What You Need to Know
Bloaters, a type of whole cold-smoked herring, are "salted and lightly smoked without gutting, giving them a characteristic slightly gamey flavour". They have a particular association with Great Yarmouth, England. Though popular in the 19th and early-20th centuries, the food has become rare. Bloaters are sometimes called Yarmouth bloaters, although production of the product in Yarmouth appears to have now ceased in the town with the closure of its smoked-fish factory in 2018. The bloater is also sometimes jokingly referred to as a Yarmouth capon, a two-eyed steak, or a Billingsgate pheasant.
Steps
- 1.
Bloaters on Toast (England): Smoking preserves the fish while adding complexity to pair with simple carbohydrates
- 2.
Kipper Pâté (Scotland): Cold smoking allows the fish to remain soft enough for blending while imparting depth
- 3.
Sillmacka (Sweden): Traditional open-faced sandwich where the smoking process balances the fish's oiliness