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Smoked Herrings

These are the traditional "red herrings" that are "drawn across the trail," also known as bloaters. They are prepared by being soaked overnight in brine containing a little saltpeter, which turns them reddish, and then they are smoked. All through northern Europe they are eaten as is, by merely pulling back the skin and ripping off the fillets, a little gourmet act that has come to be known as "tearing a herring." Try it sometime by the campfire, but make sure there's a good spring flowing near by, for nothing is saltier, except salt herrings.