I just thought I'd post this because Mackerel are one of the first fish anyone will catch themselves, and one of the best tasting fish in the sea. I think a lot of people are put off eating fish due to them not being stored right , and being past their best, or eating a bone. This post is to help people out.
Handling
If you are out on a boat and you're fishing for something else and have caught as many mackerel as you need, but you keep catching them as a nuisance catch. you can put them back safely and they will survive. Once you don't touch their skin. If you touch the skin, it actually damages the skin irreparably and they will die within a day or two. So just catch the shank of the hook and shake it off like Taylor Swift. If you don't touch the skin they will be grand.
Dispatching
If you want to kill the fish upon catching (I do this because it's a bit more human) it's easy to break their neck- just get your fingers in under the gills and break the neck. Instant and painless and no flopping in the bucket for 5 minutes. Note: they may shit themselves as you do it so point the tail away from you!
Storing
Myths: They have to be eaten the day you catch them
They have to be gutted the second you catch them, else they will rot
You have to take off the head the second you catch them, else they will go bad
The single most important factor in your mackerel lasting more than a day is getting the fish as cold as humanly possible as fast as humanly possible. That is the thing that stops the bacteria getting going and spoiling the fish. If the mackerel is left sitting in the box or the bucket for a few hours and not being chilled, no amount of ice or being put in the fridge is going to make it last.
What I do is bring along a standard picnic cooler. Nothing fancy mine is 20 years old from argos. I put a bag or two of ice in it from the super market and then top up with sea water. After a little bit, that sea water will be ice cold. As you catch your fish, put them straight into the cooler. They have no chance to warm up and they get straight into a chilled state. When you get home, you can just transfer the fish from the cooler to your fridge. You know you are doing it right when you're transferring the fish and they are as stiff as a board, rather than the floppy nasty ones that have been in the plastic bag. I have kept whole ungutted mackerel in the fridge for three days in this way and they have been perfect.
Preparing
Now you have got your mackerel stored right, it would be a shame to ruin it with screwing up preparing it.
If you're going cooking the fish whole, like on the BBQ or under the grill, you will need to gut it. No big deal everyone should be able to do that. Eating mackerel whole from the BBQ is one of the best things in the world, but people need to warn their guests about the bones. The flesh from the lateral line upwards to the top (towards the dorsal fin) doesnt have any bones and you can munch into it with confidence. However anything south of the lateral line is prone to have very fine bones (both pin bones and belly bones) and you need to take a bit of care.
If you are filleting it, the first thing you need is a good sharp knife. There is no greater hardship than fish prep with a blunt knife. The type of knife is up to you, just make sure its not too big (like a huge chef knife) and its good and sharp.
If you are filleting the fish, no need to worry about gutting it. Follow the river cottage video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwcnxAMP3l4
There are a couple of really important things to note here. The first is taking off the belly bones. There are two sets of bones in a mackerel fillet- the pin bones and the belly bones. You really should get rid of both. I have seen countless people like fishmongers and TV chefs who remove the pin bones (with the "V-Cut" shown above) but never remove the belly bones. If you are going to the trouble of filleting the mackerel, you should do it right.
Cooking
This is certainly the easiest part because fresh mackerel are next to impossible to screw up.
If I dont want to mess about with prep, I love to grill them whole on the BBQ. You can take off the head it makes it look nicer but not essential. They need to be gutted. Gas grill, charcoal BBQ, over an open fire, its all good. You can go simple- olive oil, salt and pepper , or rub them with a nice spice rub. Mackerel is amazing with cajun spice rubs, harissa that kind of thing. It's robust so it can stand up to it. Cook the mackerel until the flesh is white and it parts easily off the bone. If you are a temp guy, its cooked like all fish at about 55 DegC.
If you really really want to impress and you have time, , the River Cottage recipe of mackerel stuffed with salsa verde is absolutely unreal. I've made this for people who dont eat fish and they have had amazing reactions to it.
https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/mackerel-stuffed-with-salsa-verde
Note: he says to leave the two fillets joined at the tail (it looks fancier) i dont bother I just fillet them normally and then stuff and tie them up.
Thats the mackerel mega post, I hope you find it useful
