mackerel

The authentic name for this recipe is ‘saba shioyaki‘. In Japanese, saba means mackerel and shioyaki means salt (shio) and grilling (yaki). Lightly salted, this recipe still packs a punch when it comes to flavour.

Grilled Mackerel Recipe

mackerel (or 1 whole fish)

tbsp sake

daikon radish

salt

soy sauce

lemon

Lay the fish flat on a plate and coat the entire fish with sake.

Pat dry with a paper towel and discard the excess sake. Then transfer the fish to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Sprinkle ½ tsp salt on both sides of the fish.

Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 ºF.

After 20 minutes, the salt will have made the fish expel water, which makes the flesh denser. Wipe off any excess moisture on the fish.

Place the fish skin side down and bake for 20 minutes, or until the flesh is golden brown.

Grate the daikon radish to serve. Chop the mackerel into 4 parts (optional).

Plate the grilled mackerel with grated daikon and a lemon wedge on the side. Pour a few drops of soy sauce on grated daikon.

Before eating, squeeze the lemon wedge over the fish. Eat the grilled mackerel with the grated daikon for maximum flavour. Enjoy!

In this complexly flavored and highly sophisticated dish from the cookbook author Louisa Shafia, tamarind, caramelized onion, ground almonds and barberries are made into a thick and tangy paste that gets spread over fish fillets before baking. Thinner fillets work better here than thick, center-cut pieces. You want more surface area on which to spread the herbal barberry mixture, which can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge. If you can't find dried barberries, use dried cranberries instead.

Persian Tamarind Fish

barberries

sea salt,

black pepper,

olive oil,

Spanish

garlic cloves,

almonds,

tamarind paste

Lime wedges,

Put the barberries in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Rinse fish under cold water and pat dry. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides, brush all over with oil, and place fillets on a baking sheet. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 hours uncovered, or up to 24 hours covered with plastic wrap.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until they start to darken at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook until dark brown and reduced to half the original volume, about 20 minutes.

Add garlic, almonds, drained barberries and 2 tablespoons tamarind to pan. (If using cranberries instead of barberries, add an additional tablespoon of tamarind.) Cook over medium heat until fragrant, 5 minutes. Stir in herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Press barberry mixture on top of fillets. Drizzle with more oil and bake until fish is just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Top with any barberry mixture that fell off the fish, sprinkle with more fresh herbs, and serve with lime wedges.

Istanbul is famous for its grilled mackerel sandwiches dressed with fresh lemon and plenty of crunchy veg—best eaten while strolling along the Bosporus, but equally delicious at a cookout or picnic.

Istanbul’s Famous Mackerel Sandwiches

Tbsp. olive oil

lemon juice

pomegranate molasses

Aleppo-style pepper

sumac

garlic clove, crushed

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

red onion,

extra-virgin olive oil,

6–8-oz. mackerel

Kosher salt

ciabatta crusty rolls

tomato,

arugula leaves

carrot,

mint leaves

Walking along the Bosporus in Istanbul, cookbook author Yasmin Khan recalls the iconic sight of men grilling fresh mackerel to make these sandwiches, known as Balik Ekmek. In her book, Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, you’ll find Khan’s interpretation of the recipe, which she says is great for feeding a crowd at picnics and cookouts. These sandwiches traditionally feature grilled mackerel (always fresh, never canned!), so if you can cook the fish outdoors over an open flame, we highly recommend doing so. Feel free to tweak the ratios of crunchy veg, but the dressing and mint are essential to cut through the mackerel’s intensity. Can’t find fresh mackerel? You can sub in snapper or black bass, but the flavor will be more mild.

Bon Appétit

Whisk oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, Aleppo-style pepper, sumac, and garlic in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Let sit 5 minutes, then fish out and discard garlic. Stir in onion; let sit until ready to use.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Season fish with salt and lightly coat flesh side with dressing. Cook fish, skin side down, until skin is browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn over; cook until flesh side is browned and fish is just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Drizzle cut sides of rolls with oil. Divide fish among bottom halves and top with tomato; season with salt. Add arugula, carrot, and mint to dressing and toss to coat. Mound on top of tomato; close up sandwiches.

