Barbecued mackerel

Good for your heart
so eat up!

The mackerel is an oily fish and rich in vitamins. It’s one of the few nutritional sources of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which help to prevent heart disease and stroke. It also contains iodine, which is essential for a healthy thyroid gland and regulating your metabolic rate. So it’s good to barbecue mackerel!

It’s easy to recognise with its blue and green mottled pattern and blackish bands. The fish should be very, very smooth. If they’re not shiny and rigid, don’t buy them because they deteriorate faster than most fish.

They are usually sold whole, weighing up to around 400 grams and will therefore serve as one portion. Ask the fishmonger to gut them and remove the head and fins. They are great barbecued and particularly tasty grilled over a wood or peat fire.

Cut 2 or 3 slashes on each side of gutted and cleaned mackerel and season the fish well inside and out. Brush with a little oil and barbecue for about 5 – 7 minutes each side, or until the skin is crispy and the light pink flesh is cooked.

Want to jazz them up a little? As well as salt & pepper, sprinkle the zest of a lemon or lime and some thyme leaves inside the fish.

Or spice them up by deseeding and finely chopping a large red chilli. Add it to the grated zest and juice of a lime, a handful of chopped coriander (including the stems), a crushed clove of garlic, some salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. Rub most of this mixture inside the fish and the rest on the skin before grilling.

Or sprinkle the inside and out with lemon juice and salt and then stuff the body with a mixture of finely chopped fennel leaves, parsley, thyme and crushed garlic.

The barbecued fish could be served with a fresh tomato salad.

Accompanying sauces for mackerel include horseradish, mustard, or the traditional gooseberry. Rhubarb sauce is another alternative. See both sauce recipes below.

Rhubarb sauce

250 grams of rhubarb
a teaspoon of lemon juice
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 tablespoons of apple or orange juice
a pinch or two of powdered ginger or a spoonful of ginger syrup

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cover and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is very soft. Cool and blend in a food processor. Serve warm if possible but it’s ok cold on a picnic if necessary.

Gooseberry sauce

225 grams of gooseberries
10 grams of butter
castor sugar (to taste)
a little grated nutmeg

Put the gooseberries into a saucepan and just cover them with water. Half cover and simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the fruit is soft. Drain and then press the fruit through a sieve back into the saucepan.

Add the knob of butter and enough sugar to taste as well as a little grated nutmeg. Serve warm if possible with your barbecued mackerel but it will be just as tasty cold if you have to transport it.

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