Very often I spoil my family members with the most delicious, aromatic and salty snack - mincemeat made from herring. I always cook it according to the classic recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya, since it seems to me that it is the most successful. To prepare this dish, I always buy herring that is quite large in size, since it tastes much fattier and tastier than the one that is small in size. I also always try to choose fish with a convex belly, since this moment most often indicates that the fish will be with milk, or, even better, with caviar, which everyone in our family adore and literally “fight” for. You can also cook.
If you haven’t had the opportunity or for some reason have never tried mincemeat, but my recipe is of great interest to you, then immediately start cooking it with me. You will be surprised, but the recipe is quite simple, since all the ingredients just need to be twisted in a meat grinder. If you don’t have a meat grinder, then use a blender, it can also handle this process perfectly.
Ingredients:
- 0.5 herring,
- a piece of bread (I used a loaf),
- 50 milliliters of regular milk (fat content does not matter),
- 20 grams of onions,
- butter to taste,
- ¼ part of a small apple.
Recipe with photos step by step:
Break the bread into small pieces and place them in a bowl. Fill with milk. 
Assemble an electric meat grinder and connect it to power.
Grind the herring in a meat grinder. Be sure to clean it first and remove the skin too. 
Then squeeze the bread a little to let the excess milk escape. Grind the bread in a meat grinder. 
Do the same with onions and apples. 
So, all the ingredients are twisted.
Now add soft butter to them and mix the mincemeat with a tablespoon. Adjust the amount of butter according to your taste preferences. 
It turns out delicious and
Forshmak is a herring appetizer, a national Jewish dish. Not very attractive in appearance, it has won an army of thousands of fans not only among Jews, but throughout the world. This appetizer goes well with a variety of dishes, but is especially delicious with baked potatoes. Forshmak is also indispensable in men’s company, as it is an excellent snack to go with good vodka. How to cook this dish yourself? What ingredients are added to the classic forshmak, and which ones to the Jewish one?
A little history about forshmak
Herring forshmak is a snack that causes controversy among nations over its origin. Jews consider it a dish of their national cuisine, the same can be heard from Swedes, Germans and Finns. The thing is that initially forshmak was prepared from fish and meat, and served hot. The ancient Prussians called meat and herring baked in sour cream and spices “forshmak”, that is, “snack”.
Among the ancient Jews, the current forshmak had a name that literally meant “chopped herring.” Over time, this Jewish dish also began to be called an appetizer, and in addition to herring, it also included other ingredients. The national Jewish dish of chopped herring has changed in composition, and also acquired a name borrowed from the ancient Prussians. That is why there are now disputes about the origin of forshmak in the modern sense.
Current methods of preparing herring snacks are varied. Many housewives add ingredients to it, taking into account their own taste preferences. They say that nothing can spoil a delicious herring. However, despite the variety of allowed components, there are basic rules for its preparation. We will look at two mincemeat recipes - Jewish and classic.
Which herring is best to use?
Since herring is the main ingredient of mincemeat, its choice must be taken seriously. There is an opinion that before preparing this delicious snack, the fish should be soaked in strong tea or even milk. Is it so? Housewives soaked herring in Soviet times. They did this solely for one reason - previously they sold herring so salted that it was simply impossible to eat. To remove excess salt from the fish, it was soaked. Now there is no such problem - in stores they sell lightly salted herring, fatty and tender. This is exactly what we need to prepare this appetizer.
Classic mincemeat: how to cook from herring (classic mincemeat recipe)
If you decide to cook mincemeat according to the classic recipe, prepare the necessary ingredients.
Fat lightly salted herring – 1.
1 head of onion.
Sour apple – 1.
2 eggs.
Butter – 100 gr.
First you need to take care of the fish. We cut off the head, fins and tail. Now we make an incision along the back and stomach, take out the insides. We remove the peel, starting from the head, grabbing it along the edge of the back. Now you need to carefully remove the ridge, trying to pull out the breast bones along with it. Small bones can be left; they will be chopped in a meat grinder. Cut the fish fillet into small pieces.
Peel and core the apple and cut into slices. Divide the onion into convenient pieces for putting into a meat grinder. Boil the eggs hard. Set one of the yolks aside; it will be useful later.
Pass all ingredients through a meat grinder, including oil. To ensure that it passes through the holes well, it is better to lay it after the apple. Mix the resulting mass until it has a homogeneous consistency. If you like a spicier snack, add a little ground black pepper. There is no need to add salt, the herring will give exactly the taste that the dish should have.
Transfer the mixture into a beautiful small salad bowl and, lightly compacting it, give it the desired shape. Decorate mincemeat with herbs and grated yolk. Place the dish in the refrigerator to let the butter harden.
Real Jewish mincemeat, recipe
The traditional Jewish recipe differs from the classic one in that it also uses bread, and also adds potatoes and a little lemon juice. This set of products reflects the entire history of the wanderings of this people, their need to survive in conditions of need. At first glance, it may seem that bread and potatoes are unnecessary ingredients, but with them the dish will turn out thicker and more satisfying. Lemon will add some zest to the appetizer.
So, prepare everything you need.
1 potato.
2 testicles.
Sour apple – 1.
Good quality butter or margarine – 100 g.
Bulb.
Yesterday's loaf.
Milk (a little).
Slice of lemon.
Spices as desired.
Cooking forshmak in Jewish style is just as simple. We clean the fish and fillet it, divide it into pieces. Peel the apple, cut into slices, removing the core. Soak 2 pieces of yesterday's bread in milk and squeeze. Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel them. Boil 2 hard-boiled eggs.
When all the ingredients are prepared, pass them through a meat grinder. Squeeze the juice of one lemon slice into the finished mixture. Mix the resulting mass well until it becomes homogeneous. At first it seems soft - the butter has melted a little. When the dish sits in the refrigerator, it will set and become thicker. Don't forget to decorate the appetizer with yolk and herbs.
How is mincemeat served?
If you have prepared a herring appetizer for the holiday table, then it is unlikely that you should serve it to guests simply in a salad bowl. You can leave it in this form if only members of the household will eat mincemeat. It’s better to spread it on croutons or bread, and decorate the sandwiches with herbs on top. Another interesting way to serve a dish is to give it the shape of a fish or another (at your discretion), placing it in a herring bowl. Always sprinkle the finished mincemeat with herbs and egg yolk, as this appetizer needs decoration.
Now you know how to make mincemeat according to two recipes - classic and Jewish. Choose what you think tastes best. You can experiment by adding carrots, beets or cream cheese to the snack.
Classic, traditional, authentic, real mincemeat... Recipes on the World Wide Web are full of all kinds of epithets! Let's first figure out what mincemeat is for those who have not encountered this appetizer. This is herring chopped into a pate with the addition of onions, bread, butter and other ingredients. Used as a spread on bread. The dish belongs to Jewish cuisine. It’s the latter that has given food to the minds of culinary sites and blogs, where the authors try as hard as they can to convince the reader that their recipe is the most correct, because it is a family recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation, and it was dictated to the author by his beloved Aunt Dora (Sarah , Rose, etc.). In fact, I think this is true and not true, because every old dish with a history does not and cannot have a single recipe. I suspect that all these beloved aunties prepared mincemeat in different ways, adding something of their own. I do not and did not have an aunt who could pass on to me the recipe for her mincemeat, and what I am trying to call “classic” here is a compilation based on Internet recipes in which I found common points. Let's look at the recipes with photos step by step and draw a conclusion about what came out of it.
Forshmak - Jewish recipe
The common features of this dish are herring, apple, onion and butter. If I’m not mistaken, this option is called “Odessa-style forshmak.” As for white bread (loaf), opinions differ, but in most cases it is present. Another point that excites the minds of culinary experts is soaking herring. Some people think that this is a mandatory stage, and others that it is not. I'll join the second one. I will try to argue: they soaked herring in Soviet times when it was “rusty”, i.e. not fresh and/or over-salted. If your fish is of normal freshness and salting, feel free to skip this step.
Ingredients:
- herring – 1 piece;
- apple – 1 piece;
- onion – 1 head;
- loaf - 2 slices;
- milk – 1/3 cup;
- butter – 80g;
- eggs – 2 pcs.
How to make mincemeat from herring:
- If you have a whole fish, not gutted, then we’ll start with this pleasant activity. We cut off the head and tail, but do not throw it away - put it aside. You may need them if you want to serve a ready-made appetizer, decorated as a whole fish.
- Then cut along the belly.
- We take out the insides, including caviar or milk (who gets what).
- Carefully scrape out the black film with a knife.
- Cut off all the fins on the abdomen.
- And on the back. We make an incision along the back to the spine.
- Remove the skin from the tail side. We pull, helping ourselves with a knife.
- And so on both sides.
- Then, with our hands, we divide it into two halves along the incision made earlier along the back.
- We get two halves, the spine will be on one of them.
- We take out the ridge and all the large bones. If you have a few small bones left, it doesn’t matter, we will still twist the fish and they will grind.
- We get two pieces of fillet.
