Equipment
Ingredients
Herring Base
- 400 g salt herring fillets, whole fillets, skinless
Gratin Ingredients
- 250 ml heavy cream, cold
- 100 g bread crumbs, coarse
- 50 g unsalted butter, melted
Garnish
- 15 g chives, finely chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Submerge the salt herring fillets in a large bowl of cold water. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water at least once, to extract excess salt from the cure.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
Remove the desalinated herring from the water and pat the fillets completely dry using paper towels.
Arrange the dried fillets in a single, even layer at the bottom of a ceramic gratin dish.
Pour the heavy cream evenly over the herring in the gratin dish.
In a small mixing bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the melted butter until the crumbs are completely coated and resemble wet sand.
Scatter the buttered crumbs in a thick, even layer across the surface of the herring and heavy cream.
Bake in the preheated oven at 200°C/390°F for 40 to 45 minutes until the cream is heavily reduced and bubbling, and the crust is completely browned.
Remove the gratin dish from the oven and allow it to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes to let the cream sauce stabilize and thicken.
Garnish the surface generously with the finely chopped fresh chives immediately before serving.
Chef's Notes
- Salt herring cures vary drastically by region and producer. The 12-hour soak is a safe baseline, but extremely hard-cured fillets may require up to 24 hours with three total water changes.
- For the highest quality textural contrast, use rustic, coarse sourdough breadcrumbs rather than fine commercial crumbs. The natural acidity of the sourdough balances the extreme richness of the heavy cream.
- Thoroughly drying the herring fillets before assembly is critical. Any residual soaking water trapped on the fish will cause the heavy cream to split and become watery during the high-heat bake.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Reheat gently in a low oven to prevent the cream from splitting and to keep the crust crisp.
