How to Salt Whole Herring at Home
Delicious whole salted herring made at home. Fish salted at home always has a great advantage over store-bought fish. With this recipe, the herring turns out slightly spiced, aromatic, and very tasty. Most importantly, you can be confident in the quality of the salting.
Updated : 14 July, 2026
Easy
More than 1 hour.
Ingredients
2
Herring
170 grams
Salt
2
Laurel leaf
5
Allspice
35 grams
Sugar
10
Peppercorns
1 liter
Water
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How do you salt whole herring at home? Prepare the ingredients. Pay special attention to choosing the herring: it should have intact skin, without yellow or other spots. The brine is made using 1 liter of water, about 4 1/4 cups. For spices, you will need bay leaf, black peppercorns, and allspice berries. You can also add other whole spices to your taste. It is best to use coarse salt. The amount of salt can be adjusted to taste.
Step 2
For this recipe, choose fish of any standard size. The prepared brine will be enough to fully submerge 2 fish. Before salting, thaw the fish gently: either in the refrigerator or at room temperature on the counter. Then rinse it well under cold running water. There is no need to clean or cut the fish, it will be salted whole.
Step 3
To prepare the brine, pour 1 liter, about 4 1/4 cups, of water into a pot, enamel or stainless steel, add the salt, sugar, bay leaf, allspice berries, and black peppercorns. Put the pot on the stove and bring the liquid to a boil. Boil for 2–3 minutes. Let the brine cool to room temperature.
Step 4
You can salt the fish in the same pot where the brine was made, if it is the right size, or use a container in which the fish can lie without being bent out of shape. Pour the cooled brine over the fish. If the fish floats up and is not fully covered by the brine, weigh it down with something. Put the herring in the brine into the refrigerator for 2 days. After that, you will have lightly salted fish. For a saltier fish, leave it in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Step 5
Remove the finished fish from the brine and pat it dry. Clean the fish, remove the head, tail, backbone, and innards, then cut it into portions. You can serve this fish with sliced salad onion or green onion. It is a perfect addition to your favorite potato dishes.
Author note
Share the recipe
