I still have the recipe from some fantastic herring we had in Norway years ago. Like any other recipe, the key is to find the freshest herring available. It uses a bit less salt than most and relied on spices for its unique flavor and avoids the “cream” or “oily” textures frequently encountered.
Norwegian Style Herring
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 quart water
2 cups white wine vinegar (or some dry white wine past its prime)
1/4 cup sugar
1 pound FRESH herring fillets (the canned/bottled varieties tend to be salted)
1 teaspoon mustard seed
2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 green chili (anaheim for mild; serrano for hot)
3 cloves
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 red onion thinly sliced
Heat 3 cups of the water sufficiently to dissolve salt and let the brine cool to room temperature. Refrigerate the herring fillets in the brine overnight. Bring the sugar, vinegar, 1 cup of water and all the spices to a boil, simmer and cool. Simmer 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let this steep until cool. Layer the brined herring fillets in a glass jar with the sliced lemon and red onion. Pour the liquid sugar/spice liquid over the herring in the jar and refrigerate for a day or two. It can easily stay fresh in the frig for at least 2 weeks.