As a firm meaty fish Mackerel BBQ is a tasty treat, cooking quickly and combining well with some herby flavours.

About Mackerel

Mackerel is a sustainable fish very common in the waters around the UK. Abundant in cold and temperate shelf areas, they form large shoals near the surface. They overwinter in deeper waters but move towards the coast to feed on small fish and prawns during the summer.

Mackerel are very recognisable with iridescent silver and blue striped skin and deeply forked tails. Mackerel is a delicious nutritious fish, with intense creamy meat that packed with omega-3 fatty acids.

Preparation time for this is 5 minutes. Allow about 15 minutes for cooking. Ingredients below are for two people but you can easily scale up for larger numbers.

Ingredients for Mackerel BBQ

2 Whole mackerel from Walter Purkis & S0ns (We can remove the head and clean them for you in the shop)
Bunch herbs of your choice (flat parsley, dill, basil)
1 lemon, sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper for Seasoning

Cooking Tips For Mackerel BBQ

Put 4-5 diagonal cuts on each side of the mackerel using a sharp knife a sharp. The cust should be quite deep.

Chop the herbs and mix them well with the oil. Allow a few moments for the flavours to infuse. Rub the herbs over the fish, massage them well with your fingers to ensure the herds go into the diagonal cuts on the fish.

Pack some of the herbs and lemon into the cavity of the mackerel and season the fish well with plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place on the BBQ carefully and cook approx. 5 minutes on each side. Look to a shorter time for smaller or thinner fish. When cooked remove and squeeze over some lemon juice.

As an accompaniment: Chop some sun dried tomatoes, quarter some cherry tomatoes, add 1 tbsp baby capers and warm gently in a frying pan in some of the sun dried tomato oil.

If you would like some more BBQ or grilling inspiration we have plenty on our blog here >>