- Cut the crusts off the loaf slices and cut the crumb into pieces. Pour milk and leave to soak.
- Cut the herring fillet crosswise into medium pieces.
- We peel the onion and apple, cut out the core of the apple, and cut it into pieces. I have red onions, they are not as serious as regular ones, but this is not important in the recipe, you can use whatever you have on hand.
- In a blender bowl, place the herring, onion, apple, squeezed loaf and soft butter at room temperature, both hard-boiled eggs (leave one yolk for serving, if desired). We punch everything until smooth. Naturally, you can use a meat grinder and scroll all the products through it, but in this case, do it twice, firstly, so that the mass turns out more tender, and secondly, so that the bones are ground for sure.
- What is in front of you now is the most delicious mincemeat. It needs to be put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that the butter cools and the pate thickens.
How to serve mincemeat
You can simply serve it on the table on weekdays in any container. It is usually spread on pieces of black bread.
You can make sandwiches right away by sprinkling them with crumbled egg yolk and finely chopped green onions.
To serve on the holiday table, we will need a reserved head and tail, as well as a large oval dish. Place the mincemeat on it as shown in the photo below.
If this kind of serving is not for you, then look away or prepare miniature toasts from black bread, and you can decorate with the same yolk or finely chopped fresh herbs.
The snack should be stored in the refrigerator, covered. She herself will not impart odors, but she can impart them to other products. Shelf life is no more than 3-4 days.
Herring forshmak with carrots and cream cheese
Ingredients:
- lightly salted herring – 1 piece;
- carrots – 1 piece;
- onion – 1 piece;
- loaf – 2 pieces;
- milk – 1/3 cup;
- cream cheese – 100g.
Cooking process:
It is good to spread on bread or biscuits and drink tea with it as a snack.
Something like that. Try both: the first if you want to try the classics, the second if you want to experiment.
Forshmak is a pate made from herring and some additional ingredients: onions, bread, apples and eggs. All elements are crushed and bones are removed from the fish. You choose the spices for the pate yourself. Forshmak is an excellent option as a snack; sandwiches are often made from it. To surprise guests sitting at the table, decorate the dish with herbs or olives. You can put it on a beautiful dish and make an unusual shape, put various vegetables on top. There are enough options so everyone can decorate to their liking.
This appetizer is not new; it came to us from the Soviet Union and is still relevant for any holiday. Previously, there were many problems when buying fish: firstly, it was not so easy to buy, and secondly, the purchased herring was always over-salted. Housewives solved this problem in their own ways - they soaked the fish in tea. Nowadays, you can buy herring in any supermarket or market.
For Jews, this dish is national. It is present at any event and acts as a cold snack. There are also countries where mincemeat is served differently. For example, in Finland it is served on the table as a hot dish.
There are a large number of recipes for making mincemeat. Some people use lamb or beef instead of fish; there are recipes with the addition of mushrooms, vegetables and potatoes. Today we will talk about the classic recipe with herring, we will tell you in more detail how to prepare delicious mincemeat.
How and with what to serve mincemeat
This dish differs from others in its simple appearance, which must be decorated in any convenient way. The situation is similar to that of girls with a pale face who desperately need cosmetics. Greenery or other decoration for mincemeat is absolutely necessary. First of all, of course, think about how you will place the dish on the table, and only then start thinking about decoration. 
You need to understand the difference between a casual meal at home and an event with a bunch of guests. For a simple lunch with family, regular mincemeat without decorations is suitable; it will be an excellent appetizer for potatoes. For the holiday table, you can serve the dish differently:
- Make bread canapés. Any type will do: white, black and others. Make a small layer of mincemeat, place a piece of herring on top, next to a small piece of cucumber.
- If you have time, prepare chips with mincemeat.
- The tartlets will look beautiful. Additionally, decorate them with olives and sprinkle with hard cheese, grated on a fine grater.
These are not all the options for serving the dish. The main thing is to have the desire to do something unusual and then you will succeed. The appetizer has a pleasant taste, so if you decorate it well, it will instantly go off the table. All guests will definitely love her!
Classic herring mincemeat
This dish is considered to be a traditional European dish. In our region, mincemeat is placed on the table as an appetizer and decorated with onions. How to make a delicious fish dish similar to pate at home? 
It is necessary to have the simplest meat grinder in the house, through which we will grind minced meat and some other products. We will cut the onion by hand into small cubes. Let's move on to the detailed recipe for preparing the dish!
