BRIS(T)LINGS OR EUROPEAN SPRATS IN BRINE

Latvia has 531 km of sandy (Kurzemes coast) and pebbly (Vidzeme coast) coastline along with fishing villages, lighthouses, brineries, smokeries, ports, beaches, dunes, bluffs and capes. The bris(t)ling (both spellings are used in English) or European sprat (Sprattus sprattus balticus) is a small and tiny marine fish resembling herring and found in abudance in the Baltic Sea. It has silver grey scales and white-grey flesh, not to be confused with its "big brother" Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras (L.)) also belonging to the family Clupeidae.  European sprats have high commercial importance in Latvian economy. And the most tradicional and ancient way of preparing them and also preserving them for harsh winters is soaking in brine. In Latvian raw sprat is called brētliņa while cured in brine changes its name to ķilava. Similarly in English cured herring bears the name of bloater or kipper.

Brining is an ancient and simple type of food preservation using salt and water (in this recipe equal parts of water and white wine are used). It has been practiced by almost every seafaring culture throughout time with the only difference being the type of fish used. In contrast to fish brining some type of vegetables (cabbage) are soked in brine until spontaneous fermentation occurs. The amount of time needed to brine depends on the size of the fish but ususally brining is suitable for small fishes. In old times containers used for brining were oak barrels but inox or enamel container (bowl) is fine for small quantities. Nowadays sprats in brine are manufactured on the commercial scale and for longer shelf life they are canned and then sold in supermarkets. Home brined sprats are the best bait!

Today home brined sprats is an abandoned culinary tradition especially in urban areas and metropolis like Riga. However, this tradition is still alive in small fishing villages along Kurzeme coast (Western coastline). So I decided to revive the tradition of home brined sprats (ķilavas).  Several generations of my family have lived in Riga and I can truly call myself Rigan (inhabitant of Riga) and therefore I do not have my grandma's recipe of brined sprats. I followed general rules of brining but created my own mixture of spices that most probably differs from very authentic recipe. That was the most challenging task as spices add twist to the salty solution where sparts are cured. In season (October to April) raw sprats are sold in Fish Pavilion of Riga Central Market included in UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In developing the spice mixture I felt a bit like the attar, mixer of epic Moroccan spice mixture ral el hanout. At the end my spice mixture contained as many as14 different spices in order to safisty my taste buds. Spices were ground just before brining and I do recommend grind them in small amounts because once you grind spices, they begin to die. During blending I added spices, mixed them well and tasted a mixture, then added other spices or more quantities and tasted it again untill I came to final mixture. I was very creative culinary pleasure but unfortunately I can not give precise amount of each spice in the final mixture because I never weighted them during blending. But still I can name all spices included in the final mixture.

1kg European sprats
100ml cold water
100ml dry white wine
1/2tsp.sugar
5tbsp. sea salt (non-iodized)
splash of anise-flavoured liqueur (sambuca, pastis)
spice mixture - black pepper, allspice, pink peppercorns, coriander seeds, dried orange peel, fennel seeds, dried ginger root, cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, nutmeg, mace, bay leaves, rose petals.

Grind the spices and blend them into spice mixture.

Even sprats do not need to be gutted and whole fish may be cured I prefer to gut them due to the long soaking time in brine. Gut the sprats, wash and drain, then place them tightly side by side in a bowl. When the first layer is formed sprinkle over sea salt and spice mixture, and form the next layer and again sprinkle over the salt and spice mixture. Form as many layers as necessary.

To make preserving liquid in a saucepan bring water to a boil, add sugar and simmer for a minute untill sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool. Mix together cool water and white wine. Pour the preserving liquid over the sprats, making sure that they all are covered. Sit a saucer on top, and apply pressure by weighing it down with a big tin or weight. Store in a cool place or fridge until they are ripening for at least 5 to 7 days. They are best eaten 5 to 10 days from brining, but will keep for up to a month or longer. All the times sprats shall be covered by preserving liquid. To serve, cut off head and tail and remove backbone of the sprats, pin bones are too small to be removed.

Brined sprats are served cold, usually as a starter on the buttered slice of rye bread or accompanied with a boiled egg, a few slivers of onion and some greens. European sprats in brine are considered a difficult food to be paired with wine. It should be wine that cope with both saltyness and pronunced taste of cured fish. Traditionally Latvians would pair ķilavas with a beer or even dry cider rathen than wine. I think that ķilavas work well with a chilled white that is high in acidity and not too oaky. Grenache Gris from Roussillon or Pinot Blanc or Riesling from Alsace can help to balance the salt and the high acidity helps the wine stand up to the intense flavors.

There is nothing like the taste of ķilavas at this time of the year!