Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound fresh or frozen herring fillets
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 cups rice wine vinegar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, ground
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds, ground
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sweet white onion, sliced paper thin
- 1 cup sour cream
- Sliced dark bread, such as pumpernickel or Danish-style rye Fresh dill leaves for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Arrange: the herring fillets flesh-side up in a single snug layer in a small baking dish. Season the flesh side with 1 tbsp of the salt. Cover the dish and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Simmer: In a small nonreactive saucepan over low heat, combine the vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds, bay leaves, and remaining 1 tbsp salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, to steep the aromatics and dissolve the sugar to create a brine, about 15 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a nonreactive container. Add the onion to the brine, cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
- Torch: If you have a butane kitchen torch, gently run the flame over the skin of the fillets to tenderize. If you don’t have one, the herring will still be good, but just a bit less tender on the skin side.
- Pickle: Add the herring to the cold brine, cover, and refrigerate for 2 days.
- Stir: Pour off the brine from the herring and onion and discard the bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate the herring. Transfer the onion to a large nonreactive bowl, add the sour cream, and stir gently to mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The pickled herring and the onion mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Serve: Spoon pickled onion onto sliced rye bread and top with herring fillets. Garnish with dill and pepper. Serve immediately.