water and not cold as this will remove the excess salt content quicker and soften the fish at the same time.
- Keep an eye on the saltiness of the herring, change the way as frequent as needed. You can even boil the herring for 10-15 minutes after soaking it.
- It is virtually impossible to find smoked herring that isn't salted and I don't have a alternative solution (just yet).
- Any leftovers should be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- This recipe should be consumed in moderation and not daily.
- Half a scotch bonnet gives the dish a slight kick to it, if you don't care for any heat simply omit it.
- If you cannot get hold of chadon beni (culantro/spirit weed) then use cilantro/coriander instead.
- Remember to do a taste test of the herring, just incase you need to add pink salt.
Serving suggestions
- Jamaican Coco Bread (Gluten Free)
- Yellow Rice With Corn
- Jamaican Steamed Cabbage
- Cauliflower Rice
- Jamaican Callaloo Recipe
- Mashed Yuca (Cassava Mash)
- Steamed Bananas
- Caribbean Boiled Coconut Dumplings
- Jamaican Fried Dumplings (Gluten Free)
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Smoked Herring Recipe
Equipment
- medium sized bowl
- Spatula
- frying pan/skillet
Ingredients
- 2 lb smoked red herring (907g)
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ red bell pepper chopped
- ½ yellow bell pepper chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme stems removed
- ½ tablespoon chadon beni
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ scotch bonnet chopped
- pink salt to taste, if needed
Instructions
- Place the red herring in a large bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Leave to soak for 1-2 hours or overnight to rid the salt content and to make the herring softer. During the given time, you can change the water a few times (use boiling water each time) to rid the excess salt to your desire.
- When you are ready to use the herring, drain off and rinse with cold water.
- Place the herring in a medium sized sauce and de-bone and break into small pieces, if you are using whole fish make sure to get remove the skin too.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan/skillet on medium heat.
- Saute the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Add the bell peppers and proceed to cook until they are soft (this will take a few minutes).
- Add the tomato, tomato puree, chadon beni, thyme, seafood seasoning, smoked paprika, black pepper and scotch bonnet then stir and cook for a few minutes.
- Fold in the red herring and continue to cook for 5 minutes until it is heated through.
- After the given time, do a taste test and add pink salt, if needed.
Video
Notes
- It is very important to use boiled water and not cold as this will remove the excess salt content quicker and soften the fish at the same time.
- Keep an eye on the saltiness of the herring, change the way as frequent as needed. You can even boil the herring for 10-15 minutes after soaking it.
- It is virtually impossible to find smoked herring that isn't salted and I don't have a alternative solution (just yet).
- Any leftovers should be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- This recipe should be consumed in moderation and not daily.
- Half a scotch bonnet gives the dish a slight kick to it, if you don't care for any heat simply omit it.
- If you cannot get hold of chadon beni (culantro/spirit weed) then use cilantro/coriander instead.
- Remember to do a taste test of the herring, just incase you need to add pink salt.
Nutrition
Hyacinth says
Loved me some smoke herring. I enjoyed it today on Good Friday.
Charla says
Yes, I'm so happy to hear that Hyacinth.