Spanish Mackerel recipe

Reel Mullarkey

I'm looking for a little advice on the best way to cook a Spanish Mack.

I was thinking of marinading it in Italian dressing and grilling it on the 1/2 shell, but I bet there's another way " a better way" to cook this thing. Thanks for any help / advise / secret recipe.

:thumbsup

capt louie

The way you said is a pretty safe bet. It works well broiled with a little lemon and butter.

Ol'DirtyCaster

Soak a cedar plank for a couple hours, place your fillets on the cedar plank and top it with coarse ground horseradish and dill weed, and a pinch of sea salt. Grill it on low heat for 20 minutes, toss the mackerel in the trash and eat the cedar plank. : )

Flash

Ol'DirtyCaster wrote: »

Soak a cedar plank for a couple hours, place your fillets on the cedar plank and top it with coarse ground horseradish and dill weed, and a pinch of sea salt. Grill it on low heat for 20 minutes, toss the mackerel in the trash and eat the cedar plank. : )

Dang, I never heard that one before. :wink



Smoke them and make dip

Also if they are freshly caught, cut out the blood line and fry them. Taste just as good as trout.

Reel Mullarkey

Ol'DirtyCaster wrote: »

Soak a cedar plank for a couple hours, place your fillets on the cedar plank and top it with coarse ground horseradish and dill weed, and a pinch of sea salt. Grill it on low heat for 20 minutes, toss the mackerel in the trash and eat the cedar plank. : )

That sounds great! :Spittingcoffee but I didn't catch any Cedar, will pine do?

flagold

Reel Mullarkey wrote: »

That sounds great! :Spittingcoffee but I didn't catch any Cedar, will pine do?

Pine will not do with that (or any).

I do Mackerel the same way I do Steelhead:

[video=youtube_share;YBkU6X2APYU]http://youtu.be/YBkU6X2APYU[/video]

Use whatever spice you're used to for the spice (since you already like whatever that is, you're 50% home already).

ericf

Grilled skin down on foil with butter on top, dill, lemon or lime juice, and garlic salt. Hard to go wrong with that, as long as its fresh. Super easy as well.

Jack Hexter

I will only eat Spanish mackerel on the day it was caught, and only if it was killed in a salt ice slush. I fillet it, leaving skin on, but cutting blood line out. Broil or grill it with butter and paprika.

restlessnative

Like others have said got to eat fresh that day, fillet and leave skin on, and cut out the blood line. Put a little salt & pepper on it, cover with a generous layer of mayonnaise and sprinkle a little paprika on top, then broil.

cpr

Before you put them in the ice slurry bleed them. I cut the gills toss them in the ice water. Like Jack said eat in the first 24 hours and keep them cold. I also cut the blood line out and fry them in a mix of everglades seasoning and fine ground corn meal.

kbkeys

Just an FYI, they are one of the healthiest pescados you can eat. Love them grilled with a glaze of Hoisin and Sambal, and smoked Spanish makes a way-tasty, smooth textured fish dip/spread...and so fun on light tackle/ fly.

spydermonkey

I always fry it with zatarans seasoning. Only eat it the same day or day after. I think it is very good fried and also like dip made with it.

Reel Mullarkey

Thanks for all the reply's, I decided to try a few different methods.

1st - marinade in KRAFT Zesty Italian dressing, season with Paprika, black pepper, garlic salt and cane sugar, then grilled on the skin for about 20 minute (old faithful recipe) tastes great hot and makes decent left over or dip later.

2nd - Marinade in Ginger teriyaki sauce, rolled in sesame seeds and pan seared withe very little oil in the pan. (I tried pan frying the sesame seeds and that was a painful disaster!!! The seeds fry and pop of the meat making flaming hot little projectiles - that sucked!) It was pretty tasty with some ginger and wasabi but not as good as tuna.

3rd - I blackened both sides and cooked with olive oil on the grill in tin foil. Not very good but it should make a decent dip later.

