Any Tips For Cooking Mackerel?

[noxskuses]

Just got given a huge bucket of fresh mackerel & want to hot smoke the lot.

Has anyone done this & have you got any tips?

Thanks,

Pete

[essexsmoker]

Yes. Don't! You will stink your smoker out. I made that mistake saturday with a whole mackerel. It tasted good but my grill and drip pan stunk. I cleaned it out ASAP. Cold smoke it and cook it in the oven.

[YetiDave]

I'd hot smoke all the way, just put a drip pan underneath. Best way to do it would be to split them and brine them first, making sure you let them dry to get that pellicle. I've done mackerel a few times and it's always turned out really well

[noxskuses]

Thanks for that Dave. Had to look 'pellicle' up. That's my new word of the day

GMG pellet grills have a sloping drip pan that takes all fat off to a waiting bucket, and as they are both always covered in foil for easy cleaning, I'm not concerned about that.

How long do you cook it for and at what temperature?

Pete

[essexsmoker]

I did mine 128 for about 40mins I think. Was very soft and tasted great.

[YetiDave]

I just stuck to low and slow temps - 225F, until the internal temp was just about 65C I think

[Tiny]

Well,
Even with the foil coveredness of your run off system I wouldn't let mackerel grease anywhere near my equipment, matron.

I would hot smoke them on an tray , wouldn't fuss too much over temps either, would keep them lowish purely to give enough time in the smoke.....

Cheers
Tiny

[noxskuses]

Ended up brining for 1 hour, drying for 2 hours for some pellicle action & then smoking at 70 degrees for 1½ hours. It was a big success. Fish is delicious and grill not affected at all. Just a few drips on the foil.

See before & after pictures below. Highly recommended.

BEFORE


AFTER

[essexsmoker]

Were they whole or gutted? I got mine from sainsbury and the inside was butchered not gutted.

[noxskuses]

Were they whole or gutted? I got mine from sainsbury and the inside was butchered not gutted.

They were still wriggling when I got them! Literally less than an hour from being caught. I gutted and filleted them.

Pete