Russian Shuba Salad
This traditional Russian shuba salad is sometimes described as herring under a fur coat. Shuba is translated in Russian as fur coat. This shuba salad has layers of potatoes, herring and onion mix, carrots, egg yolks, egg whites, and beets.
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One of the hardest things about being thousands of miles away from family is my mom’s cooking. All the traditional Russian dishes have been taken for granted. Major sob.
My mom can’t call and tell me to come over for shuba or chebureki any time of the day anymore. I can only imagine how hard that must be on her end.
I called her up and told her I needed that shuba recipe. All the details including the size spoon she uses to scoop the mayo. Because we all know Russian people do not use a thing called measuring spoons. I don’t even believe my mother has a set of those.
So here are the details.
How To Make Russian Shuba Salad
Prep the ingredients.
Start by cooking the purple beets, golden potatoes, carrots, and eggs.
Start with cooking the beets first because they take the longest time to cook. In the first medium-sized pot, cook the beets in boiling water for about 40-50 minutes or until they are fully cooked through. You may need to add additional water to the pot as the beets cook and the water evaporates. They are done cooking when you can pierce them easily with a knife or fork.
In the second medium-sized pot, cook the potatoes for 15 minutes in boiling water. Add the carrots to the same pot and cook for 10 more minutes. Next, use tongs to carefully add the eggs to the same pot with the potatoes and carrots. Let them cook all together for 15 more minutes. Use tongs to remove the eggs, potatoes, carrots and beets. Set them all aside and let them come to room temperature before handling.
As the first set of ingredients are cooling, prepare the herring and onion mix.
For the choice of herring fish, pick something that is packed in oil. Pick some up from your local Russian and European Deli or from Costco. If herring is something you dislike, try using smoked salmon. Smoked salmon also makes for a great variation.
Remove the herring from the packaging and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Pat the herring with paper towels to remove most of the oil. Finely dice the herring fish and half of a white onion. Place them both into a bowl and mix until they are combined. Place the bowl into the refrigerator until it is ready to be used.
Once the cooked ingredients are cooled to room temperature, peel the beets, potatoes, and eggs. Separate the eggs yolks from the egg whites.
Use the large side of a box grater to grate the beets and potatoes (separate them onto plates/bowls). Use the fine side of the box grater to grate the carrots, egg yolks, and egg whites (separate them onto plates/bowls).
Now The Shuba Salad Is Ready For Assembly
Layering the ingredients.
Using a spoon, add the grated potatoes onto a large shallow serving dish. Spread into an even layer all across the dish.
Next, add the herring and onion mix over the potatoes. Spread into an even layer all the way across the potato layer.
Add 3 tablespoons of mayo and use a knife or back of a spoon to spread it over the herring and onion layer. As you spread the mayo some of this layer and the next layers may get moved around. That’s okay, keep spreading as best you can.
Repeat the layering/spreading process with the grated carrots and an additional 3 tablespoons of mayo. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of mayo if needed to cover the whole layer.
Repeat with grated egg yolks and 3 more tablespoons of mayo. Spreading the egg yolks with mayo can be a little tricky. It can start to blend with the carrot layer and that’s okay, spread as best you can.
Repeat with grated egg whites and 3 more tablespoons of mayo.
And lastly, repeat with the grated beets and 3 more tablespoons of mayo.
Place into the refrigerator and let rest overnight or at least 8 hours before serving. The shuba needs several hours of rest to let the layers absorb the mayo.
When you’re ready to serve the shuba salad, garnish with a few leaves of parsley or a sprig of dill.
If you make this Russian Shuba Salad recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I’d love to hear what you think about it, or better yet, see what you’re cooking! Tag me on Instagram, @fettysfoodblog with your creation.
Be sure to check out this Pierogi With Potato And Sweet Onion or this Chicken Chebureki (Чебуреки) recipe too!
Russian Shuba Salad
Ingredients
- 2 medium purple beets, green leafy top removed
- 2 medium russet or gold potatoes
- 3 medium carrots
- 6 large eggs
- 12-16 oz package of herring fillets in oil (about 1 pound)
- ½ yellow onion
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
Instructions
Prepping the ingredients
- Fill the first medium-sized pot with water about half way. Add beets and place lid on. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med/low. Cook for 40-50 minutes until fully cooked through and a knife can be inserted and removed easily. Add more water to the pot as needed.
- Fill a second medium-sized pot with water about half way. Add potatoes and place lid on. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med/low. Cook for 15 minutes. Add carrots to the same pot and cook for 10 more minutes. Use tongs to carefully add eggs to the same pot. Let cook for 15 more minutes.
- Use tongs to remove the eggs, potatoes, carrots and beets. Set them all aside and let them come to room temperature before handling.
- Remove herring from package and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Pat herring with paper towels to remove most of the oil. Finely dice the herring and half of a white onion. Place them both into a bowl and mix until combined. Place into refrigerator until ready for use.
- Once the first set of ingredients are cooled to room temperature, peel the beets, potatoes, and eggs. Separate eggs yolks from egg whites.
- Use the large side of a box grater to grate beets and potatoes (separate them onto plates/bowls). Use the fine side of the box grater to grate carrots, egg yolks, and egg whites (separate them onto plates/bowls).
Layering the ingredients
- Using a spoon, add grated potatoes onto a large shallow serving dish. Spread into an even layer all across the dish.
- Next, add herring and onion mix over potatoes. Spread into an even layer all the way across the potato layer.
- Add 3 tablespoons of mayo and use a knife or the back of a spoon to spread it over the herring and onion layer. As you spread the mayo some of this layer and the next layers may get moved around. That’s okay, keep spreading as best you can.
- Repeat the layering/spreading process with grated carrots and additional 3 tablespoons of mayo. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of mayo if needed to cover the whole layer.
- Repeat with grated egg yolks and 3 more tablespoons of mayo.
- Repeat with grated egg whites and 3 more tablespoons of mayo.
- Lastly, repeat with grated beets and 3 more tablespoons of mayo.
- Place into the refrigerator and let rest overnight or at least 8 hours before serving. The shuba needs several hours of rest to let the layers absorb the mayo. When ready to serve the shuba salad, garnish with a few leaves of parsley or a sprig of dill.
