Solomon Gundy

Ingredients

Fish

• 6salt herring fillets, or 6 fresh herring, filleted
• cold water, for soaking

Pickle

• 400 mlwhite vinegar
• 200 mlwater
• 100 gsugar
• 2 tbsppickling spice
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tspblack peppercorns

To pack

• 2onions, sliced into thin rings
• 1lemon, sliced thin

To serve

• crackers
• sharp cheddar

Directions

1. If you are starting from fresh herring rather than salt herring, freeze the fillets solid for at least 24 hours at −18°C (0°F) or below before you do anything else. This is not for texture: it is what kills the parasites in a fish that is going to be cured rather than cooked.
2. Soak salt herring in several changes of cold water for 12 to 24 hours, tasting a corner until it is pleasantly salty rather than harsh. Fresh fillets need only a 2-hour brine in heavily salted water.
3. Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, pickling spice, bay and peppercorns to a simmer, stir until the sugar dissolves, then take it off the heat and cool completely. Hot pickle poured over fish cooks the outside and turns it woolly.
4. Cut the drained fillets into 3 cm pieces.
5. Pack the fish, onion rings and lemon slices in layers into a clean jar, then pour over the cold pickle so everything is submerged.
6. Seal and refrigerate for at least three days before eating. The vinegar needs that time to firm the flesh and take the raw edge off the onion.
7. Serve cold on crackers with a slice of sharp cheddar. It keeps three weeks in the fridge.

Technique

• The freezing step is the one thing not to skip when starting from fresh fish. Vinegar firms herring but does not reliably kill what may be in it.
• Taste the fish after soaking, every time. Salt herring varies enormously between producers and an under-soaked batch is inedible.
• Keep it in the fridge, not a cupboard. This is a refrigerator pickle, not a shelf-stable preserve.

Substitutions

• Mackerel or small sardines, both of which pickle well the same way.
• Cider vinegar in place of white, which is softer and slightly sweeter.

Variations

• A version with sour cream stirred through at the end is served as a dip.
• The Jamaican dish of the same name is entirely unrelated — a smoked herring paste, not a pickle.

History

A pickled herring dish, the fish salted, then marinated in vinegar, onion and spices, brought to Canada’s Maritime provinces through British and broader European settler culinary tradition, with pickled herring preparations documented across several Northern European fishing cultures for centuries as a practical way to preserve an abundant catch before refrigeration existed. Its name is generally traced to an older English dish called salmagundi, a composed salad of various pickled and preserved ingredients, with the name gradually corrupted and narrowed over time in Canada and Jamaica, where a related pickled fish dish developed independently under a similarly derived name, to refer specifically to pickled herring rather than the broader mixed salad the original term described. It remains a traditional Maritime Canadian dish, particularly associated with Nova Scotia’s fishing communities.

Frequently asked questions

What is Solomon Gundy?

Solomon Gundy is a fermented & pickled from Canada: nova Scotian pickled herring with onion, eaten on crackers with cheese. A pickled herring dish, the fish salted, then marinated in vinegar, onion and spices, brought to Canada’s Maritime provinces through British and broader European settler culinary tradition, with pickled herring preparations documented across several Northern European fishing cultures for centuries as a practical way to preserve an abundant catch before refrigeration existed. Its name is generally traced to an older English dish called salmagundi, a composed salad of various pickled and preserved ingredients, with the name gradually corrupted and narrowed over time in Canada and Jamaica, where a related pickled fish dish developed independently under a similarly derived name, to refer specifically to pickled herring rather than the broader mixed salad the original term described. It remains a traditional Maritime Canadian dish, particularly associated with Nova Scotia’s fishing communities.

How long does Solomon Gundy take to make?

Solomon Gundy takes 40 min plus 24 hours freezing and 3 days pickling of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes fills a 1-litre jar. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Solomon Gundy?

Yes, within limits. Mackerel or small sardines, both of which pickle well the same way. Cider vinegar in place of white, which is softer and slightly sweeter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Solomon Gundy?

If you are starting from fresh herring rather than salt herring, freeze the fillets solid for at least 24 hours at −18°C (0°F) or below before you do anything else. This is not for texture: it is what kills the parasites in a fish that is going to be cured rather than cooked.