This mackerel pâté is really simple to whiz together and crazily moreish – pile the toast high!

Smoked mackerel pate with griddled toast and cress salad

light cream cheese

lemons

fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves picked

punnets of cress snipped

celery finely sliced, plus some of the celery leaves

extra virgin olive oil

bread

By using a rich, mushroom-based broth, we simplified Atoboy chef Junghyun Park’s approach to creating huge flavor for steamed and poached fish.

Steamed Mackerel with Green Chile Dashi

shiitake mushrooms

kombu

½-inch piece ginger, finely grated

garlic clove, finely grated

mirin

red pepper flakes

½ cup very thinly sliced peeled daikon

spinach (or kale, cilantro,

½ jalapeño, seeded, chopped

Cilantro leaves (for serving)

Season fish generously with salt (but don’t go crazy). Let sit 20 minutes to absorb seasoning.

Meanwhile, mix mushrooms, kombu, ginger, garlic, mirin, soy sauce, red pepper, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan fitted with a steamer insert or bamboo steamer. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, discard kombu, and continue to simmer, adjusting heat as needed, until flavors meld, about 5 minutes.

Rinse fish and pat dry. Scatter daikon across bottom of steamer insert and lay fish over. Steam fish, maintaining an active simmer in liquid (err on the side of less heat if you aren’t sure), until fish is just opaque at the center and a tester inserted into the thickest part of the fillets meets no resistance, 6–8 minutes.

Transfer fish to a plate. Discard mushrooms, then carefully pour steaming liquid into a blender. Add spinach and jalapeño. Remove cap from hole in lid, cover opening with a kitchen towel, and start blender on lowest speed to prevent hot liquid from splashing out the top like a geyser. Gradually increase speed and blend until smooth.

Divide fish, daikon, and broth among bowls. Top with cilantro.

Keep a couple of tins of fish in the pantry and this 20-minute pantry pasta will always be within reach for last-minute dinners.

Mackerel Pantry Pasta

lemon zest

Tbsp. coarsely chopped drained capers

black pepper

spaghetti or other long pasta

Tbsp. Parmesan

parsley and lemon wedges (optional; for serving)

Whether it’s mackerel, tuna, sardines, or trout that floats your boat in the tinned fish aisle, a couple of cans of good-quality fish turn a bare-bones pasta into something company-worthy. Tinned fish most often comes packed in either water or olive oil; we prefer them oil-packed because they’re much more flavorful out of the can. (Patagonia Provisions makes an especially delicious tinned mackerel in flavors like lemon caper and Spanish paprika.) The technique for this no-cook sauce, in which you warm the tinned fish in a heatproof bowl set over your pasta pot as the water boils, is borrowed from Joie Warner’s No-Cook Pasta Sauces, and ensures the fish won’t dry out or become tough.

Place mackerel, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, 3 Tbsp. oil, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large heatproof bowl. Season generously with pepper and toss to combine.

Set bowl over a large pot of generously salted water (bottom of bowl should not be touching water) and bring water to a boil. Carefully remove bowl from pot and set aside. (Gently warming the ingredients here allows them to mingle nicely with the hot pasta later.)

Cook pasta in same pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Using tongs, transfer pasta, along with any water clinging to strands, to bowl with mackerel mixture. Add Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and ¼ cup pasta cooking liquid to bowl and toss pasta with tongs, adding more pasta cooking liquid by the tablespoonful if needed, until cheese is melted and pasta is coated evenly in sauce, about 1 minute.

Divide pasta among bowls. Top with parsley, drizzle some oil over, and season with more pepper. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over if desired.

An aromatic and delicate fish curry served with a light and refreshing cucumber salad.

