Buckling (fish)

A buckling is a form of hot-smoked herring similar to the kipper and the bloater.

The head and guts are removed[1] but the roe or milt remain.

The name comes from the German word bückling or the Swedish böckling, both words denoting a type of hot-smoked herring and is a reference to its bad smell reminiscent of the smell of a buck.

All three are types of smoked herring.

Bucklings are hot-smoked whole; bloaters are cold-smoked whole; kippers are split, gutted and then cold-smoked.