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Broiled Bloaters
Scrape and clean the bloaters well, then wipe dry with a towel. Split from head to tail and lay them flat upon a buttered gridiron. Broil for about six minutes, turning so as to cook on both sides. When they are done, place them on a hot platter with a little butter over them, and serve at once.
A bloater is a whole herring, lightly salted and cold-smoked with the guts left in, which gives it a gamier flavour than a kipper. The recipe is simple; almost everything depends on sourcing the fish and not overcooking it.
- What a bloater isWhole herring, brined only briefly and cold-smoked without splitting or gutting, so it stays plump; the name is often explained by that plumpness, though the word may instead come from a Scandinavian root meaning soft or soaked. If you cannot find bloaters, kippers (split, gutted, smoked herring) broil the same way but are usually saltier and drier; fresh herring will want oiling and a minute or two longer.
- Scrape and cleanScraping removes loose scales; "clean" here most likely means gutting the fish once it is split, since bloaters are sold ungutted. Lift out the roe or milt if present and broil it alongside — soft roe was often prized.
- Gridiron to broilerA gridiron sat over coals with the heat below. Under a modern overhead broiler, set the rack 3-4 inches from the element, preheat it fully, and start the fish skin side up so the cut side finishes facing the heat.
- Buttered grid, or better still foilHerring skin tears and sticks. Butter the grid generously as directed, or lay the fish on lightly buttered foil on a preheated sheet pan and skip the turning entirely.
- Six minutes is rightTotal, not per side — roughly three minutes a side for an average bloater. Smoked herring is already firm and salty and dries out quickly if pushed much beyond the six minutes given. It is done when the backbone lifts clean from the flesh.
- Soaking, if the fish is very saltyOlder bloaters and some kippers benefit from twenty minutes in cold water or milk before cooking if they taste very salty. Pat thoroughly dry afterwards or they will steam rather than brown.
- Yield and servingOne bloater per person as a breakfast or supper dish, two for a hearty appetite. Traditional accompaniments are brown bread and butter, mustard butter, or a poached egg; lemon cuts the oil.