Thai-spiced grilled mackerel

(about 300 grams each) fresh mackerel

tbsp Thai red curry paste

tsp caster sugar

tbsp coconut milk

Lebanese cucumbers, peeled

cherry tomatoes, chopped

fish sauce

lime juice

Lime cheeks, to serve

Mackerel is not only a sustainable fish, it's also rich in omega-3 and cooks in minutes - great with a citrus sauce

Pan-fried mackerel with orange salsa

½ tsp smoked paprika (see tips below)

oranges, segmented (see tips below)

shallot

pitted black kalamata olive, roughly chopped

pack flat-leaf parsley

olive oil

potatoes

Rub the fillets on both sides with the paprika and a little salt, then set aside. Mix the orange segments with the shallot, olives, parsley and a good grinding of black pepper.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the mackerel on both sides for 2-3 mins. Serve with the salsa and some new potatoes and green beans, if you like.

A tasty dip that you can keep in the fridge for a quick snack, full of omega-3's

Smoked mackerel dip

smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and finely flaked

tub soured cream

spring onions

horseradish

selection of crunchy raw vegetable, to serve

In a mixing bowl, stir the smoked mackerel, soured cream and spring onions together to make a textured dip, then stir in the horseradish. Spoon into a serving bowl and serve with sticks of raw veg for dipping. Can be chilled for up to 3 days.

Mackerel escabèche is one of those dishes I have always preferred to admire from afar. It’s traditionally prepared by pickling the fillets in vinegar, but I’ve never quite cottoned to its biting flavor. To me, it overwhelms the delicacy of a good fresh piece of fish.

At home, I sprinkled the fish fillets with salt, pepper and some sweet paprika. Then I let them sit while I slowly stewed the leeks, carrots and peppers with some garlic and thyme.

I seared the fish until lightly browned but still very moist inside. When people say they don’t like mackerel because it’s too strong and dry, it’s usually because the fish has been overcooked. But when cooked right, until just flaky in the center, the flesh is mild and almost buttery.

Pan-Seared Mackerel With Sweet Peppers and Thyme

salt,

sweet paprika

extra virgin olive oil, more as needed

leeks,

carrots,

red bell pepper, thinly sliced

small orange or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

thyme

dry rosé or white wine

sherry vinegar, more to taste

Season mackerel with salt, black pepper and paprika. Let fillets rest at room temperature while preparing vegetables.

Set a large skillet over medium heat and add 5 tablespoons oil. Then add leeks, carrots, bell peppers and thyme, cooking them until they soften, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic, stirring gently, and cook for 2 minutes more. Add wine and cook until most of liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Season to taste with more salt, pepper and sherry vinegar, then transfer to one side of a serving platter.

Wipe the skillet with a paper towel, add remaining oil, and set over high heat. When oil is hot, add mackerel in one layer, skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, until fish is cooked through. Add fillets to platter and spoon vegetables on top of fish.

Mackerel is a sustainable, velvety, sweet-tasting fish that deserves more attention than it usually gets. Here, the pale fillets are roasted on a bed of fragrant basil leaves with a lemon zest-infused olive oil, chopped olives and juicy cherry tomatoes. If you have a bottle of cold-pressed lemon olive oil on hand, you can use it here in place of making your own. If infusing your own oil, feel free to use either a regular lemon or a Meyer lemon. Leftover lemon oil is great on salads, tossed with vegetables, or drizzled over avocado toast.

Mackerel With Lemon Olive Oil and Tomatoes

basil

Fine sea salt and black pepper,

lemon olive oil, more as needed

cherry tomatoes

Make the oil: In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and lemon zest until you see the first tiny bubble appear on the side of the pan. Immediately turn off heat. You don’t want the mixture to simmer.

Let infuse for at least 20 minutes (and preferably an hour) before using; you do not have to strain it. Oil can be made up to a month in advance. Store in a sealed jar at room temperature.

When ready to prepare the fish, heat oven to 425 degrees. Place the basil leaves on a rimmed baking dish and arrange fish on top. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper, then drizzle the lemon oil over the fillets. Top with olives. Scatter tomatoes around the pan.

Roast until the fish is just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes for thin fillets and up to 12 minutes for thick fillets.

Cut naked lemon into wedges. Serve fish drizzled with more lemon oil, garnished with lemon wedges and torn basil leaves.

