Herring Fillets

Trader Joe's carries 2 brands of herring fillets. As I like herring, I decided to try both of them and see what the difference was between them. Here is what I found out.

Both are smoked though the more expensive fillets are "Naturally Hardwood Smoked." Price wise, while you get more fish in the hardwood smoked fillets (.85 of an ounce), they were also more expensive per ounce vice the cheaper kipper herring fillets (43 cents vice 40 cents). The cheaper kipper fillets were the better deal price wise. Taste wise, I didn't notice any noticeable taste difference between the two. I thought both tasted very good. I liked that both were deboned. The hardwood smoked fillets are canned in their natural juices while the kipper fillets were canned in canola oil. As far as I know, this didn't add greatly to the calorie count with the kipper fillets. The hardwood smoked fillets are caught and processed in Canada while the kipper fillets are processed in Germany. I would've thought the Canada fillets would be cheaper considering the shorter distance between the countries but that wasn't the case.

Overall, both of the herring products Trader Joe's offers were very good. They were both very tasty and have long shelf life. Neither need refridgeration. They are something you could easily pack for a hike or a camping trip. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the kipper fillets because they are cheaper. If you like herring, you won't be disappointed with either product. Bon appetit!