Salt Mackerel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the mackerel in cold water, inside down, for two days, changing the water once or twice.
Clean the mackerel thoroughly and wipe it dry.
Cook and serve
Fry, broil, or boil the mackerel in a little water.
Serve the fish with bits of butter on top.
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
What each ingredient does
- Salt mackerel
- Is the main fish, preserved by salting, so soaking removes excess salt before cooking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the cooked fish as it melts over the top.
The step that matters
Soaking the mackerel. Salt-cured fish is very salty, so soaking it in fresh cold water for two days, with changes of water, draws out salt through osmosis. Skipping or shortening the soak leaves the fish too salty to eat comfortably.
“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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