Brathering ( ; ; ) is a simple and traditional German dish of marinated fried herring. It is typical of the cuisine in northern Germany and the northern parts of the Netherlands, either for lunch or as a snack at fast food stands or take-out restaurants.Zipner, Helmut (2002): Kulinarischer Norden. Rezepte von Profiköchen und Publikum. Schlütersche. . Page 23.
Preparation
Usually, the green (i.e., fresh) herring with the heads and guts removed are either breaded or simply turned in flour, then fried, and finally pickled in a marinade of white vinegar and briefly boiled water, onion, salt, spices like pepper, bay leaves, mustard seeds, and a little sugar. The thin bones of the green herring are partially dissolved in the marinade, so that they hardly interfere with eating.Sälzer, Sabine (1998): Die echte deutsche Küche. Gräfe und Unzer. .
If refrigerated, fried herring may be preserved for up to two weeks. Brathering is also available as a commercial product in cans.
Typical servings Brathering itself is served well pervaded and cold, together with warm fried potatoes (Bratkartoffeln) or cold potato salad (Kartoffelsalat).Hering, Richard and Walter Bickel (Ed.) (1978): Herings Lexikon der Küche. Fachbuchverlag Pfanneberg. Gießen. . Page 194.
Sometimes, Brathering is also offered as part of fish sandwiches (Fischbrötchen).
In culture Martin Luther stated that Brathering served with cooked green peas and mustard was one of his favorite dishes.Kawerau, Gustav (1903): Martin Luther, Sein Leben und Seine Schriften. Duncker. Page 497.
Literature
Koios, Eloi Rylan (2011): Brathering. List of Raw Fish Dishes, Fish (Food), and Seafood. TRACT. . Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (2009) Multilingual Dictionary of Fish and Fish Products Page 147, John Wiley & Sons. .
References