I cook mackerel like this for hot dishes, for appetizers, and for salads. Tender and insanely tasty meat is obtained! And I don't spend much of my time cooking. All I need is 5 minutes - no more. Moreover, most of the time is spent on cleaning the fish.
But still, the most difficult thing in this recipe is choosing the fish. And this is a big problem now. I don’t know how it is in your city, but we need to run around several stores in order to pick up something “edible”. All the fish is somehow frozen, covered with a thick layer of ice and an incomprehensible color.
Most often, my husband is engaged in purchases from me, so I also entrusted the choice of fish to him. And today he was lucky. In a nearby fish shop, a fresh batch of mackerel was delivered and they even allowed him to choose (probably because he took 9 pieces at once).
But for this recipe, two will be enough for me. You can defrost the fish a little. But I'm not waiting - it's easier to clean. I just remove the head and all the insides and cut off the fins. Of course, the fish must be washed well and be sure (for this recipe) to dry with paper towels.
The first ingredient is ready. The second is salt.
I pour a layer of salt on a small baking sheet (about 600-700 g is needed) and spread the prepared fish on the salt.
I do not pickle fish, do not salt, do not add oil or spices. I just add salt and that's it!
I put the fish in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
I’ll immediately clarify for those who want to write to me that the title is “deception”, that “it’s not 5 minutes here, but all 40!”: I spent no more than 5 minutes of MY TIME! Then you can do other things, you can just watch the video in Zen. The fish is prepared WITHOUT my participation!
And here is the result (scroll):
The fish is delicious! Juicy, tender, moderately salted (believe me, you don’t have to add salt), and excess fat has “gone” into salt! For me, this is the best recipe for baked mackerel! And I don’t spend much time, and the result is always amazing! If you suddenly haven’t heard about such a recipe or have heard, but haven’t tried to cook like this, I highly recommend it!
If somewhere a little salt sticks to the fish, it's okay! You can remove the skin along with salt (although salt, in fact, rarely sticks). And the skin that was on top is crispy, thin and very tasty!
I have already shown how I cook chicken according to the same recipe. There, too, only chicken and salt. I'll leave a link to the recipe below. I always poured salt immediately on a baking sheet (I have a special one for this recipe - a small and old one).
So, under that video in the comments, they told me that you can lay foil on a baking sheet and then it’s even more convenient - you don’t have to wash the baking sheet at all!
I did just that this time. Thanks to everyone who writes comments and shares their recipes, observations and secrets. I am learning a lot from you!
Salt chicken here:
And in this video there are some more interesting recipes for cooking mackerel. Check it out, you'll love them: