Herring
Clupea harengus
The fish that built the Scottish east coast — Wick, Buckie, Peterhead, Eyemouth were all herring towns in the 19th century. Still fantastic value, still underused, and the base for proper Scottish kippers. Line-caught North Sea herring is a strong sustainability pick.
At a glance
North Sea herring is MCS 2 — a reasonable choice. The stocks are well-managed and have been since the catastrophic 1970s collapse. Look for MSC certification for the most reliable sourcing.
Best choice: MSC-certified Scottish herring. The most environmentally responsible option for a herring product.
Avoid: Avoid uncertified herring of unclear origin (international fleets concerns). Avoid pickled herring with vague labelling — provenance matters.
Seasonality
Best quality: Best quality June–September during the summer run. Cold-water herring is fattest and finest. Once the autumn rolls in, fish are spent post-spawning.
Best value: Properly cheap year-round (£3–6/kg fresh, £6–10/kg smoked or as kippers). Among the best-value oily fish in Scotland.
Frozen: Frozen-at-sea herring is acceptable but the texture suffers compared to fresh. Smoked, salted, or pickled is a better off-season alternative.
How to buy
- Bright, clear, slightly bulging eyes
- Bright shiny skin with iridescent silver-blue
- Firm flesh that springs back when pressed
- Fresh sea smell
- Bright red gills
- Cloudy or sunken eyes
- Dull silver skin
- Soft, mushy flesh
- Strong fishy smell (herring goes off fast — buy the day you cook)
- Bright orange dyed kippers (look for naturally smoked golden colour)
Fresh vs frozen: Fresh from a Scottish boat is best in summer. Smoked kippers are widely available and excellent year-round. Pickled is for cured-fish lovers.
Where to buy
Supermarkets: Excellent for smoked kippers and pickled rollmops year-round. Fresh whole herring is harder to find in mainstream supermarkets — Waitrose and good fishmongers stock it.
How much to buy
A whole herring is typically 200–250g. Smoked kippers are usually sold split (butterflied) — one kipper is one fish.
Storage
Fridge: Cook fresh herring on day of purchase. Smoked kippers keep 5–7 days. Pickled rollmops keep weeks unopened, days once opened.
Freezer: Up to 2 months. Fresh and smoked freeze well; pickled does not.
Thawing: Thaw in fridge overnight. Use immediately.
How to prepare
Make a slit from anus to gills. Remove guts. Rinse cavity thoroughly. Snip off fins.
Herring scales fall off easily. Run a knife from tail to head over the sink.
Make a cut behind the gills, then run a sharp knife along the backbone from head to tail to release each fillet.
Run finger along fillet to find pin bones. Remove with tweezers — herring has many fine pin bones.
- →Herring has lots of pin bones — work patiently if filleting
- →Cook fresh on the day of purchase — herring's oil makes it spoil fast
- →If you can't fillet, ask the fishmonger — they're happy to do it
Prep time: 5 minutes for filleting and pin-boning a single herring.
Cooking methods
Score skin both sides. Stuff cavity with lemon, herbs. Brush with oil. Grill 3–4 minutes per side until skin crispy.
The classic. The oils self-baste.
Pat dry. Hot pan with butter. Lay skin-down. Cook 3 minutes until skin crispy. Flip, 30–60 seconds. Lemon, salt.
Quick weeknight dinner.
Salt herring fillets 4 hours. Rinse. Roll around onion or pickle. Submerge in vinegar, sugar, allspice, peppercorns. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Cured-fish lovers. The Scandinavian classic.
Buy ready-made kippers — Scottish kippers are widely available and excellent. Heat under the grill 3–4 minutes or in a pan with butter.
Buying ready-made. Heat through and serve with poached egg.
- Cooking too long — herring is delicate. 6–8 minutes max for a whole fish.
- Not pin-boning fillets — herring has many fine bones
- Buying bright orange dyed kippers — naturally smoked are gold to amber
- Storing fresh too long — herring's oil makes it spoil within 24 hours of purchase
Recipes
Grilled Herring with Mustard and Oats
- · 2 whole herrings (cleaned)
- · 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- · 50g rolled oats
- · 1 tbsp olive oil
- · Sea salt and black pepper
- · Lemon wedges
- Score the herring skin both sides.
- Brush mustard over the fish, inside and out.
- Press oats onto the skin to coat.
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- Grill 4 minutes per side until oats are golden and fish flakes.
- Serve with lemon and a green salad.
A traditional Scottish recipe. The oats crisp into a textured crust that protects the delicate fish.
Pairs with: Riesling or a crisp Scottish white
Kippers with Poached Egg
- · 2 kippers (split, undyed)
- · 2 eggs
- · 20g butter
- · 4 slices buttered toast
- · Black pepper
- · Lemon wedges
- Heat the kippers under a hot grill skin-side up for 3 minutes, then flip 1 minute.
- Or pan-fry skin-side down with a knob of butter for 3–4 minutes.
- Poach eggs in simmering water for 3 minutes (white set, yolk runny).
- Serve kippers on toast with poached egg on top.
- Black pepper and lemon.
The Scottish breakfast classic. Use Arbroath-smoked or Loch Fyne kippers — they're light years better than mass-market.
Pairs with: Coffee or a Bloody Mary — kippers are a breakfast dish
Serve with
Herring with potatoes and pickled veg is the Nordic and Scottish classic combination.
Drink pairings
Herring is rich and oily — pair with acidic, palate-cleansing drinks. Aquavit (the Nordic spirit) is the traditional match.
Nutrition per 100g
Excellent omega-3 content. High in vitamin D and B12. The cheapest way to get NHS-recommended weekly oily fish.
Allergen
Herring is fish — one of the 14 major allergens. Contains: Fish. May contain: Crustaceans, Molluscs (shared processing). Pickled rollmops also contain mustard and vinegar.
Herring built Scotland — historically the country's most important fish, the herring fleets of the 19th and early 20th centuries employed thousands and exported across Europe. The modern fishery is a fraction of that, but the fish itself is still excellent and properly cheap. A grilled fresh herring with mustard and oats is a Scottish classic that deserves wider appreciation; a Loch Fyne kipper with a poached egg is one of the best breakfasts in the country. Buy MSC-certified, cook simply, eat with bread and pickles.
Scotland's herring industry was once the largest in the world — by the 1900s nearly a third of British fishing employment was in herring. The 'fisher lassies' followed the herring fleet around the coast, gutting and salting fish at the harbour. The collapse of stocks in the 1970s ended that era. Today's much smaller fishery is well-managed, but the fish is no longer the cultural centrepiece it once was.
- · Herring travel in vast schools — historically called 'silver darlings' for the way they shimmer underwater
- · Salted herring was a major medieval European staple, traded by the Hanseatic League
- · Scotland's herring fleets at their peak employed over 30,000 fisher lassies travelling around the coast
- · A kipper is a butterflied herring smoked over wood — naturally pale gold, not orange
Herring vs…
Both oily fish, similar nutrition profile. Herring is smaller, bonier, and more often pickled or smoked. Mackerel is bigger and easier for BBQ.
Smaller and more often canned than herring. Both excellent value. Herring has more cultural significance in Scottish food.
Frequently asked questions
Is Scottish herring sustainable?
North Sea herring is MCS 2 — a reasonable choice. Stocks have recovered since the 1970s collapse and are well-managed today. Look for MSC certification for the most reliable sourcing.
What is a kipper?
A kipper is a butterflied herring smoked over wood. Traditional Scottish kippers (Loch Fyne, Mallaig, Arbroath) are naturally pale gold. Bright-orange kippers are dyed — avoid them.
How do you cook a fresh herring?
Score skin both sides. Stuff cavity with lemon and herbs. Grill or BBQ 3–4 minutes per side. Or pan-fry fillets skin-down for 3 minutes, flip 30 seconds. Serve simply.
What's a rollmop?
A pickled herring fillet rolled around onion or gherkin and submerged in vinegar with allspice, peppercorns, and bay. Scandinavian and German classic, eaten with bread and dill.
Where can I buy Scottish kippers?
Loch Fyne, Iain R Spink (Arbroath), Mallaig fishmongers. Most major supermarkets stock kippers — look for "naturally smoked" or "undyed" on the label, never bright orange.
How long do you cook kippers?
Kippers are already smoked and just need heating through. 3 minutes under a grill, or pan-fried in butter for 3–4 minutes. Serve with poached egg on toast.
More species guides
Langoustine
Scotland’s most valuable seafood export — and, bafflingly, a product most Scots have never eaten. Also called Dublin Bay prawns, Norway lobster, or scampi in its cheapest incarnation. Fresh, whole langoustines landed on the west coast are one of the great seafood experiences in the world.
Cod (North Sea)
The backbone of Scottish fish and chips. North Sea cod has been through stock collapse and recovery cycles; look for MSC-certified Icelandic or Barents Sea if you’re unsure about provenance.
Scottish Salmon
Scotland’s most exported food product by value. Virtually all salmon you buy is farmed — wild Atlantic salmon is critically endangered and mostly reserved for catch-and-release sport fishing. Look for RSPCA Assured or organic labels for higher welfare.
Native Oyster
The traditional British native oyster is in season when there’s an ‘R’ in the month. Loch Ryan is the last commercially active native oyster bed in Scotland. Meatier, more metallic, and more characterful than the common Pacific rock oyster.
Mackerel
Cheap, sustainable when line-caught, and a brilliant introduction to oily fish cookery. Scottish line-caught mackerel in late summer is one of the best value food items in the country.
King Scallop
Hand-dived scallops from the west coast are one of Scotland’s premier luxuries. Much better than dredged, with zero seabed damage and notably plumper meat. Pay the extra.
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Some links on this page are affiliate links. TasteSCOT may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Herring is a major allergen — see allergen advice above.If you drink, please drink responsibly.