No. 1174

Herrings, Fresh, a la Calaisienne

Harengs Frais a la Calaisienne

A Sea fish of the genus Clupea. Split as many herrings as needed through the entire back, and take out the middle bone. Stir into some fresh butter, salt, parsley, chopped up mushrooms, and lemon juice; stuff all the herrings with this butter, and lay the milts with the eggs already fried in the center; close up the herrings, and wrap them in a double sheet of paper; broil them over a slow fire, unwrap and serve very hot.

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For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's herrings are boned through the back, stuffed with a compound butter, and grilled in paper — an early papillote done over coals rather than in an oven. The technique survives intact; only the vocabulary and the fish counter have changed.

Butter the paperThis is the hinge. A double sheet of plain paper over a fire will scorch and stick unless it is generously brushed with butter or oil on both sides first; parchment behaves the same way. Fold the edges into a tight seam so the melted butter stays with the fish rather than dripping into the flames.
"A slow fire"Coals burned down to a steady moderate heat, with the parcels set a few inches off the fire. Split herrings of ordinary size take roughly 8 to 10 minutes, turned once. Direct high heat blackens the paper before the flesh sets.
Milts and eggsThe milt is the soft roe of the male fish, the eggs the hard roe of the female. Both come out when the fish is cleaned, and Ranhofer wants them fried before they go inside; he does not say how. Fishmongers often discard them now, so ask in advance or leave them out, in which case add a little extra of the butter.
Boning through the backCut down either side of the backbone from head to tail, keeping the belly intact, and lift the spine out with the rib bones attached. The fish then opens flat as a book with a natural cavity for the stuffing. Fine pin bones will remain and are eaten.
The stuffing butterNo quantities are given. About 4 oz softened butter to a tablespoon of chopped parsley, 2 oz finely chopped mushrooms, the juice of half a lemon and a good pinch of salt fills four to six herrings. The mushrooms are raw here; chopping them fine matters, since they have only the grilling time to cook.
Buying the fishHerring is oily and turns quickly — it should smell of the sea and nothing else, with clear eyes and firm flesh. If fresh herring is unavailable, small mackerel take the same treatment. Frozen herring will work but sheds more water into the parcel.
YieldOne good-sized herring per person as a course, two if they are small. Ranhofer says to unwrap before serving; pour the butter that has collected in the parcel back over the fish.

A Little History

À la calaisienne points to Calais, the Channel port on the northern French coast where fresh herring, its roes and its milts were cheap and plentiful in season. Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's in New York, compiled The Epicurean (1894) as an exhaustive catalogue of the classical repertoire he had learned in France, which is why a modest fisherman's grill sits in the same volume as elaborate banquet pieces — the book aims at completeness, and every recognised garnish and regional style gets its number. The paper wrapping is cooking en papillote, a technique long predating Ranhofer: buttered paper keeps a delicate oily fish from drying out and flaring over open coals, and the stuffing of butter, parsley, mushrooms and lemon is a close cousin of the maître d'hôtel butter that appears in the very next entry.