German Herring Salad Heringssalat Recipe
Heringssalat is a colorful herring salad popular in northern Germany, especially in winter and during carnival season. It combines the salty taste of herring with potatoes, beets and a delicate cream-based dressing. It’s a bit similar to Polish herring salad, but milder and more creamy.
Similar herring salads appear in Germany during Advent, New Year’s Eve, and the carnival season, often served as a snack with beer or vodka. In North Sea port cities they’re also traditionally served with a bread roll as a quick meal for fishermen.
Heringssalat in the German style combines salty herring with potatoes, beets and apple to create a colorful, creamy salad with balanced acidity. In northern Germany it’s a staple of winter tables, especially during carnival and parties, where it’s served with bread and beer. Compared with many Polish herring versions, this salad is milder, more creamy and slightly sweet from the beets.
Why this version works
- Soaking the herring lets you adjust the saltiness to your own taste and prevents an overly sharp flavor.
- Apple and pickled cucumber balance the saltiness with fresh acidity and a hint of sweetness.
- The sour‑cream‑and‑mayonnaise dressing is creamy but doesn’t overwhelm the fish with a heavy mayo taste.
- Adding the beets at the end keeps the salad from turning completely one uniform color.
Chef's tips
Always taste the herring before adding it – if it’s very salty, soak it in milk or water for 1–2 hours, otherwise it will dominate the flavor of the salad. Cut the vegetables and apple into even, small cubes so the salad looks neat and is easy to serve; add the beets at the end, mixing gently so they don’t stain everything one uniform color. Season the dressing gradually – first the sour cream, then the pickled cucumber and only at the end salt, because the herring and cucumbers already add salt.
How to serve
Serve Heringssalat well chilled, with dark bread, wholemeal bread or small pumpernickel canapés as an appetizer. It’s perfect for a New Year’s Eve spread, a festive breakfast or as a “snack” for an evening with friends with a shot of chilled vodka or a dry white wine. I like to prepare it the evening before a family gathering – overnight in the fridge the flavors come together perfectly.
Watch out for
- Don’t cut the ingredients too small – they’ll disappear into the dressing and the salad will turn into a spread.
- Don’t salt the dressing before adding the herring and cucumbers; first taste the finished mixture.
- Mix very gently so the potatoes don’t fall apart and thicken the salad like mashed potatoes.
- Don’t use warm potatoes – they’ll soak up too much dressing and fall apart when you mix the salad.
Substitutions
- You can replace part of the sour cream with Greek yogurt if you want a lighter version.
- Instead of pickled cucumbers you can use gherkins, but then add a little more vinegar.
- If you don’t like red onion, use spring onion or mild white onion instead.
Ingredients
- herring fillet matjes in oil or salted, well soaked - 300 g
- potatoes waxy, salad potatoes - 400 g
- cooked beetroot medium, cooked or baked - 2 piece
- apple tart, e.g. grey rennet - 1 piece
- pickled cucumber medium - 2 piece
- red onion small - 1 piece
- sour cream 18% or 22% fat - 150 g
- mayonnaise - 2 tablespoon
- mustard mild - 1 teaspoon
- wine vinegar light - 1 tablespoon
- sugar - 0.5 teaspoon
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- dill chopped - 2 tablespoon
Preparation
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cook them in their skins in salted water for 15–20 minutes, until a fork slides into the center easily but the skins aren’t splitting all over. Drain and cool to room temperature, or ideally chill completely in the fridge.
- Peel the cooled potatoes and cut into even 1–1.5 cm cubes. Spread them out on a plate or board and leave for a few minutes so excess moisture can evaporate – this way they’ll absorb the dressing better and won’t fall apart.
- Taste the herring fillets; if they’re very salty, soak them in cold water or milk for 1–2 hours, changing the liquid 2–3 times. Then pat completely dry with paper towels and cut into bite‑sized pieces.
- Cut the beets into cubes similar in size to the potatoes and set them aside separately so they don’t immediately stain the whole salad. Peel the apple, remove the core and cut into small cubes, then mix it with a teaspoon of sour cream or a little vinegar so it doesn’t brown.
- Cut the pickled cucumbers into small cubes. Peel the red onion and chop very finely; if you prefer a milder flavor, pour boiling water over it for 5 minutes, then drain well and dry until it looks matte rather than wet.
- In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper until the dressing is smooth and slightly thick. Taste it – it should be clearly tangy with gentle sweetness and only a background note of mayonnaise.
- Add the potatoes, apple, cucumbers and onion to the dressing. Gently fold with a broad spoon, lifting the ingredients from the bottom so the cubes keep their shape and don’t turn into a mash.
- Add the herring pieces and very carefully fold them in with the rest, mixing as briefly as possible. Sprinkle in the chopped dill and give just a light stir so you don’t break up the herring and turn it into a spread.
- Finally add the beets and fold from bottom to top 1–2 times, just enough to tint the dressing lightly pink while keeping the beet cubes clearly visible. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Before serving, taste the salad and adjust with salt, pepper or a little vinegar if needed. If the dressing seems too thick after chilling, add 1–2 tablespoons of sour cream and mix in very gently.
Storage
Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 2 days. Stir gently before serving again; do not freeze, as the texture of the potatoes and herring will deteriorate.
I always make this salad for our home “herring Wednesday”, when after work we meet up with friends over a snack board and board games. I usually have to make a double batch right away, because the first one disappears before anyone even manages to lay out the cards on the table.
