German Rollmops – Tasty Hangover Cure

The best way to avoid a hangover is to control your drinking. However, if you think that strictly limiting the amount of alcohol takes away the fun, there are other ways to deal with it. Hangovers are a common problem people face when they drink too much in too little time. Of course, there are tricks like including snacks with your drinks and drinking slowly. Once you control your alcohol consumption per unit of time, your chances of having a hangover decrease.

If you have a ‘hangover’ the next day, what should you do? Well, there are many options. In fact, it is interesting to see how people cure hangovers in different parts of the world. Rollmops is a German dish that consists mainly of herring. It’s a good hangover remedy and it’s tasty too. It is a pickled version of herring and is usually served with sour cream and onion.

This recipe has been in use for many decades when better facilities for preserving fish were not invented. Salting or pickling the fish completely removes the water and lets it last longer. It was not rich food in those days, but it is a luxury dish these days. Herring is a fish found mainly in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic. Even when not used as a hangover cure, salt the herring to make it last longer. It is common practice to add salt to this fish on the shore itself after catching and cleaning it. They used the salting method to transport fish to most of Europe centuries ago. Of course these days freezer compartments are used to transport the fish.

The recipe for roll mops is simple but you have to prepare it in advance. You need herring fillets, cider vinegar, juniper berries, whole allspice, cloves, bay leaf, capers, mustard, onions, pickles, parsley, and cold water. You should soak the herring fillets in water overnight or all day and change the water at least once in between. Remove the bones, if any, and pat them dry.

Now lay the fillets flat on a slab or board with the skin side down. Spread some mustard followed by capers and onion rings. Cut the pickles and place them on each fillet and roll. Use toothpicks to hold the fillet roll in place. Now place all the fillets on a flat-bottomed glass dish. For the marinade, combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Let cool and make a paste. Add this to the herring fillets and refrigerate for 5-6 days. You can decorate them with parsley.

If you’re having a night out with friends and family, you can make this tasty hangover remedy a week in advance. You can even invite your friends over for lunch the day after the big night! With a little preparation beforehand, the day after the big night can also be enjoyed equally.