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Kippered Mackerel

A smoked mackerel prepared by brining, drying, smoking, and storing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,077 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Kippered Mackerel

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 150°F (65°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the fish

  1. Split the mackerel down the back, leaving the thin side connected at the tail.

  2. Remove the roes, livers, and gills, and wipe clean.

  3. Rub the insides lightly with olive oil and let them sit skin side down for 3 hours.

Brine

  1. Boil rock salt, bay salt, saltpetre, coarse sugar, and water for 15 minutes, skimming well.

  2. Place the fish in an earthen pan with thyme, allspice, and bay leaves.

  3. Pour the boiled brine over the fish at about 150°F (65°C) and cover tightly.

  4. After 36 hours, remove the fish, wipe them dry, and stretch them open with wooden splints.

Dry, smoke and store

  1. Hang the fish in a strong air current.

  2. If they become clammy, place them near a fire for 1 hour.

  3. Smoke the fish until they are a nice chestnut brown color using a mixture of oak lops, fern, and beech chips.

  4. Store the smoked fish packed face to face with dry oiled paper between each fish.

  5. To serve, broil or toast the fish moderately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Thyme + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,077 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  3. Olive + allspicetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together796 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  4. Sugar + allspicetop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,938 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  5. Olive + sugartop 35% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together12,483 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Olive and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,483 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mackerel
Forms the main body of the dish, becoming firm and flaky when cured and smoked.
Rock salt or common salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the fish during the brine cure.
Bay salt
Adds coarse salinity to the brine, firming the flesh and seasoning it evenly.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the fish and gives the cured flesh its characteristic colour.
Coarse sugar
Balances the saltiness of the brine and promotes gentle browning during smoking.
Beech chips
Provides the smoke flavour and aroma and helps develop the browned surface.

The step that matters

Hanging the fish in a strong air current after brining. The fish must dry properly before smoking. If the surface stays clammy, smoke does not adhere well and the fish can spoil, so it is dried first and warmed if needed.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, sugar, thyme):

  1. Rosemaryfits better
  2. Marjoramfits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, sugar, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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