Winter & Christmas

Pickled herring

Name: Pickled herring
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Danish
Ingredients: 500 g salted herring fillets; 1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings; 2 dl white spirit vinegar (5 %); 2 dl water; 200 g sugar; 1 tsp whole allspice; 1 tsp white peppercorns; 2 bay leaves; 1 small piece of horseradish, sliced (optional); rugbrød (Danish rye bread); butter; fresh onion rings; dill or chives

Marinerede sild

Pickled herring opens every Danish julefrokost: pieces of herring in a sweet-and-sour brine with onion and spices, served on rye bread with fresh onion rings. Made at home it tastes milder and fresher than from a jar.

Smørrebrød with pickled herring and onion rings on rye bread — Photo: cyclonebill / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Preparation: 30 min
Cooking/baking time: 5 min
Servings: 6–8 people
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Herring

500 g salted herring fillets
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings

Brine

2 dl white spirit vinegar (5 %)
2 dl water
200 g sugar
1 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp white peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 small piece of horseradish, sliced (optional)

To serve

rugbrød (Danish rye bread)
butter
fresh onion rings
dill or chives

Method

Soak the salted herring fillets in plenty of cold water for 12–24 hours, changing the water two or three times. Taste a small piece – the herring should only be mildly salty.
For the brine, bring the vinegar, water, sugar and spices to the boil until the sugar has dissolved and leave to cool completely.
Pat the fillets dry and cut them into pieces about 2 cm wide.
Layer the herring and onion rings in a clean jar, pour over the brine so that everything is covered and seal.
Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 days. Chilled, the herring keeps for about 2 weeks.
Butter the rye bread, top with herring and garnish with fresh onion rings and dill.

The story behind the dish

In Scandinavia the julefrokost is a festive meal in the weeks before Christmas, usually with traditional Christmas food. The earliest documented julefrokoster in Denmark date from the 1940s.

A traditional Danish julefrokost includes cold smørrebrød, preferably with pickled herring as a main ingredient, followed by warm dishes such as flæskesteg, frikadeller, leverpostej and medisterpølse.

Enjoy it at Dansk Cottage

A jar of homemade herring, fresh rye bread and a long table – that’s all you need for a cosy julefrokost at the cottage.

The cottage kitchen · Discover Søby · Experience Ærø

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Dansk Cottage near Søby can be booked from 1 May 2027 – with a spacious kitchen for exactly this kind of dish.

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Ingredients

Herring

Brine

To serve

Method

The story behind the dish

Enjoy it at Dansk Cottage

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Smørrebrød

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Leverpostej

In the mood for Denmark?