aninra

Well preserved Danish fried herring...

Many people ask me about the history of smørrebrød, and how far back the tradition dates. For instance, we're these wonderful open-faced sandwiches popular in the 1800s? Or going back even further, did the Vikings enjoy eating smørrebrød? Or what about 2000 years ago? Do we have any way of knowing what early Danes were eating? Perhaps they were enjoying eating charred herring on unleavened whole-grain bread with the help of flint cutlery? Wouldn't that be amazing!?!

Tollund Man: Well-preserved Iron-age Dane

Luckily we do know something about the lives of Danes from 2000 years ago thanks, in part, to the discovery of the Tollund Man in 1950. This discovery is an amazing story, and I encourage you to read about it on Wikipedia or many of the other sites dedicated to these naturally preserved corpses found in Northern European Peat Bogs. But since I brought it up, I may as well give you a bit of info...These corpses, known as Bog People, were preserved thanks to the acidic quality and the lack of oxygen in the swamps in which their bodies were buried.

The Tollund Man, who appears to have been ritually sacrificed by hanging due to the presence of a noose around his neck, seems to have enjoyed a last meal that was 100% smørrebrød free (so much for my theory). In his stomach were the remains of what must have been a deee-licious iron-age porridge made from veggies and seeds and included barley, linseed, and chamomile, plus a couple of things I've never heard of - bristle grass, which doesn't sound that good, and "gold of pleasure", which sounds pretty darn good if you ask me. Actually, this porridge sounds kinda like something NOMA would serve these days.

OK, so I am a bit disappointed that there was no "Bog Herring" preserved in Tollund Man's stomach, but thanks to adventurous archeologists, I can at least debunk my own myth and safely state that Danish open-faced sandwiches were not eaten on a daily basis by iron-age Bog People - at least not in the 24 hours preceding their execution. Maybe the Viking diet included sandwiches, but that will have to be a topic for another day.

The search for ancient smørrebrød continues...

By the way, if you are interested in seeing the Tollund Man in the darkly preserved flesh (at least his head),  you should visit the Silkeborg Museum in Silkeborg, Denmark, a town about 10km from where the body was discovered. I've never made the trip myself, but what's not to like about a museum dedicated to bog people and other historical artefacts?

So what does all this have to do with smørrebrød? Well, frankly, nothing. But corpses preserved in acid got me thinking about edible things you could preserve in vinegar - like fried herring filets. And in fact, pickled fried herring is a classic topping for Danish open-faced sandwiches served on buttered Danish rye bread - it truly would have been a dish worthy of an iron-age Dane's last meal - but is easy enough to make that you can enjoy it any day.

Here is what you need to know in order to make your own pickled fried herring:

Ingredients Pickling liquid

Ingredients:

• 250ml white vinegar
• 200ml sugar
• 1 tbsp coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp whole all-spice
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp pepercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• 100 ml rye flour
• 6 herring filets
• butter for frying

Instructions

1) Gently heat the vinegar in a small pot until boiling, add the sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved.

2) Reduce heat, add the spices, and simmer for about 3 minutes, then remove from feat and allow to cool completely.

3) Meanwhile, while the liquid is cooling, dredge the herring filets in rye flour (after optionally dipping them in the egg). Shake of excess flour.

Dredge filets in flour - I prefer without egg

4) Place a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, add the butter, and then fry the herring filets for about 3-4 minutes per side.

Fry 'em up in batches

5) Place the fried filets in a glass casserole just big enough to hold the filets in a single layer.

6) Once the pickling liquid is cool, pour it over the filets and let them rest together for about 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Give it 24 hours to let the acidity and spice do its trick!

7) Serve on buttered Danish rye bread, garnish with a couple of slices of red onion and dill, and enjoy with fork and knife!

Yet another Danish classic - easy to make and oh so tasty!