A bloater is a traditional English delicacy which were very popular in the early to mid twentieth Century in some English resorts such as Great Yarmouth. A bloater is a smoked herring. Although kippers are also smoked herrings, the bloater is different because it is smoked whole i.e. It is not gutted or split ! The whole herring is salted and left for 12 hours. It is then smoked for 12 hours, usually over oak chippings. Because the fish is whole, before eating the bloater it has to be cut open with a knife and the stomach and its contents removed. It is usually grilled or lightly fried. They can also be eaten raw, although again the stomach should be removed. They are still available, but not popular due in part to the decline of herring stocks which has made herring expensive, but also due to people's reservations about cutting open the fish and taking out its organs !