Thanks again guys. I was too full to even try the cedar plank but I think I might eat that for breakfast :wink

Flash

I remember I use to put them in the broiler oven with some butter and lemon juice along with some Old Bay seasoning. Way before I learned to smoke them. Weren't bad at all.

Kill N Time

They make good patties also. Skin them and remove the blood line and all of the bones. Dice the meat and mix with panco bread crumbs, diced onion, diced green and red bell peppers. Add salt, pepper and seasonings of choice. Once the patties are made coat them with panko bread crumbs one more time before frying or baking them. This is a good recipe incase you keep to many to eat the day that you catch them.

century7

I only smoke them for dip. Have some in the fridge now. As for cooking them I do not care for them. When I do cook them I try not to cook with oil since they are already an oily fish to begin with.

jcanracer

Since I grew up in Jamaica, I'm used to eating cooked mackerel and kingfish (heck I never even had smoked fish dip until I moved to Florida). For these two recipes, fillet and remove the dark meat, but keep the skin on (helps to prevent the fish from breaking up)

One of the popular things we do with Mackerel is to steam it. Now that does not mean putting it in a steamer without seasoning lol! What it entails is seasoning the mackerel fillets with salt and black pepper (maybe some garlic powder), placing them in a pot with a tightly fitting cover. Meanwhile saute onions, sliced okra, thyme, some diced pepper (habanero if you can't find jamaican scotch bonnet peppers) and some diced tomatoes. Add some butter at the last minute and pour this hot mixture over the mackerel fillets, closing the lid and turning on the heat immediately to low/simmer. No peeking; you will let out the steam, and that is what is actually cooking the fish. In about 15-20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the filets) dinner is served.

Another surprisingly easy one is Mackerel in coconut milk. I did this one last week with the family when we caught a nice 6lb spanish mackerel. Cut the fillets into smaller serving sizes, season with salt and black pepper. Lightly dust them with cornstarch before pan-searing them to 50% cooked through, set aside. Meanwhile in another pot, simmer your unsweetened coconut milk (maybe 1 can for a small mackerel) with thyme, diced pepper, onions, diced/crushed garlic, Salt&pepper to taste, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of an Alfredo sauce. Return the mackerel to the pot and slowly pour your seasoned coconut cream over the fish. Cover the pot tightly and let the steaming hot coconut and veggie mixture do its thing. Additional simmering shouldn't be necessary since you already cooked the fish most of the way through.

In both cases serve with rice and/or fried bammy (jamaican casava cakes).

Reel Mullarkey

jcanracer wrote: »

Since I grew up in Jamaica, I'm used to eating cooked mackerel and kingfish (heck I never even had smoked fish dip until I moved to Florida). For these two recipes, fillet and remove the dark meat, but keep the skin on (helps to prevent the fish from breaking up)

One of the popular things we do with Mackerel is to steam it. Now that does not mean putting it in a steamer without seasoning lol! What it entails is seasoning the mackerel fillets with salt and black pepper (maybe some garlic powder), placing them in a pot with a tightly fitting cover. Meanwhile saute onions, sliced okra, thyme, some diced pepper (habanero if you can't find jamaican scotch bonnet peppers) and some diced tomatoes. Add some butter at the last minute and pour this hot mixture over the mackerel fillets, closing the lid and turning on the heat immediately to low/simmer. No peeking; you will let out the steam, and that is what is actually cooking the fish. In about 15-20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the filets) dinner is served.

Another surprisingly easy one is Mackerel in coconut milk. I did this one last week with the family when we caught a nice 6lb spanish mackerel. Cut the fillets into smaller serving sizes, season with salt and black pepper. Lightly dust them with cornstarch before pan-searing them to 50% cooked through, set aside. Meanwhile in another pot, simmer your unsweetened coconut milk (maybe 1 can for a small mackerel) with thyme, diced pepper, onions, diced/crushed garlic, Salt&pepper to taste, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of an Alfredo sauce. Return the mackerel to the pot and slowly pour your seasoned coconut cream over the fish. Cover the pot tightly and let the steaming hot coconut and veggie mixture do its thing. Additional simmering shouldn't be necessary since you already cooked the fish most of the way through.

