Description
Ingredients: Smoked herring (Clupea harengus) (70%), Cold pressed rapeseed oil* (28.2%), herbal salt* (1.4% Atlantic sea salt, white pepper, ramson, celeriac, horseradish, onion, chives, rosemary). Organic ingredients amount to 30% of the content.
*Organic
Canned in Latvia for Fangst
Hream McDan (verified owner) –
The best version of kipper snacks that you’ll ever taste. Texture is perfectly medium, flake is absolutely immaculate, moisture is flawless. And the flavor? Balanced beyond belief, there is absolutely nothing that you’ll need to accompany this. Salt & seasoning is fully on point and it results in the most pure representation of (lightly) smoked kippers that you can possibly imagine. The spices are mild enough to not be able to pinpoint pepper or garlic individually but yet definitely make their presence known in the Fangst “depth of flavor” way that we all know and love.
While I love strong smoke on most fish (e.g. Latvian sprats), I feel like herring is *over* smoked in most kipper tins … and that’s made me move away from Bar Harbor and King Oscar kippers entirely in recent years. Well, I’m happy to say that the oversmoking issue doesn’t happen here one bit. The smoke is brilliantly mild yet noticeable, fully complementing the herring flavor without overpowering it in the slightest. The only otherwise-unflavored smoked herring that I can put at the same lofty level as this is the Wildfish Cannery tin. No other kipper comes even close. NOTE: It’s too difficult to compare this to Rügen Fisch “herring in sauce” tins but I like this a full 1.5 stars more than the Rügen Fisch peppered kippers, for what it’s worth.
Fangst has perfectly optimized every ingredient here and formed a deep & rich flavor experience like only they can. It’s another brilliant Fangst product and a must-try for any kipper fan.
Curiouscutefish (verified owner) –
I haven’t had much herring aside from when I was younger and kipper snacks were my favorite fish… So I was excited when I saw this tin and was looking forward to revisiting tinned herring. This was my second ever Fangst product (the first being the trout) and I’m not sure how I feel about this tin. I liked it a little and I want to try it again someday but right now, immediately after eating, I’m leaning towards not loving it.
The packaging is elegant and feels high quality, as I’m gathering is expected of Fangst. The fish was appealing in the tin and there was generous oil present and visible seasoning. As I’m uncomfortable with skin, it was easy to peel off on the one side of the two medium pieces and two teeny triangle shaped pieces. I had one bite plain and it was good with perfect texture, well balanced and yet mild seasoning with just a hint of smoke.
Rest of the tin I ate over warm rice noodles and poured all of the oil on top. This is where I start to feel unsure. Perhaps the warmth from the noodles didn’t play well with the fish, but it started breaking apart super easily and seemed super soft. On the other hand, a few times, I had some bites with a minimal crunch, which was confusing for me. I have no idea where this mild crunchiness came from (it was not the noodles). I also felt it was too much oil for my meal and I couldn’t finish it. Next time I’ll only pour half or less, so this was my mistake. I experienced a slight fishy aftertaste which was not my favorite.
So… I don’t know about this one. I had high hopes but I feel meh. I’m curious to try it again at some point and I feel others will probably enjoy it but for me, it just wasn’t it today.
Matt (verified owner) –
This is hands down the best tinned smoked fish I’ve ever had. The herring is not dry at all and has a rich, almost melt in your mouth texture. The smoke flavor is pronounced but not overpowering. Ramps and white pepper are very subtle flavors here. This is a fish lovers tin. Will 100% order again.
romaisa (verified owner) –
When I started eating this, the first thing I noticed was how soft the texture of the fish was. It’s the same soft texture you’d get if you freshly cooked a filet of fish and served it… except it’s in a tin! Definitely the softest, most tender and melt in your mouth tinned fish Ive tried. Also it wasn’t dry at ALL; instead it was extremely tender and also rich, especially with the oil — maybe a little too rich even. I found the smoke flavor to be really mild which I preferred since I don’t love an overly smoky flavor. Overall a really good quality tin of fish.
emosberger (verified owner) –
This is perhaps the best tin of smoked herring that I’ve had to date! The fillet I had was really moist and the smoke level was noticeable but not first-and-foremost like some other brands of kipper snacks I tried. The spices added a level complexity that Fangst tins seem to be well known for – muted enough to not be obvious but you can tell that there is something else besides salt and smoke.
I would place this tin in the same league as the Wildfish Herring (although the two are very different). The only negative I have is that I think it’s very expensive for a tin of herring, but that’s Fangst for you!
ravg (verified owner) –
Excellent tin, and all around well balanced. Strong smoke flavor but not overpowering. Tender meat that wasn’t jerky-like that happens with some of the stronger smoked fish. Ramps and white pepper sounds good, but not sure if I could pick those flavors out.
d. chu (verified owner) –
I will preface this review by admitting that my only other experience with tinned herring is with Bar Harbor smoked herring that I had previously purchased in bulk from a large online retailer.
Needless to say, Fangst’s offering probably shouldn’t even be in the same conversation. The quality of Fangst’s herring on all axes was astronomically better. The texture was soft and delightful, but not mushy or falling apart. I feel the level of smoke on these was at the bare minimum to be detectable and tasted, and several notches below overpowering. The same could be said for the level of saltiness. Not sure if there is better smoked herring out there, but these have set the bar very high for me!
Also, as with all of Fangst’s offerings, the rapeseed oil in the tin is exceptional and not to be wasted!
anne.nordquist (verified owner) –
This is one of our favorites. There were 2 large pieces in the tin. Great just by themselves or try with a piece of bread and some dijon mustard. A must have in our pantry.
LA (verified owner) –
Ooh-la-la! Decadently delicious, meticulously prepared fish. Delectably salty, firm but moist, & ever so filling. They may be too much for some, but for those raised on Jewish appetizing, this will combine nostalgia with the thrill of a superior contemporary choice. A hunk of black bread & maybe a dollop of strong mustard on the side, & all’s well with your world.
shs (verified owner) –
Accidentally ordered 2 tins of these which is good because I cannot for the life of me decide how I feel about it. The fish itself is lovely and moist with a nice hit of smoke. The flavor profile is unique, balanced, and herbal—very Fangstian. I don’t dislike the resulting flavor, and yet, I can’t quite quite tell if I *like* it. I have a feeling if I had something more substantial to pair it with (say, a crust of bread instead of a seed cracker) the flavors might work better for me.
dolson.drew (verified owner) –
Yes, yes, yes–this is the herring I’ve been looking for. I misspent much time sampling through tins of smoked herring that were really fish jerky (or marine shoe leather, in some sad cases). There’s definitely smoke here, but the fish is still tender, flaky, with its own good flavor intact. The pepper and onion seasoning is likewise present, but merely supportive, not dominating. Thanks, Danish experts!