Ingredients
Herring
- 12herring fillets, skin on
- cold water, for soaking salt herring
- or heavy brine, for fresh fillets
Filling
- 6pickled gherkins, quartered lengthwise
- 2onions, sliced into rings
- 3 tbspGerman mustard
- cocktail sticks, to pin
Pickle
- 500 mlwhite vinegar
- 250 mlwater
- 80 gsugar
- 1 tbspsalt
- 2 tbspmustard seed
- 1 tbspblack peppercorns
- 1 tbspallspice berries
- 4bay leaves
Directions
- If you are starting from fresh herring, freeze the fillets solid at −18°C (0°F) or below for at least 24 hours first. Vinegar firms herring but does not reliably kill the parasites in it, and this is a raw cure.
- Soak salt herring in several changes of cold water for 12 to 24 hours, tasting until pleasantly salty. Fresh fillets instead go into a heavy brine for 3 hours, then are rinsed.
- Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, mustard seed, peppercorns, allspice and bay to a boil, stir until dissolved, then cool completely. Hot pickle poured over herring cooks the surface and makes it woolly.
- Lay each fillet skin-side down, spread thinly with mustard, and lay a quarter gherkin and a few onion rings across the wide end.
- Roll from the wide end to the tail and pin with a cocktail stick. Roll firmly but do not stretch the fillet — a tight roll holds its shape, a stretched one tears in the pickle.
- Pack the rolls upright in a jar with the remaining onion rings, pour over the cold pickle to cover, and seal.
- Refrigerate for at least five days before eating. This is not just for flavour — the vinegar needs that time to work through the rolled fillet, which is thicker than a flat one.
- Serve cold with dark bread and beer, or straight from the jar the morning after.
Technique
- Freeze fresh fish first. Non-negotiable for a raw vinegar cure.
- Five days minimum. A rollmops eaten after two is still raw in the middle of the roll.
- Keep it refrigerated and submerged. It keeps three weeks; it is not shelf-stable.
Substitutions
- Mackerel fillets, which roll well though they are richer.
- Cider vinegar for white, which is softer.
- A carrot baton in place of the gherkin, which some recipes use.
Variations
- Bismarckhering is the same cure left as flat fillets rather than rolled.
- A version with a bay leaf rolled inside each fillet, which perfumes it more strongly.
History
A Berlin invention of the nineteenth century, long eaten as a hangover cure the morning after.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rollmops?
Rollmops is a fermented & pickled from Germany: pickled herring fillet rolled around gherkin and onion, pinned with a stick. A Berlin invention of the nineteenth century, long eaten as a hangover cure the morning after.
How long does Rollmops take to make?
Rollmops takes 40 min plus 24 hours freezing and 5 days pickling of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 12. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Rollmops?
Yes, within limits. Mackerel fillets, which roll well though they are richer. Cider vinegar for white, which is softer. A carrot baton in place of the gherkin, which some recipes use.
What is the most important thing to get right in Rollmops?
Roll from the wide end to the tail and pin with a cocktail stick. Roll firmly but do not stretch the fillet — a tight roll holds its shape, a stretched one tears in the pickle.
