Haring met Uitjes (Dutch Raw Herring with Onions and Pickles)
Local name: Haring met uitjes
In short: Cold, salt-cured new herring served with chopped raw onion and sweet-sour pickles, eaten by the tail or in a soft roll as at Dutch fish stands. It takes about 15 min in total and makes 4 servings.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 210 kcal
Haring met uitjes is raw, lightly brine-cured herring served cold with chopped onion and sliced pickles. The new-season catch in early summer is the most prized, mild, fatty and soft. Dutch people eat it at fish stands in two ways: held by the tail and lowered into the mouth, or cut up and tucked into a soft roll as a broodje haring. This recipe covers assembling and serving it safely, since the curing is done by the fishmonger.
Instructions
- Buy herring that is sold ready to eat. In the EU, herring sold for eating raw must first be frozen at -20°C (-4°F) or colder for at least 24 hours. Outside the EU, ask your fishmonger whether it was frozen to kill parasites.
- Keep the herring in the fridge at 4°C (40°F) or colder and eat it within 2 days, or by the date on the pack.
- Peel and finely chop the onion. For a milder bite, rinse it briefly in a sieve under cold water and shake dry.
- Slice the gherkins thinly and set out the onion and gherkins in small bowls.
- To eat it the classic way, hold a herring by the tail, dip it in the chopped onion, tip your head back and bite upward. Alternatively, cut the fish into bite-size pieces on a plate and top with onion and gherkin slices.
- For broodje haring, split the soft rolls, fold a herring in half and tuck it inside, then top with a generous spoonful of onion and a few gherkin slices. Serve right away.
Tips
- Look for herring that is pale pink, firm and smells clean and of the sea. The best new herring is soft and fatty, with a mild flavor that is salty and slightly sweet.
- Raw fish is best avoided by pregnant women, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system.
Questions and answers
What is Hollandse Nieuwe?
It is new-season herring caught from late spring, when the fish are fat. It is cleaned, lightly salted and matured in brine, then sold from early summer.
Is it safe to eat raw herring?
Ready-to-eat herring that was frozen first and then kept cold is widely eaten in the Netherlands. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems should avoid raw fish.
How do you eat herring the Dutch way?
Hold the fish by the tail, dip it in chopped raw onion, tip your head back and bite. Many people also eat it cut up with pickles, or in a soft roll.
How long does it take to make Haring met Uitjes (Dutch Raw Herring with Onions and Pickles)?
About 15 min in total: 15 min of preparation and 0 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Haring met Uitjes (Dutch Raw Herring with Onions and Pickles)?
About 210 kcal per serving, with 18 g of protein, 5 g of carbohydrates and 13 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 210 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Sodium | 1200 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
