Curry herring is a cherished staple on any Danish Christmas lunch table. The Bergman-Ribel family shares Mrs Bergman’s praise winning recipe. Read more recipes from the Wildwood Family Cookbook here. Bon Appetit!
“My wife is an excellent cook. She possesses that all important instinctive understanding of flavors and combinations you cannot learn, so the few times she manages to get me out of the kitchen, I’m always in for a treat. She has plenty of different dishes on her menu, and a few of them are dishes that I’m actually not allowed to even try to make myself. They’re her dishes. Period. 
One of the things she would never dream of letting me prepare, is the annual Danish Christmas Curry Herring. It’s her signature dish. Traditionally eaten at Christmas lunches across Denmark all Christmas days except Christmas Eve (which is the big day in Scandinavian Christmas celebrations), it is based on a classic pickled herring and then spiced up with apples, cornichons and curry – for a smooth exotic taste where the orient meets the North. Delicious!” – Kalle Bergman
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The Bergman-Ribel Family’s Danish Curry Herring
- Total Time: 3 days
- Yield: 6 -8 1x
Description
The classic Danish curry herring, courtesy of Mrs Bergman herself.
Ingredients
For the pickled herring
- 2 Fresh herrings
- 1 Onion (sliced)
- 1 Red onion (sliced)
- 1 1/3 cups (320 ml) of vinegar
- 1 cup (240 ml) of Sugar
- 2 Bayleaves
- 3 Cloves
- 2 tbsp of all spice peppercorns (crushed)
For the curry seasoning
- 3 tbsp of curry powder
- 1 Red apple (finely diced)
- A handful of cornichons (chopped)
- A handful of small pickled onions (chopped)
- 1 tbsp of mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp of sour cream
- A bunch of chives (chopped)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
For the pickled herring
- Soak the herrings overnight in cold water. Fillet them by removing bones and skin. Rinse and cut into 1 inch slices. In a glass jar, place the herring in layers with onion and spices.
- Mix vinegar and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the herring, and make sure that all the fish pieces are covered. Close with a lid and leave in the refridgerator for 48 hours.
For the curry seasoning
- Slowly mix all the ingredients with the pickled herring.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Leave in the fridge over night.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Danish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 180
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the herring need to soak overnight before pickling?
The overnight soak in cold water draws out excess salt and impurities from the fresh herrings, which makes for a cleaner, milder base before pickling. After soaking you fillet them, remove the bones and skin, rinse them, and cut into 1-inch slices — so the soaking step also makes the fish easier to handle.
How long does the full recipe take from start to finish?
Plan for roughly 3 days. The herring sits in the vinegar-sugar brine (1? cups vinegar, 1 cup sugar, bay leaves, cloves, and allspice) in the refrigerator for 48 hours, then the finished curry seasoning — with apple, cornichons, pickled onions, mayonnaise, and sour cream — rests overnight again before serving. The active prep is only about 30 minutes total.
What are cornichons and do they have to be in the curry seasoning?
Cornichons are small, tart French pickled gherkins — their acidity and crunch are part of what the article describes as a “smooth exotic taste where the orient meets the North.” They are a traditional ingredient in Danish curry herring; substituting dill pickles would change the character of the dish, though the seasoning will still work in a pinch.
