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I’m taking about bacon and fish, in case you didn’t guess. If you have family members who don’t like fish, this might just convert them. (Squeeze the lemon over it before serving and tell them it’s sea bacon.)
Kippered Herring
Imagine bacon made of fish; that’s kippered herring. The whole fish are split from head to tail, soaked in brine then smoked. Scrambled eggs and broiled tomatoes are traditional accompaniments.
If kippered herring is purchased frozen, follow thawing and cooking directions on package. Recipe can be halved or doubled using appropriately sized pan.
Ingredients:
2 kippered herring, about 1 pound total
1 tablespoon butter
Sliced lemon
2 halves, Broiled Tomato, recipe below
Directions:
Preheat broiler. Rinse herring and pat dry. Leave tail intact to facilitate boning, but head can be removed if it is included.
Place butterflied herring, skin-side-down, on well-greased broiler pan. Dot with butter. Broil about 5 inches from heat source for 2 to 3 minutes or until brown. Turn skin-side-up and broil for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until brown, for a total of 4 to 6 minutes. Cut each fish in half to make 4 servings and top each with a slice of lemon.
Makes 4 servings of ½ kipper each.
Per serving—Net carbohydrate: 0.8 grams; Protein: 40.5 grams; Fiber: 0 grams; Fat: 29.7 grams; Calories: 440
Total weight, including skin, bones, and tail: 13 ounces or 369 grams
Weight per serving: 3¼ ounces or 92 grams
Preparation time: 5 minutes active, 10 minutes total
“A broiled or grilled tomato is part of a full English breakfast (a fry-up), which might also include fried eggs, fried mushrooms, fried potatoes, rashers (that’s Canadian bacon to Americans—American-style bacon is streaky bacon to Brits), kippered herring, sausages, baked beans, and fried bread, served with hot tea. If you want it all, order a Full Monty.”
Broiled Tomatoes
A fabulous side dish anytime, but especially good with eggs and sausage or kippers for breakfast. Prepare them in advance and just tuck them under the broiler when you put the kettle on.
Ingredietns:
2 ripe tomatoes, about 10 ounces total, as purchased
Dash salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1/8 ounce) clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons white wine
More salt to taste
Dash black pepper for each tomato half
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped, or basil, shredded, for garnish
Directions:
Grease a small broiler-safe pan. Cut tomatoes in half vertically. Cut out stem button and make several slashes across the core but not into the wall of the tomato. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Invert on paper towels and let drain for 10 minutes. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Place tomatoes, cut-side-down, in the hot pan. Let tomatoes cook without moving for about 5 minutes or until brown. (You can tell when they are brown by looking at the edges.) Remove tomatoes from skillet and place cut-side-up in prepared pan. (Can be prepared to this stage in advance and refrigerated. Broil just before serving.)
Preheat broiler. Put minced garlic in the hot skillet and cook, stirring, for a few seconds. Add white wine and cook and stir for about 3 minutes or until most of the wine has boiled off. Pour liquid from skillet over tomatoes. Sprinkle with additional salt to taste and fresh black pepper. Top with grated Parmesan. Place tomatoes under broiler for about 5 minutes or until top is brown. Transfer tomatoes to serving dish and spoon drippings from pan over them. Garnish with fresh basil, and serve hot.
Makes 2 servings .
Per serving—Net carbohydrate: 4 grams; Protein: 2.6 grams; Fiber: 1.6 grams; Fat: 8.2 grams; Calories: 110
Total weight: 8½ ounces or 237 grams
Weight per serving: 4¼ ounces or 118 grams
Preparation time: 5 minutes active; 25 minutes total
“Your rainment, O herring, displays the rainbow colors of the setting sun, the patina on old copper, the golden-brown of Cordoba leather, the autumnal tints of sandalwood and saffon. Your head, O herring, flames like a golden helmet, and your eyes, are like black studs in circlets of copper.”– Joris Karl Huysmans (1848-1907)
Recipes adapted from Nourished; a Cookbook for Health, Weight Loss, and Metabolic Balance.
(c) 2015, Judy Barnes Baker, www.carbwars.blogspot.com. Photo from Singletrack Forum.
This looks awesome! I have purchased canned kippered herring in cans but it does not look (or taste) anything like yours. Can you suggest how to prepare it so it is delicious? Just fry it in butter? Thanks
Andrea Tiktin-Fanti: I bought it frozen at a regular grocery store. The canned kind has to be chopped up to fit. There may be delis or butchers that sell just the smoked fish, but I haven’t looked. If you have an English specialty shop, they would be likely to have it. Since it keeps well, you might be able to order it online. My recipe in the post calls for broiling it, but frying should work too.