In both cases serve with rice and/or fried bammy (jamaican casava cakes).

Wow - That sounds awesome! I'm going to have to try that next time for sure. Thanks!

jcanracer

You're welcome!
I hate to see mackerel wasted as sharkbait or otherwise when I know it can be good eats!

Baits Out

After living here for several decades have finally decided that in cooking fresh mackerel, less is better.

Broil filets skin side down with a light sprinkling of sea salt and paprika.

Serve with key lime slices and fresh tarter sauce:

1 C cup mayonnaise
1/3 C sweet pickle relish
1 T minced capers
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
salt to taste
salt and white pepper to taste
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot pepper sauce


In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, capers, and egg.

Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a dash hot pepper sauce.

Stir.

Chill.

bigyellowtuna

Salt pepper olive oil and a hot grill. Cook directly on hot grill, no foil needed.

smooth move

use a crab ball recipe and replace the crab with the sp mac. works with kings also.

Grady-lady

I'm with the skin on fillet, olive oil rubbed, lightly seasoned with Chef Prudhomme's or Everglades, grilled-when-fresh crowd. Some people don't like the texture - a day of brining in salty slurry after cleaning helps with that.

The coconut milk method sounds awesome. Will definitely try it...I sometimes oven poach salmon in milk, and it makes for a very smooth, creamy texture with great flavor.

Jcanracer - A good friend of mine was born and raised in Jamaica - we supply her with yellowtail now and then and she makes the most amazing dish - whole fish, lightly floured, flashed fried then in a sweet/hot sauce made with scotch bonnets. She tones it down a bit for our more 'sensitive' tastes.

Mark O.

Smoke 'em if you got 'um.:grin
I have a clay pot saucer that I pile Mesquite chips on a smoke fish for an hour or two. Propane tourch gets the chips going, then lots of white smoke. Inside grill stays fairly cool. Saucer sits on the rack with fish, not under them. THEN cook in super hot preheated oven (same day or next) at 500+ for a short time. It sort of "fries" them in their own oil for a better aroma, but keeps the meat flaky. Too long in an oven or long cooking on grill breaks down the protein too much and makes then mushy.

Cyclist

http://www.makesushi.com/mackerel-sashimi-recipe/

raw, either use the above method of soaking in a rice wine mix or not.

Delicious.

jcanracer

I'd like to try that, but that mackerel looks different from our spanish or cero mackerel. In particular the way they peel the skin off the mackerel doesn't look like something I've ever seen done to our local mackerel:

Step 5: Removing the Skin
Removing the skin of the Mackerel is easy. Simply peel up the outer layer of skin using your fingers, starting at the tail end. Then, pull the skin away from yourself along the body of the fish – it should come away as easily as cling-film. Repeat for the second filet.

Cyclist

jcanracer wrote: »

I'd like to try that, but that mackerel looks different from our spanish or cero mackerel. In particular the way they peel the skin off the mackerel doesn't look like something I've ever seen done to our local mackerel:

It is what they call horse mackerel I think. The skin seems to have a clear film.

I have sashimied Spanish and they are very good. If you don't soak them in the rice vinegar and eat them fresh they don't have as much taste, but with a little lemon are still very good.

jcanracer

Ah gotcha!

smh

I made some ceviche with Spanish mackerel this past spring for the first time, and I will say that it was pretty dang good! It disappeared in short order when put before several friends. I'm sure there are many variations, but mine consisted of lime juice, a little orange juice, garlic, green onions, sweet bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, avocado, mango, salt, and pepper. We ate it like salsa with tortilla chips.