Simple Fried Mackerel
Simple Fried Mackerel
Mackerel is an oily fish and is delicious without any sauces or special ingredients. This is the classic English way to prepare mackerel fillets with skin on. Three ingredients and about 2-3 minutes of cooking time is all that is needed. Overcooking mackerel will result in dry fish, so we do not want to do that.
Ingredients
- 2 mackerel fillets, skin on, pin bones removed
- salt, as desired
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Here is my mackerel, these come frozen, two fillets to a pack, no bones are removed. First thing I did after this photo was remove the rib bones.
- Check the fillets and see if the pin bones have been removed, run a finger down the center line of each fillet, you will feel pin bones sticking up. Remove with needle nose pliers or just make an angled cut the length of the fillet, without going through the skin, on each side of the row of bones, then simply remove the strip of bones. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels. To make it easier to handle the fillets, cut each fillet in half crosswise, giving you 4 pieces, if desired.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, I used ghee, in a non stick pan. When the oil is hot, season the flesh side of the fillets with salt as desired. Place the fillets in the pan skin side down, if the fillets are curling upwards, just use your fingers and hold them down flat for a few seconds to make sure the skin maintains contact with the pan (this ensures nice and tasty skin). Cook for 1-2 minutes depending on the thickness.
- Once the skin is crispy and golden brown, turn the fillets over and remove the pan from heat, let cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Serve skin side up immediately. Enjoy with sides of your choice.
Notes
I have frozen mackerel fillets in the freezer, don't know what I paid for them, not too much, but I will verify this when I go to Tesco in town again. For now I will say Low cost per serving.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I made this on 9 Dec 2018, our first time having these fried, and my wife and I say, these are delicious as is, nothing to change.