While tinned mackerel and sardines may look like they’re hibernating, they’re actually hard at work, their confident flavors intensifying in that salt and olive oil. In this recipe, that seasoned oil is used to fry capers, char scallions and sauce whole-grain noodles. It’s balanced with spring’s sweetest vegetables: thinly sliced asparagus, crunchy snap peas or snow peas, slackened only slightly by salt and residual heat from the pan. Feel free to trade the scallions for garlic scapes or leeks, add fava beans or peas to the noodles in their final minutes of boiling or top the finished dish with pea greens or soft herbs.

Spring Soba With Tinned Fish

scallions

drained capers, patted dry

peas

soba noodles

lemon, zested and juiced,

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Hold the mackerel with your fingers and pour the oil from both cans into a large skillet or Dutch oven. (Some bits of fish are OK. If you’re using fish packed in water, add 1/4 cup oil to the skillet.) Set over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add the scallions and capers, and cook, stirring once or twice, until charred in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the sliced vegetables and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir to combine. Set aside until the noodles are ready.

When the water’s boiling, add the noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain, and if using soba, rinse under cold water until no longer sticky and shake the colander to remove as much water as possible. Add the noodles to the skillet along with the lemon zest and juice, and toss until combined. Add the mackerel and toss just until combined and broken into bite-size pieces. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice until flavors are bright. Eat warm or at room temperature. (Leftovers will keep for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before eating and add salt, lemon juice and olive oil to taste.)

With a fresh mackerel, this recipe will guide you a delicious and flavorful Korean braised mackerel and radish dish without the fish odor.

Korean Mackerel and Radish Recipe

fish

rice water (see note below)

Korean radish (thinly sliced)

onion

chili (sliced, optional)

Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)

Korean tuna sauce

garlic (finely minced)

ginger paste

tsp sugar

tsp pepper

water

Soak the well-cleaned mackerel pieces in rice starch water for 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile make the seasoning paste. Combine chili flakes, soy sauce, tuna sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, and pepper in a small mixing bowl.

In a shallow braising pot, scatter the onion on the bottom of pan, and place radish slices evenly. Spread half the amount of chili seasoning sauce on top. Place mackerel pieces on top of the onions and radish, then spread the remaining sauce on the mackerel.

Put 1/2 cup of water in the chili seasoning sauce mixing bowl and swirl around to collect all the residue inside the bowl, then pour it into the pot.

Cover and bring it to boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until radish is softened. Sprinkle with chopped green onion. Serve warm with rice.

Gogalbi is a Korean mackerel dish grilled with spicy paste. Traditionally it is grilled, but you can pan-fry to get a similar taste.

Korean Pan-Fried Spicy Mackerel (Gogalbi)

rice starch water (See note below)

cornstarch

canola oil

red and green onion (for garnish, optional)

Korean chili paste (gochujang) (gochujang)

Korean chili flakes (gochugaru) (gochugaru)

sweet rice wine (mirim)

tbsp sugar

Korean plum extract (maeshil cheong)

tsp sesame oil

tsp sesame seeds

Take the frozen mackerel fillet out of package and soak in the rice starch water for 20 minutes to thaw.

Meanwhile make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients.

Take the fillets out of starch water and pat with paper towel to dry. Coat with corn starch lightly on both sides.

Heat oil in the nonstick surface skillet over medium heat. Sear the fillet, the skin side first, for 3-4 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for 3-4 minutes as well.

Reduce the heat to low, and turn the fillet again so the meaty side is facing you. Spread the sauce over the fillets all around, about 1 Tbsp per fillet. Cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes so the sauce can set on the fillets.

Place fillets over onions on the platter and serve warm with rice. Enjoy!

This grilled mackerel With Korean chilli recipe is from David Gingell and Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim's new restaurant, Westerns Laundry. It's quick and simple to make, and easily serves 2 as a starter

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Top 29 mackerel recipes from across the web

The most viewed mackerel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Grilled Mackerel Recipe

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Korean Mackerel and Radish Recipe

Korean Pan-Fried Spicy Mackerel (Go...

Grilled mackerel with Korean chilli

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Peppered mackerel fishcakes

Mackerel pasta salad

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The most viewed mackerel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine