Kipper cure time

Kipper cure time

Postby ped » Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:26 pm

I've had a go at making some kippers and need some advice, having read the forum threads on kippers I decided to use a 70% brine solution and brined them for approx 20mins, the end result after smoking was completely inedible being far too salty, so a couple of questions, should I wash the fish after brining like you would with a dry cure? and could the difference between a 10 & 20 min brining really make that much difference to the amount of salt absorbed (I obviously don't know the difference between medium & large size herring!!)

All opinions greatfully received
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Postby wallie » Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:53 pm

After experimenting with different brining time for kippers I settled on 4 minutes for small herrings in a 70% brine and they came out just right.
Longer than that for instance between 5-10 minutes was too salty.

wallie
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Postby grisell » Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:33 am

Yes. Pick them up earlier. Here in Sweden we like the salty taste and serve them with lemon and parsley butter. Excellent with a beer or two. If you want them milder, you can rinse them before using.
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Postby grisell » Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:43 am

Some information:

The Baltic sea has a low salt content. Together with the Black Sea these are the largest brackish (medium salt-content) reservoirs in the world. The fish live under what is called physiological stress. The mussels on the West coast of Sweden are three-four inches in diameter, whereas in the Baltic they reach barely an inch in size. This is because of the low salt content.

Back to the subject: any herring caught North of a line drawn from Klaipeda in Lithuania and Kalmar in Sweden is called 'Baltic Herring' or 'strömming' in Swedish. Any herring caught west or south of that line should be called just herring or 'sill' in Swedish.

There is a difference! The Baltic herring is meagrer and smaller, and in some recipes from the Sweish Smorgasbord, it can not be substituted with fattier herring.
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Postby ped » Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:49 am

Ok so cut right down on brining time but do I wash the herring after taking out of brine?
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Postby wallie » Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:34 am

I gave mine a quick rinse off after the 4 minute brining.
But if you cured longer you would have to wash off well.
As I said before this was for small herrings.
Before smoking you can always test for saltiness and if too much soak in fresh water for a while.
Small being about 6 inches long.
I also done a thickish haddock fillet, I left that in the brine for 15mins then washed off, it was perfect.

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Postby ped » Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:21 am

Thanks Wallie
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