Fried Mackerel - General Cooking Principles
Mackerel belongs to the white varieties of fish - quite fat, but very useful. If you want to increase your immunity and improve your health, feel free to introduce mackerel into your diet. This inexpensive fish is very tasty, and only some of its recipes in a fried form, there is a huge variety.
However, there is one “but” - the fish during frying produces a huge amount of fat, in a heated state it has a very specific smell. Perhaps this is the main reason why mackerel do not like to fry. However, odor can be avoided. The easiest way is to pickle mackerel. Half an hour in an aromatic liquid, and the fish will be cooked quickly and easily.
Fried Mackerel - preparing food and dishes
Before you fry the mackerel, you need to prepare it. Wash the fish thoroughly, then remove the unwanted parts (head, tail, offal) and remove the bones. Bones from mackerel is not difficult to get - pull out the spine, and consider that the job is done.
How and in what marinate mackerel? The fish should stay in the marinade for at least half an hour, then during heat treatment there will definitely not be any unpleasant odors. Here are some options for the marinade:
- Mix 120 ml of white dry wine and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice;
- Mix mineral water without gas, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar, salt and vinegar;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and water;
- Lemon juice and water mixed in proportions 1: 3.
Mackerel can be fried in butter or by adding vegetables. These are the vegetables that are best combined with fish - green beans, cauliflower, eggplants, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes.
It is best to fry mackerel in a frying pan with a non-stick coating or at the bottom of the bowl of the slow cooker. Since mackerel will marinate well, part of the fish oil will “go away”, and therefore use butter or vegetable oil to prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom. Recipes for fried mackerel:
Recipe 1: Fried Mackerel
If you do not like fish in batter or with vegetables, then you can simply fry it in oil. We recommend using a slow cooker for this dish. First, the oil consumption will be minimal, and secondly, the fish will not exactly burn and stick. Choose the “Frying” mode and set the time for 20 minutes.
Ingredients Required:
- Mackerel
- Butter - 60 grams
Preparation Method:
- If you decide to cook fried fish in oil, then you can cut it just into portions, without removing the bone. Cut off the head and tail, taking out the insides, cut the carcass into steaks. Marinate the meat for half an hour, then dry it with dry wipes.
- Melt the butter on the surface, and lay out the pieces of mackerel. Cook on both sides for ten minutes.
Recipe 2: Fried Mackerel in batter
Frying fish in batter, you serve it as an addition to the side dish.
Ingredients Required:
- Mackerel
- Chicken Egg - 2 pieces
- Flour - 1/2 cup
- Butter for frying
Preparation Method:
- Start by removing the head, tail and fins, the insides, and then cut it lengthwise. Pull out the spine and all the bones. Cut mackerel into portions, marinate for 30 minutes.
- Mix the egg, flour and salt with a mixer.
- Melt the butter.
- Dip each piece of fish in flour, then dip the mackerel in the egg mixture and immediately put it in the pan. After 7-8 minutes, turn the fish on the other side, fry for 5-6 minutes.
- You can also use breadcrumbs. Here is another interesting recipe for batter-breading - roll mackerel in mayonnaise and then sprinkle with croutons. The mackerel, cooked in batter, is soft, while the breadcrumbs create a firm, crisp crust.
Recipe 3: Mackerel fried with cheese
Very tasty grilled mackerel with cheese. Serve this fish hot until the cheese has hardened.
Ingredients Required:
- Mackerel - 2 pieces
- Hard cheese - 200 grams
- Butter
Preparation Method:
- Prepare the fish: cut off the head, fins and tail, remove the skin, take out the giblets and the spine. As a result, you should get two layers of fish fillets. Cut it into pieces and pickle.
- Cheese should be grated on a coarse grater.
- Melt the butter in a hot skillet, put the fish on it and cook for 7 minutes.
- Turn the fish over and sprinkle it with cheese. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Recipe 4: Fried Mackerel with Cauliflower
Cod and mackerel are used for this recipe in Tuscany, as well as cauliflower and green peas. The dish turns out beautiful in appearance, but most importantly - very tasty and healthy.
Ingredients Required:
- Fish - 2 pieces
- Canned peas - 100 grams
- Cauliflower - 200 grams
- Hard cheese - 100 grams salty
- Vegetable oil
Preparation Method:
- Mackerel need to cut, remove the bones. The resulting fillet cut into strips of 1-2 centimeters wide. Marinate the fish.
- Cut the cabbage or break it into small florets.
- Rub cheese on a fine grater.
- Heat the pan, grease it with vegetable oil and put the cabbage to roast. Cook it gently under a closed lid for 7 minutes.
- Add fish and peas to cabbage, mix, salt and fry for another fifteen minutes.
- Serve the finished dish in a warm form, sprinkled with grated cheese.
Recipe 5: Mackerel Fried with Eggplants and Basil
If you do not know what to cook tasty and unusual for the second, to your attention mackerel, fried with vegetables. You can take any vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions. We suggest you cook fish with eggplant and basil. Ingredients Required:
- Mackerel - 1-2 carcasses
- Eggplants - 2 pieces
- Onion - 1 piece
- Fresh basil
- Sour cream - 120 grams
- Vegetable oil
Preparation Method:
- Clean the mackerel (remove the head and tail, remove the giblets, the spine) and cut into small pieces, then marinate.
- Chop onions and eggplants finely. Basil tear your hands.
- Grease the preheated pan with oil, put onion, fry it until golden brown, then lay out the eggplants and fish. Fry the mixture for 10 minutes, add sour cream and salt. Add fresh basil to the finished mackerel.
Fried Mackerel - secrets and useful tips from the best chefs
- On which oil is best to fry mackerel? Use cream or sunflower, but not olive. Because of him, the fish will get an unpleasant odor.
- Do not forget to dry the fish after it has been marinated, otherwise the mackerel will not fry.
- Can I use frozen mackerel for frying? Of course, however, it must first be thawed. If you do not have time to defrost, then the fish should be put in a bag and placed in water. So the mackerel answer is much faster.
- Mackerel can be served at the festive table. For this dish you need to decorate. Use sesame, flax seeds, chopped herbs and lettuce sheets.
- If you do not want to marinate mackerel, then note that you need to fry vegetables in another pan. If this is not done, the vegetables will be saturated with fish oil and will not taste good.
