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Inlagd sill
Pickled herring
Inlagd sill: Swedish pickled herring in sweet vinegar brine with onion and allspice
No Swedish midsummer, Easter or Christmas table is without inlagd sill: salt herring fillets soaked to remove the salt, then pickled for at least two days in a sweet, clear brine of vinegar, sugar, onion, carrot, allspice and bay. It is eaten with new potatoes, sour cream, chives and crispbread, and a mustard sauce variant (senapssill) sits beside it. Herring that is pickled, not cooked, is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Use salt herring that has been frozen, as commercial salt herring is. A common mistake is skipping the soak, which makes the herring far too salty. Chef's tip: taste a corner after soaking; it should be pleasantly salty, like an olive.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the herring
- 1 ⅛ lb salt herring fillets
- 8 ¼ cups cold waterfor soaking
For the brine
- ½ cup white vinegar (12%)or 300 ml white wine vinegar
- 5 ½ oz sugar
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 red onionsliced
- 1 carrotthinly sliced
To serve
- 1 ¾ lb new potatoesboiled
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ⅓ oz fresh chives
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Soak 1 ⅛ lb salt herring fillets in 8 ¼ cups cold water in the fridge for 8–12 hours, changing the water twice. Taste a corner: it should be gently salty. Common mistake: skipping this; far too salty.
Step 2: Boil ½ cup white vinegar (12%), 1 ¼ cups water, 5 ½ oz sugar, 10 whole allspice and 2 bay leaves for 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Cool completely.
5 minStep 4: Pour over the cold brine, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days. Keeps 2 weeks in the fridge.
Step 5: Serve with 1 ¾ lb new potatoes, ¾ cup sour cream and ⅓ oz fresh chives.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does inlagd sill take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of white vinegar (12%)?
- Cider vinegar or rice vinegar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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