Wild Dutch Maatjes Herring Fillets

Maatjes herring is a rich Dutch secret - lightly cured fillets from very young herring. Each piece comprises two fillets, joined at the tail in the traditional way.

We have two pack sizes: four maatjes each individually packed, or a tray of 10 frozen together (but can be teased apart if you don't need them all at once). And we have a kosher pack too, which for some reason arrives only in dozens. And we also sell more conventional marinated herring fillets.

Here's a cheerful introduction from a customer: "A great starter or a light lunch, served with cold plain boiled potatoes, chopped onion and a little fresh dill. Best I ever had were in Antwerp market a cold Sunday before Christmas. Full from a huge hotel breakfast we could not walk past the Maatjes herring stall. We ate quite a few, cut up and placed on fresh onion, straight from the paper. They served as an appetite wake up call for not that long after we had a splendid fish lunch. Brill it was (the fish Brill)!" [We're guessing their next stop was an afternoon tea of bloater paste.]

Sustainability – Our rating  8/10

These are produced from Norwegian herring. Norway has one of the world’s most advanced fishing sustainability setups. MSC certification was withdrawn from the fishery in 2020 due to Norway and its neighbours not having a sharing agreement. However, ICES considers the stock very healthy.