Ingredients:
Cooking process:
Forshmak from herring for the New Year's table
New Year and Christmas are coming! Have you probably already thought about what delicacies you will prepare for the holidays? We can offer you to make a delicious appetizer from herring and vegetables - mincemeat. Since the dish is New Year's, we will decorate it in the same style. 
Ingredients:
- fish fillet 0.5 kg.
- onion 1 pc.
- butter 100g.
- loaf (pulp) 100g.
- apple 2 pcs.
- vinegar 9% to your taste.
- ground black pepper up to 1 tsp.
A little secret: To make the dish incredibly tasty, buy not fillets, but whole herring. Clean it at home and then everything is the same. The taste of the mincemeat will be much better.
Cooking process:
- We prepare the necessary products.
- We remove the skin from the fish, cut off the head and tail. We take out all the insides and take out the bones. Chop the fillet into medium pieces.
- We wash the apples, peel the skin, remove the core and seeds.
- Peel the onion, wash it and divide it into 4 parts.
- We take the loaf (we cut off the crust in advance) and soak it in water, after which we squeeze out all the liquid from it.
- Now we grind all the components using a meat grinder. Skip the fillet first, then everything else: butter, loaf, apples and onions.
- Add vinegar and pepper to the mixture to your taste.
- Mix the mixture thoroughly until smooth. Our dish is ready!
- We cut the bread into triangles, which we will lay out in the shape of a Christmas tree.
- Spread each piece with butter and add a layer of mincemeat on top. You can use greens or red caviar grains as decoration.
Forshmak with melted cheese and carrots
Today I will share with you a simple recipe for making homemade mincemeat with carrots. The task is quite simple, but you will get excellent results. The appetizer will be so appetizing that it will be gone from the table in a matter of moments.
I am sure that you will like this recipe for mincemeat with cheese. Not only is the dish delicious, it is also filling. In principle, my recipe is very similar to the classic one, I changed it very slightly. In my opinion, mincemeat without carrots does not look so appetizing, so I decided to try making a snack with it. I decorate the dish with cheese after it is ready - it looks very beautiful. Let's get to cooking!
Ingredients:
- medium-sized herring 1 pc.
- hard boiled egg 1 pc.
- carrots 1 pc.
- butter 100 g.
- processed cheese 1 p.
- salt and spices to your taste.
Cooking process:
Here are some useful tips to help make your fish appetizer even tastier:
- Try to buy lightly salted fish for appetizers, otherwise you will have to soak the herring additionally to get rid of excess salt.
- For a more desirable taste, it is better to buy whole herring. At home, clean it and cut the processed fillet. Ready-made chopped pieces will not give mincemeat such a strong taste.
- Many people like to use this dish as a pate. For this purpose, it is better to grind all ingredients in a blender, including fish with apples.
- The dish can be placed on the table both on a weekday and on a holiday. Naturally, it needs to be served beautifully for the holiday table. Use cheese, grate it and sprinkle on top. Place olives or red caviar grains on the cheese.
- You can serve the appetizer as a canapé. To do this, cut the bread into small squares and lightly fry. Place mincemeat on each piece and a slice of cucumber on top.
- Another option for serving the dish is to serve it on chips. For additional decoration, use herbs and olives.
Herring forshmak is a classic recipe with which you can try the gastronomic subtleties of Jewish cuisine. Traditional minced fish, eggs and butter are filled with potatoes and cucumbers, apples and bread crumbs, adding a unique taste and flavor. The appetizer has dozens of options, each of them simple and interesting.
How to cook mincemeat?
Classic forshmak includes simple and affordable ingredients: salted herring, butter, boiled eggs, sour apples. The essence of the preparation is that all products are crushed to the state of a coarse pate. The mass is cooled and served with pieces of black bread as an appetizer, being an excellent appetizer for main courses.
- Despite the ease of preparation, the Jewish dish forshmak requires high-quality ingredients and strict adherence to proportions.
- High-quality herring is the key to a successful dish. Do not use store-bought fillets or pieces of fish in oil. Whole fish must be cleaned, bones removed and filleted. Very salted herring must be soaked in milk.
- The snack should have some texture, so it is better to use a hand grinder.
- The rough taste of raw onions can be changed by frying them in oil.
Classic Jewish herring mincemeat - recipe
Jewish forshmak, the recipe for which involves various versions. In the classic version, the herring should be cut by hand in order to convey its structure as best as possible. For a particularly delicate taste, onions are fried in butter and added to the appetizer along with it. Traditionally, mincemeat is served chilled.
Ingredients:
- herring - 3 pcs.;
- potatoes - 3 pcs.;
- eggs - 3 pcs.;
- apple - 2 pcs.;
- butter - 150 g;
- onions - 4 pcs.;
- lemon juice - 40 ml.
