i’ve been missing out on mackerel

[Jim in CT]

My son and i jigged up tons of mackerel on the fishbucket this weekend. the captain suggested we take a few fillets home, I had it in my head the mackerel were disgusting, he suggested fish tacos would be good

when i saw how red and obviously oily the filets were, i was more than a little bit skeptical.

So i took fresh filets, dipped them
in melted butter, sprinkled some blackening powder on them, and smoked them on my charcoal grill.

i was surprised at how tasty they were. much better than bluefish.

i’ve been missing out. i’ve turned my back on a lot of
mackerel over the years.

[PaulS]

Neighbor next door used to catch trash cans full in LIS when I was small and we'd eat Macs for a few days. Hadn't eaten them for years until about 2 years ago on the Mass South shore where someone had some blackened. A small step up from bluefish.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by PaulS

Neighbor next door used to catch trash cans full in LIS when I was small and we'd eat Macs for a few days. Hadn't eaten them for years until about 2 years ago on the Mass South shore where someone had some blackened. A small step up from bluefish.

you absolutely nailed it, a step
up from bluefish. which is ok in my book. i was very pleasantly surprised. plus it always tastes better when you know you caught it yourself.
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[Nebe]

Smoke em and make pate
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[bloocrab]

Google the healthiest fish to eat....you'll be pleasantly surprised.

We fry em' up in a pan (I know, not the healthiest way) but we absolutely love them! With some boiled potatoes, or yams, dad's special garlic sauce and pickled onions.

When I'm in the mood, I'll bake or boil them (the larger ones), pick them clean...and make omelets or patties baked in the oven.

I can't say I agree with "a step up from bluefish" though...unless they're snapper sized, I don't care for bluefish...but having had eaten mackerel my entire life, perhaps I'm being a bit biased.

Similar to baked stuffed-lobster that's stuffed with lobster stuffing, I also make baked stuffed mackerel with mackerel stuffing....but you have to have a lot of time/patience on your hands....lotta bones to remove if you're not careful.

[Guppy]

Ice ice ice
Cut the head off
Run a blade down both sides
Remove back bone
Layer the fillets in a large baking dish with olive oil, oregano, garlic over night
Red hot grill skin side up first, flip em

Don’t over cook, you can remove the remaining bones now or when u filleted them

Nothing like bloo fish IMO, bluefish suck :-)

[numbskull]

Here is a better idea.

Treat mackerel like bonito. Bleed them immediately in water, ice them quickly. Fillet/skin them then cut out the perpendicular bones. Trim off any remaining red meat. You end up with four "finger" shaped fillets from each fish. Cook them as you would cook bonito. You will be amazed at how good they are.

[Guppy]

Hmmm good one George...
I’ve deep fried those fingers
Luv the bonito...

[PaulS]

Based on the only time I've livelined Macs (with Ross), I'd say it is a waste to eat them

[thefishingfreak]

best tasting chum there is

[Billybob]

When I was a kid, there was a great spring run in LIS, you could jig up trash cans full, and we would freeze most of them for bait.
My Dad would call me in sick for school and we would go. We'd catch the macs and give a bunch to the nuns - they liked them.
"You made a remarkable recovery, Bill" they would say.

[DZ]

I spent my formative years here in Newport which was once considered the mack capital of New England. Spent lots of time with the native Portuguese/Azorian fishermen who kept buckets of them. They told me a few recipes including frying them with eggs for breakfast (which turned me off). Another recipe was cutting fillets into chunks, bread crumb them, and then deep frying. Put the chunks in a bowl in the middle of the dinner table then add various dipping sauces in separate bowls. Kind of like a fish fondue. Very good.

[LiamRosati]

Originally Posted by Billybob

When I was a kid, there was a great spring run in LIS, you could jig up trash cans full, and we would freeze most of them for bait.
My Dad would call me in sick for school and we would go. We'd catch the macs and give a bunch to the nuns - they liked them.
"You made a remarkable recovery, Bill" they would say.

Holly Mackerel?

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by LiamRosati

Holly Mackerel?

BOO

[Ed B]

Back in the summer of my college days I used to pack fish at the Harwichport Fish Co., and the owner was a real stickler for top quality fish as we used to sell to a lot of the better restaurants and Inns in the area from Dennis to Orleans. The charter guys at Wychmere and Saquatucket Harbors used to bring their fish to us and the ones who carried ice and took care of their fish got paid higher prices because it was a good product the we could sell locally as opposed to other fish which would get shipped to NY or Philly to get auctioned off.

An experienced fish cutter can tell exactly how you took care of your fish by the firmness as soon as he sticks the knife into the flesh. Taking care of fish that have high metabolisms like bluefish, macks and tunas is critical to getting a good product, because the enzymes in their digestive system can deteriorate the flesh quickly once the fish dies. If you want good fish it's simple - kill, gut, wash out the inside, and put on ice in a cooler right after you catch it. (NOT AFTER YOU GET BACK HOME! It's too late then!)

Having said that, I'll say I like baked Bluefish just fine because that's how I take care of the ones I keep and it works. I've never tried mackerel but I would do the same for them, and I'm glad you had some good eats Jim!

[Guppy]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

best tasting chum there is

You don’t know what cha missin

All tinker down here

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Ed B

Back in the summer of my college days I used to pack fish at the Harwichport Fish Co., and the owner was a real stickler for top quality fish as we used to sell to a lot of the better restaurants and Inns in the area from Dennis to Orleans. The charter guys at Wychmere and Saquatucket Harbors used to bring their fish to us and the ones who carried ice and took care of their fish got paid higher prices because it was a good product the we could sell locally as opposed to other fish which would get shipped to NY or Philly to get auctioned off.

An experienced fish cutter can tell exactly how you took care of your fish by the firmness as soon as he sticks the knife into the flesh. Taking care of fish that have high metabolisms like bluefish, macks and tunas is critical to getting a good product, because the enzymes in their digestive system can deteriorate the flesh quickly once the fish dies. If you want good fish it's simple - kill, gut, wash out the inside, and put on ice in a cooler right after you catch it. (NOT AFTER YOU GET BACK HOME! It's too late then!)

Having said that, I'll say I like baked Bluefish just fine because that's how I take care of the ones I keep and it works. I've never tried mackerel but I would do the same for them, and I'm glad you had some good eats Jim!

great post. on the water had a cool article recently about caring for fish, saying bleed them
immediately, soak them
in an icy slushy mix while bleeding for a few minutes until the heart stops, then out on ice. i’d gave to think that hurting them
would help too.
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[Ed B]

Obtaining good fish quality is kind of common sense if you think about it on a basic level. Getting rid of all the blood and guts which holds all the bacteria and juices you don't want to eat as soon as possible works in your favor. Then cooling the flesh down below the normal temperature which the bacteria favors will save and prolong the fish quality.