Mackerel dishes: recipes with photos

Mackerel is a beautiful fatty fish, healthy, nutritious, pleasant because of its rich taste. She is respected by both pros and home cooks, has an excellent rich aroma. It looks amazing on a plate and is an excellent source of brain-stimulating omega-3 fatty acids. With proper preparation and flavor combinations with seasonings, this is a real pleasure for the most picky gourmet. And the recipes for mackerel are simple in execution - not even a very experienced housewife can handle it. Well, are you ready already? Then we begin!

What you need to know when buying

But in the beginning - a few words about the product itself. Mackerel spoils quite quickly, which, for example, in the century before last, when there were no modern freezers yet, did not allow keeping the product for a long time. Ideally, it should be eaten on the day of capture, unless it has been frozen or pickled. Among the frozen carcasses, choose hard, almost tough fish with cloudy eyes and a shiny body. Then you can be sure that you have bought what you need, and any recipe for mackerel can be correctly implemented. Freshly frozen carcasses should be thawed naturally. That is, without any involvement of hot water and a microwave. Just put the fish in a container and leave it on the kitchen table - it will defrost itself after a while.

How to cook fish in a kitchen

Mackerel recipes at home are simple and varied. This fish can be prepared in many ways, although the most common: pastries in the oven, barbecue, grill and frying in a pan. You can also cook for a couple (for example, using a double boiler or slow cooker). And this queen of the seas is magnificent in pies, rolls, rolls, muffins, hamburgers. Mackerel also looks great raw in the form of tartar - just for this you definitely need to buy the freshest fish caught on the day of cooking this authentic food. Many buy smoked mackerel, appreciating the intensity of its taste. It is ideal for puff salads or for making a wonderful fish paste.

Whole or fillet?

Whole mackerel is ideal for baking, frying or barbecue and can be stuffed with vegetables, lemon slices, olives. These mackerel recipes take a little longer than preparing the fillet of this fish - on average about half an hour in the oven (180-200 degrees Celsius). But they are usually not too complicated - so it's worth a try. And cooking mackerel according to the recipe in the oven in foil (see photo below) will take a very short time: 10-15 minutes.

Probably the easiest way to cook a fillet is to quickly fry it in a skillet in vegetable oil. But a barbecue is just a fantastic way to make a mackerel according to the recipe - high temperature makes the skin very crispy, and meat comes in the shortest possible time. And its strong aroma is supported by a variety of ingredients: herbs, vegetables, citrus fruits, seasonings.

By the way, a little about spices and additives

Mackerel has a clean, strong taste, more pronounced than some other marine and oceanic fish, so it is often balanced by spicy, mild aromas such as spices and herbs. Properly selected citrus ingredients like lemons and lime also work well. As well as lemon sorbet and fruits, such as, for example, gooseberries, kiwi, these flavors and tastes help emphasize the freshness of the fish and shade its fat content.

In the recipe for a delicious mackerel, such piquants as chili, horseradish and capers may be quite appropriate. For a more avant-garde set of flavor combinations, try to make a sophistication: paired filet with white chocolate, beetroot and horseradish - a strange but brilliant combination. Avoid oily and heavy sauces, as they, as a rule, do not emphasize, but “kill” the fish.

Mackerel in the oven: recipe with photo - the simplest cooking in foil

For it, we will need the following ingredients: three to four carcasses of frozen mackerel (since such a product is the easiest to get, we will have it in mind first of all), a couple of medium-sized tomatoes, a little butter, lemon, salt and a mixture of peppers - individually preferences. Fresh greens - to decorate and flavor the dish.

How to cook

1. The recipe for mackerel in foil in the oven is not very difficult. Defrost carcasses. Clean the fish and remove heads with entrails, if any. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Put each prepared fish on a piece of oiled foil.
3. Cut the tomatoes and lemon into slices, then place alternating slices on each carcass. Put a sprig of parsley on top and drip with melted butter.
4. Fold the mackerel foil into neat “envelopes”.
5. Place them on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 180 Celsius until the fish is soft and its flesh is easily pierced with a fork.

So the mackerel is ready in the foil according to the recipe (see the photo of the dish below). This dish can be served directly in the "envelopes", slightly expanding them on top. Or - move the product to a serving dish along with the juices formed during cooking, tomatoes and lemon slices.

Baked mackerel: recipe with photo

This omega-3 nutritious fatty acid snack is a healthy, tasty option for a quick lunch in the middle of the work week. Both the mackerel fillet and the whole fish will be crispy and cook quickly in the oven. If you use the whole, make sure it is cleaned and gutted before you cook it. And before cooking, you can thoroughly soak the pulp in the marinade.

