Loads of mackerel are caught off Brighton & Hove’s beaches during the summer. Why not try a simple fish supper from right on our doorstep?
Method
- Preheat the grill to high.
- Line the grill tray with foil.
- Using a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 deep diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish.
- Sprinkle with a little lemon juice, or spread with mustard, and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the mackerel onto the grill tray and grill for about 5 minutes (more or less according to size). The skin should be starting to char a little at the edges.
- Turn the fish over and grill on the other side.
- Test with a small pointed knife pushed into the thickest part of the flesh – it should be white and come away from the backbone easily.
Ingredients
- 8 Mackerel Fillets
- 0.5 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon(s) wholegrain mustard
- 1 dash(es) salt and pepper, to taste
Top tips:
If using whole mackeral on the bone you can remove the fillets once it is cooked by making a cut along the length of the fish just above the backbone. Then carefully remove the flesh from the bone. Turn the fish over and lift the backbone and head away (have a bone plate ready for the debris). There may be a few more long bones which you will be able to see and easily extract.
How to choose fresh fish: Fish should smell like clean water, or a touch briny, the eyes should be bright and clear and the skin should be shiny and look metallic and clean.
Serve with a sharp fruity sauce, such as gooseberry or rhubarb
Any leftover mackerel is excellent made into fishcakes – mix with an equal quantity of mashed potato, lemon juice and seasoning, shaped into patties, dipped in flour and lightly fried.
