How do you make mackerel taste good?

[stickitfishy]

I've read of people loving to eat mackerel. Is it an acquired taste? Everytime I have had it, it is disgusting. King mackerel was fair but spanish was f-ing disgusting. What do I need to immediately after catching or spearing these 2 fish to get the most out of the meat. If it can be edible?

[Reefrat]

Smoking has always been pretty good choice. Some cuts make a fair sushi.

[quickslvr387]

I've only eaten king mackerel once and thought it was pretty good. I only like mild fish and still liked it. Soaked it in milk for a while then sprinkled some salt and pepper(black and white) then added some Mrs.Dash seasoning and lots of it. I cooked probably 5 or 6 pieces and used almost and entire bottle of it. Then I just threw it on the grill. It was real spicy and I liked it. I guess if you use enough seasoning anything can taste alright. I think they key is to soak it in milk though.

[SeaBass]

Sushi is my favorite way, or skin side down grilled with butter, lemon zest, saltnpepper, garlic, lemon juice .... can't really screw that up

[junior]

Don't over cook it and don't freeze it.

[100days-a-year]

My recipe for amberjack is similar to one I favor for mackerel.

Ingredients.
4 to 8 oz of fillets per person of a light firm textured fish(hog,trigger)

4 to 8 oz of mackerel per person

2oz per person of Italian breadcrumbs and 1oz grated Pecorino Romano per person

Paintball gun and ammo

Corona and lime,gin n' juice or the brain tingler of your choice

Directions:

Mix the 2 dry ingredients and put the lighter fillets in a plastic bag with them and shake.

Pan fry over med-hi heat with olive oil.

Serve the fillets over a bed of spring mix with crumbled Gorgonzola under it and a side of rice or potatoes of your choice.



After dinner ,put the fillets of mackerel in a position that cannot be observed from the street.
Hide about 75' away behind a bush or car.Wait a few minutes to an hour while consuming your libations.As cats and 'coons start feeding pelt their ass with the paintball gun.
Alternatively bury the mackerel fillets and plant perennials over them.

[STITCH]

I have always liked the tast of king fish. We deep fry it with a batter that has lemon peel in it, I dont know the name of it but it is usually pretty good.

[Bill McIntyre]

I grew up in Florida, and our family always considered Spanish mackerel to be far superior to kings. We could even fry it like redfish or trout, while kings needed more care.

But that was at least 50 years ago, so i'm not sure about anything.

[LONERANGER]

Cook it fresh vs after it being frozen...Grilling w/ mild smoke... lime-lemon and your choice of spice is a good start.

[MichaelBaranows]

I like Spanish Mac better than King mac but both are just fine. I dip in egg and milk and then roll in cornmeal just make sure you don't cook it too long. Or I put in alumium foil seasoned along with onions and limes and backe in the oven.

[Grunt]

Smoke it...little bit of salt, little bit of BBQ sauce...smoke until cooked. Delicious! :thumps:

[ROBERTO REYES]

If its not fresh, its not good.
But, diferent parts of the world
like diferent kind of fish.
I still remember In Venice, Louisiana, they call
King mack trash fish, and they are everywere.

[rigdvr]

spanish, fresh fried. Instead of using an egg wash before the fry mix, mix up yellow mustard and crystals hot sauce. Pass fillets through this then the fry, then hit the grease. Unbelievably good.

Kings, well theres only one way I like it and locally we call it cutting out the "mackeral balls". Lay the fish out like you are going to fillet it but instead cut verticle stripes to the backbone every inch and a half or so, bout the same thickness as if you were going to steak it out. Now a king has a loin of firmer flesh running down each side of the backbone and if you take your thumbs you can pop pieces of the loin out where you made the stripe cuts. They will be firm balls of meat. Put them in italian dressing for a little while, wrap in bacon, grill:) Great appetizers.

[GRIM REEFER]

I had fresh fried Spanish before. It was very good. I was surprised

[Slay Ride]

Fresh fillet- not steaked- not frozen. Or smoked. Otherwise I call them trash fish.

[Marcus]

Absolutely bleed and keep ice cold until you cook. I steak mine, marinate in Italian dressing, grill, add some fresh grated parmesan right before taking off the grill. Eat right away. Always eat it fresh and only keep what you're going to eat that night...no good the next day.

[stickitdeep]

Feed it to your cat...it might like it?
or dig a hole in your garden and bury it...great fertilizer

yuk rather eat a nasty blue fish

[DonJeffVivo]

Spanish Mackeral sushi is one of the best sushi's you can find. Cut the skin of, and cut away all the red parts. Also kingfish is very good if you know how to cook it. You need to neutralize the oily skin, and oil way to fight fire is with fire, so fry that sucker.Cut kingfish into steaks(leave the skin" Soak it in milk, garlic salt on it, sprinkle uncle buck's seasoning on it, and fry it till gold brown. Serve, and just eat around the center bone. You will find that it will taste better with lemon, and also the skin is relaly good.

[cerobit]

I think frozen king steaks are just fine. I seal-a-meal the steaks and am real careful not to eat the dark areas. Makes a damn good salad IMO too.

[Codbone]

If you have a smoker slow smoke it skin side down on low heat not too much charcoal or too much wood or it will taste like wood. About 2 or 3 hours depending on size of fillets. brush every 20 minutes or so with melted butter & seasonings of your choice. Allow to cool. You it will keep for days. NOTE: do not brine the fillets.

[NateSmith]

We caught a BUNCH of mackerel while fishing off of Point Sur this past weekend. I baked some that night with lemon, garlic, and veggies stuffed into the body cavity (head was removed along with the guts). Turned out just fine. Also had the neighbor's Cuban fiancee make the rice and beans to go along with it (that helped as well).

[RabiSpear]

The best recipe for mackeral is simple. 1) Lay this fish flat on top of a cooler. 2) Get a serrated knife. 3) Cut one inch sections vertically along the length of the fish and one or two slices horizontally. 4) Cut the pieces off the bone. 5) Scoop the pieces up and throw them into the water in hopes that you may actually chum up something worth eating.

[sbh]

As mentioned previously spanish and cero sashimi is incredibly good. I made believers out of my buddies in the keys last weekend. Cero/spanish definatley a different meat than king (more like pacific spanish mac which LOOKS like our king).

[El Cid]

Cero and spanish macks are great for sushi/sashimi (sorry for the echo effect Brent).

My parents have a killer Italian style way of preparing cero. I cut them in steaks, maybe 2-3" skin and all. Then put some olive oil in a skillet and brown some onion, peppers and capers then add the mack with chunk tomato sauce on top. Make sure you mix around the veggies and try to keep them on top of the steaks. I can't remember what else goes in the skillet, but the meat will fall right off the bone. The taste is a little strong, but if you don't like fish taste then eat some mcnuggets. The veggies (especially the capers) cut down on it though. Serve with a little slice of love, just like in Lunch Lady Land!

[Mulloway]

Spanish macs are highly prized in asia pacific. Aussies love them, asians love them. they are great for sashimi or sushi, be sure to bleed them well.

here is a receipe for a clear fish soup which is widely sold in Singapore.

fillet mac, cut fillet into 2 down the lateral line, remove blood line and lateral bones. leave skin on and slice fish about 4mm thick. soak slices of fish in solution of 15part water, 2 part salt, 2 part sugar for 20 minutes or until slices become translucent. drain carefully and rinse in water to wash off excess.

Stock preparation:
1 chicken carcass,
1 kg of pork bones,
salt to taste.

serving up:
blanch fish slices in boiling water for about 1 minute. (do not over cook)
blanch some leafy greens too
cut some tomatoes into quarters
cut some tofu cubes.
places all in a bowl and ladle boiling stock over.
garnish with coriander and sliced chili peppers.

[Kahuna]

If you want to some really good eating cut it up and use it for bait to catch key west grunts.

[Platypus]

Spanish macs are highly prized in asia pacific. Aussies love them, asians love them. they are great for sashimi or sushi, be sure to bleed them well.
Too right Mulloway! Can't speak for King Mackerel, but Spanish Mackerel is absolutely delicious! Rick shot some Spanish Macs (Walu) in Fiji and they prepared it with coconut cream (Kokoda, pronounced Ko-kon-da). Kinda like a Fijian cerviche. It was so good....

[Reefrat]

If you want to some really good eating cut it up and use it for bait to catch key west grunts.

:lol: Grunts & Grits Baby! :thumps:

[FeAr_ThE_SpEaR]

Well I don't catch man Spanish, but I get LOTS of Cero and King. I find that with Cero i like to Blacken it and put it on a paper towel once done cooking and put another paper towel on top and squeeze all the juices out of it and then put it in a bowl. Do this to a bunch of filets and then once all in the bowl use your hands or fork and knife and cut/break it all apart. Once broken you dice some onions and celery and put that in there. Add mayo and mustard and relish (sweet) to your taste and mix it all up. By then it will still be hot so put it in the fridge and let it get nice and cold. The best Mackeral Salad ever!! You can add whatever you like to the mix but deffinetly blacken he fish with lots of seasoning! Thats where the taste will come from!

[shane]

I dont shoot them but i love to fish for them from my kayak in the spring. I always fillet them right after catching, leaving the skin on and throw in ice. That evening, we season the meat side with anything we got, usually cajun or lemon pepper, add a slice or two of onion, wrap in foil and throw on the grill. I guess that would be baked since its wrapped in foil, but its good. Kings dont taste as good to me but we still eat them. Of course after a day of fishing, we are usually shit faced by grill time so we would probably grill a jelly fish if we could catch one!

[lionfish]

this is simple and bakes up real good, it's even better with king mac.

1 large onion, sliced into rings

1 large tomato, sliced

2-3 limes(depending on size), sliced(or fresh lime juice)

2-3 lbs of sheepie, king mac or spanish mac boneless fillets

some olive oil or butter

your favorite seasoning, rub or just salt and pepper, i prefer tony chacherie's

foil

wash the fillets and check for bones, remove dark flesh,etc.after you cut out the bloodline the spanish fillets will be long thin strips, two from each side of the fish..
dry the fillets, brush with oil or butter. sprinkle liberaly with seasoning.on a piece of foil about four times as big as the fillets spread onion out in a layer, cover 1/3 of the foil. lay fillets on top of the onion and cover with tomato. lay on more fillets and cover with lime(or sprinkle with fresh lime juice). wrap foil to form pouch and bake in a 350 deg oven or grill for about 30-40 minutes depending on fillet thickness or grill temperature . remove from oven and unwrap carefully, serve with cajun rice or grilled sweet potato's


enjoy

Leo

[cerobit]

just grilled up a king steak that had been vac-sealed frozen for over a year in my freezer. Tasted great. High searing (700-800F) heat to start.

[Seahuntress]

Kingfish are one of my favorite. I'll eat anything out of the Deepblue.
Kingfish are best if you bleed them after the catch; cutting off the head and tail. There best blackend or fried. The best way to fry any fish is not egg & milk. Makes it soggy. Try dipping in beer & egg an then rolling in cornmeal & cracker meal. The beer makes it crispy. Then season with lemon pepper after its done. Do not marinte in beer it will taste like it. Spanish Mackeral should never be frozen. It ruins it. I'ts good fried the same way dipped in beer. But my favorite with any fish is Ceviche. Try the beer, I've been cooking it that way for years. And everyone loves it, and want's to know the secret.

[inletsurf]

Fresh fillet- not steaked- not frozen. Or smoked. Otherwise I call them trash fish.

I am with Les on this one.

[Hamrrhed]

Eat it that day, I like to make ceviche with it.

[Christof]

I broiled fresh spanish macks one day, wasnt bad, kinda plain and not real firm... Kings I caught last year were filleted and smoked, then made into fish spread, ala smoked mullet spread... Was great, and everyone at work went nuts over it with shredded cabbage and carrots, then crackers.... Hope to get more this year...

[dive4bugz]

Trim out the bloodline as you would with Dolphin, Ive fried them with dry breadcrumbs... as soon as the meat turns white, take it off... dries out quickly... better than King this way. I agree with the frozen part too, if you freeze it then the difference is noticeable, but its still good. Hope this helps...

[Spearchucker]

I think you mix it up real good with mayonaise and colloidal silver, maybe some magnesium sprinkled on top...

[Christof]

Isnt that what you sprinkle on your tub of beer as you couch-slouch and watch football?

[Crazy Fingers]

I like deep fried spanish pretty well. I didn't even know that it was supposed to taste like crap when I did it, and it was pretty good. I could hardly tell the difference between it and some sheepshead I fried along with it.

[Quetzal]

Fillet cero's w/ skin on lay them on the gas grill pour italian salad dressing w/ real olive oil. Some of the best fish I've ever eaten. They taste just as good frozen too.

[amnestia]

How my parents do it is, deep fry it until golden and then boil it in like a ratio of 2:1 fish to soysauce ratio by weight, keep cooking it until the sauce is just about all gone. Goes great with riceeee.