How to cook

1. Preheat the oven to 180-200 degrees Celsius.
2. Take a baking sheet with spread parchment paper and apply some olive oil on it - a great sprayer option.
3. Place the mackerel fillet on a parchment coated baking sheet. If you use whole mackerel, put the carcasses on a baking sheet. Spread the top of the pulp with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to your individual preference.
4. Choose seasonings that complement the fish: a whole peeled head of garlic, shallots, coarsely chopped onions, dried Provence herbs, rosemary, bay leaf and thyme - they will give the dish a great taste. Prepare a side dish, for example, of vegetables, and then place it on a baking sheet around the mackerel. Cut the lemon slices and place them inside the mackerel carcasses or on top of the fillet to add a bright, citrus flavor to the cooked dish.
5. This recipe for mackerel in the oven is considered simple to execute. Bake fish in the oven until cooked (20-30 minutes, depending on the temperature and what you have chosen: fillet or carcass). You can check with a fork: the meat should be white and pierce freely. Do not forget about vegetables: they should also become soft from heat treatment. At the very last stage, turn on the grill for a couple of minutes (if you have such a mode). This will give the mackerel a crispy golden crust.
6. Serve the classics of the genre to the table by laying out portionwise on plates, with a side dish. You can sprinkle with fresh herbs chopped with a knife: parsley, dill, onion.
   

With paprika, potatoes and garlic

Another simple mackerel recipe in the oven is with potatoes and spices. And for its implementation in the kitchen we will need: a pair of garlic cloves, peeled; a pinch of dried paprika; half a spoonful of salt (preferably sea), or more to taste; Virgin Olive Oil; eight medium filets; a kilogram of young potatoes; several onions, peeled and finely chopped. To make the sauce, take: a whisper of saffron, a little white vinegar (or dry wine); some Dijon mustard; a few tablespoons of olive oil; sea ​​salt with freshly ground pepper.

Simple cooking!

1. This recipe for mackerel in the oven is difficult. Preheat the oven to 180-200 degrees.
2. Put the garlic and paprika in a cup, add salt and grind into a smooth paste. Add a couple of drops of oil, then wipe the fillet on all sides with the resulting paste and set aside for subsequent impregnation of the pulp (20-30 minutes will be enough).
3. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it with olive oil (or use a silicone baking dish - then parchment is not necessary).
4. Put the mackerel fillet on paper and season with salt and pepper on top. Cook in the oven at the above temperature for 8-10 minutes, until the crust becomes crispy. Take it out of the oven and set aside “to rest”.
5. Peel and boil the small potatoes in a large pot with salted water for about 15 minutes until cooked, then drop them into a colander.
6. Serve potatoes paired with mackerel and a side dish of vegetable vinaigrette (which includes carrots, pickles, beets, onions, greens).

How to make the sauce

Do not forget about him. We combine the saffron whisper in a bowl with white vinegar (wine), a spoon of Dijon mustard, a third glass of olive oil, sea salt on the tip of the knife and the same amount of freshly ground black pepper, place in a blender bowl and bring to a homogeneous state, thoroughly mixed. Now the resulting sauce can be seasoned with baked mackerel cooked with potatoes. In principle, you can use any other sauce suitable for second fish dishes. So, there is where to show your culinary imagination.

Tasty: with grated hard cheese!

For the preparation of mackerel with a cheese recipe, we need: 150-200 grams of grated hard cheese (very tasty with parmesan), half a lemon (zest with juice), a cup of fresh parsley (cut finely and finely), crushed or crushed using a special garlic - 2-3 cloves, a pinch of dry paprika, a little butter, a kilo of mackerel fillet (it’s better to take it, but you can use carcasses - then the ridge must be removed, and small bones removed).

Simple cooking!

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Lubricate the baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Place the grated cheese in a deep bowl and add the garlic and paprika.
3. Wash the lemon and wipe it. Cut in half and rub the zest of one of the halves using a grater. And then add the zest to the cheese-garlic mixture.
4. Wash the parsley and dry it. Finely chop and add to the total mass. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly to achieve uniformity.
5. We wash the fish in cool water and dry it with a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.
6. We heat the butter using a small pan on the stove (you can also use a microwave).
7. Dip each piece of mackerel fillet into oil, then into the cheese mixture, covering both sides of the dish.
8. We place the processed fish in a mold or on a baking sheet and bake for a quarter of an hour in the oven. A tasty and healthy fish in a cheese mixture is considered ready when the pulp is easily pierced with a fork.
9. And finally: squeeze the juice of one lemon over the mackerel already taken from the stove and serve it on the table. In the best way, the dish goes well with toasted croutons and garlic sauce. And the side dish can be served with rice, mashed potatoes, and spaghetti, and stewed vegetables, and salad from fresh field gifts. Bon appetit to all!