Preparation
- Boil potatoes and eggs.
- Peel the herring and chop finely.
- Fry the onion in oil.
- Grate potatoes, eggs and apples on a fine grater, mix with herring and fried onions.
- The most delicious mincemeat made from herring is seasoned with lemon juice and cooled.
Forshmak in Odessa - recipe
Odessa-style forshmak is one of the most colorful and simple recipes for the famous snack. Odessa housewives did not complain about the lack of some products and used everything that was at hand. Pieces of bread were used, which, after soaking in milk, added juiciness, and a dressing of vinegar and oil added a special piquant taste.
Ingredients:
- herring fillet - 500 g;
- milk - 120 ml;
- loaf slices - 4 pcs.;
- egg - 3 pcs.;
- mustard - 10 g;
- vinegar - 10 ml;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- oil - 60 ml.
Preparation
- Soak the loaf slices in milk.
- Boil the eggs.
- Separate the white from the yolk. Grind the yolk with mustard and 20 ml of oil.
- Grind the herring, onion, whites and slices of loaf and mix with the yolk.
- Season with oil and vinegar.
Forshmak with potatoes - a classic recipe
Forshmak with potatoes is an appetizer that combines the richness of the main course. To prepare, you only need three ingredients: potatoes, eggs and herring. To prevent mincemeat from turning into potato salad, these products are used in equal quantities. They go great with a tangy dressing of butter, mustard and vinegar.
Ingredients:
- potatoes - 3 pcs.;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- vinegar - 40 ml;
- oil - 50 ml;
- egg - 3 pcs.;
- mustard - 20 g;
- green onion feathers - 5 pcs.;
- herring fillet - 300 g.
Preparation
- Boil potatoes and eggs.
- Blend together with herring, onion, oil, vinegar and mustard in a blender.
- garnish with green onions and refrigerate.
Forshmak with cheese
Classic herring forshmak was originally considered a hot appetizer. A dish of herring, sour cream, eggs and potatoes was baked in the oven and served without cooling. Swedish cuisine to this day preserves the traditions of its ancestors, even adding cheese to diversify the recipe with various ingredients. It refreshes the taste and gives a golden brown crust.
Ingredients:
- herring fillet - 250 g;
- boiled potatoes - 2 pcs.;
- yolks - 3 pcs.;
- sour cream - 150 g;
- cheese - 100 g.
Preparation
- Chop the potatoes and herring.
- Grate the cheese on a fine grater.
- Beat the yolks.
- Add sour cream and stir.
- Place the mixture into a baking dish.
- Forshmak from baked herring - the classic recipe involves baking in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.
How to make mincemeat from herring with butter?
Classic herring mincemeat is a recipe in which you can prepare a unique dish from a small number of ingredients. This option is simple: you need to grind herring, boiled eggs, onions and butter in a meat grinder. The latter will make the snack soft and elastic. To obtain an airy texture, use a mixer.
Ingredients:
- herring fillet - 200 g;
- eggs - 3 pcs.;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- butter - 120 g.
Preparation
- Grind the fillet, boiled eggs, onion and butter in a meat grinder.
- Herring mincemeat is a classic recipe in which the resulting mass should be whipped in a blender.
Forshmak with apple - a classic recipe
Forshmak from herring with apple is a classic of Jewish cuisine. With the addition of apples, the snack acquires that same piquant taste, for which it is appreciated by many gourmets. The apples must be sour and have dense, non-starchy pulp - otherwise the dish will not work. Since peeled apples darken quickly, they should be sprinkled with lemon juice.
Ingredients:
- herring fillet - 200 g;
- apple - 2 pcs.;
- butter - 70 g;
- egg - 1 pc.;
- lemon juice - 20 g.
Preparation
- Grate the apples and sprinkle with juice.
- Finely chop the fillet.
- Grind the boiled egg.
- Add oil and stir.
Classic herring mincemeat with carrots - recipe
Forshmak with melted cheese and carrots is incredibly popular with many housewives. The appetizer is easy to prepare, very inexpensive and has excellent taste. Thanks to carrots, mincemeat acquires an appetizing appearance and a slight sweetness, which harmonizes perfectly with salted herring. The dish turns out bright, elegant and goes perfectly with the festive table.
Ingredients:
- herring fillet - 150 g;
- boiled carrots - 1 pc.;
- processed cheese - 75 g;
- butter - 80 g;
- fresh parsley - a handful.
Preparation
- Place all ingredients in a blender bowl and blend until smooth.
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