How to Air Fry Herring

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My simple instructions for How to Air Fry Herring make the most of this nutritious oily fish. Whole fresh herring are economical to buy, packed with flavour and air fry in less than 10 minutes - what's not to love?!

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Prep Time: 8

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 16

Servings fish

Author Chloe

Equipment

Silicone Pastry Brush

Sharp Knife - Large

Chopping Board - Plastic

Heavy Duty Scissors

Ingredients

3 Whole Herring - roughly 125g each
2 tbsp Salted Butter - see notes
2 tsp Sea Salt Flakes - see notes
1 Lemon - halved & sliced

Instructions

If your air fryer requires pre-heating, Start this setting now.
Thoroughly dry 3 Whole Herrings.
Use scissors to remove any remaining fins.
If the fish haven't been pre-gutted, use a sharp knife to make a slit all along the belly of each fish.
Use your fingers or tip of the knife to pull out all of the innards.
You may want to take this opportunity to wash the fish and dry them thoroughly again.
Slice 1 Lemon into half rounds and stuff into the inside of each herring.
Melt 2 tbsp Salted Butter in a small bowl. I do this in the microwave but you could use a small heatproof bowl in the air fryer if you like. The preheat setting will likely do the trick.
Use a pastry brush to coat both sides of the fish with the melted butter.
Sprinkle over around 2 tsp Sea Salt Flakes. Crush the flakes between your fingers as your sprinkle for a thinner even coverage.
Place the fish into the air fryer basket. Leave a little space between each fish so the air can circulate.
Air fry for 8 minutes at 200c/390f. There is no need to turn the fish.
Be careful removing the cooked fish from the fryer as they will be delicate. Serve hot straight away.

Notes

Butter - You can use an oil instead of butter but I do find that butter helps the fish skin crisp a little more and adds a nice flavour.
Salt/Seasoning - You can use any seasoning mix or sauce instead of just salt but make sure that salt is included in the mix. You can also add a little citrus juice. If you use a sauce with a high sugar content, you may want to brush this on halfway through cooking so it doesn't catch and burn.
The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a 4.7 litre capacity Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501). This was needed to fit in 3 whole fish but if I was only cooking a smaller amount, my smaller Cosori Lite 3.8L (‎CAF-LI401S) which has a square(ish) shaped basket of 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal would have been big enough. Remember that you can always cook in batches in a smaller air fryer.
As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time.
Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.

Nutrition (Approx)