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Broiled Mackerel

A simple broiled mackerel seasoned with salt, pepper, butter, fennel, and parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Fennel and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 625 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Broiled Mackerel

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut a slit in the back of the mackerel for even cooking.

  2. Grease a grill and place the mackerel over a clear, slow fire.

  3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the fish.

Cook and serve

  1. Cook until done on both sides, then transfer to a hot dish.

  2. Rub butter over the fish and stuff with scalded, chopped fennel and parsley, seasoned with salt and pepper.

  3. Serve with fennel sauce, parsley, and butter.

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. Fennel + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together625 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Pepper + fenneltop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,216 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Mackerel
Is the main protein, cooked whole so the flesh sets and browns over the fire.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, coating the fish as it cooks.
Fennel
Adds a mild aniseed aroma to the stuffing and sauce.

The step that matters

Cook until done on both sides. Over a slow fire, fish can dry out before the thickest part is cooked through. Cutting the slit in the back helps heat reach the centre evenly, and checking doneness on both sides prevents undercooking or drying.

Swap the fennel

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, parsley):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Marjoramfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Fennelthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, parsley. 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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