Someone loves sweets, someone likes meat, and someone likes fish. The latter group of people was especially lucky in their addiction. The fact is that fish has all the necessary properties in order to call it the most useful of many product groups.
Firstly, fish oil is necessary for the full functioning of the body for both adults and children. Secondly, fish meat is rich in proteins, which are the building blocks of our body, cells and muscles.
Mackerel refers to fatty white varieties of fish, which is relatively affordable and sold in many stores. This fish is often baked or smoked. Pickled mackerel is also delicious. It costs much more than raw fish, although the recipe is very simple and accessible to everyone.
Pickled Mackerel - preparing food and dishes
Mackerel can be used both fresh and frozen. How to prepare a fish? Cut off the head, tail, fins. Be sure to clean the middle and especially the dark film - if this is not done, then the pickled mackerel will turn out to be bitter. Cut the fish into portions. Mackerel is ready for pickling.
What do you need for a marinade?
First of all, mineral water. In addition, prepare onions, garlic, spices, vinegar, salt and sugar.
How long does the fish prepare? If you get down to business in the evening, then you will get ready-made pickled mackerel for breakfast. To cook mackerel in a spicy marinade, you need not 12, but 5 hours.
Pickled Mackerel Recipes:
Recipe 1: Pickled Mackerel
Let's make the simplest marinade, without onions and garlic.
Ingredients Required:
- Clove - 3-4 things
- Sugar - 4-5 tablespoons
- Mackerel - 3-4 carcasses
Cooking method:
- Prepare the mackerel. To do this, you need to clean it - cut off the head, remove the fins and tail, remove the offal. Cut it into pieces.
- Pour mineral water into a saucepan and set on fire. Add salt, cloves, sugar and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool.
- Pour the fish with the still warm marinade, and when it has cooled completely, put the mackerel in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.
Recipe 2: Pickled Mackerel with Onions
It is according to this recipe that mackerel is most often prepared in restaurants. The fish is tender, tasty, with the aroma of onions.
Ingredients Required:
- 1 liter of purified water for marinade
- Mackerel - 3-4 carcasses
- Onion - 2 pieces
- Fresh parsley
- Sugar - 2-3 tbsp
- Salt
- Bay leaf
Cooking method:
- Onions clean and cut into rings.
- Finely chopped greens.
- My fish, gutted, pull out the film, cut into portioned pieces. Sprinkle mackerel with onions and parsley.
- We make a marinade. Pour water into a saucepan, put on fire, put salt and sugar, bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cool slightly.
- We still fill the fish with a warm marinade and put it in the refrigerator for the night.
Recipe 3: Pickled Spicy Mackerel
Not everyone loves seasoning, because sometimes they give the dish an unusual taste. But we recommend that you try pickling mackerel according to this recipe, especially if you cook it for the festive table.
Ingredients Required:
- Mackerel
- Sugar - 4 tablespoons
- Mineral water - 1.3 liters
- Caraway seeds - 1 teaspoon
- Coriander - 1/2 tsp
- Suneli hops - ½ teaspoon
Cooking method:
- Cooking fish: gutted, cleaned and cut into pieces.
- We make a marinade. We put water on the fire, and when it boils, add sugar, salt and spices to it. Let the marinade boil with spices under a closed lid for 4-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the liquid cool.
- Pour the mackerel with warm marinade and leave it in a cool place for 5-6 hours.
Recipe 4: Mackerel Pickled with Tomato
A very unusual marinade recipe, which is often used by Greek chefs.
Ingredients Required:
- Fish - 4 carcasses
- Tomato paste - 4 tbsp. spoons
- Fresh carrot - 1 piece
- Garlic - 3 prongs
- Purified water - 1.3 liters
- Parsley
- Sugar
- Bay leaf
Cooking method:
- Cut the mackerel into portions, after it has been cleaned and gutted.
- Carrots need to be washed and finely grated. Stir carrot with tomato paste. In a garlic passed through a press, mix everything.
- Prepare the liquid for the marinade. Put a saucepan of water on the fire, add sugar, salt and bay leaf. Once the water boils, turn off the heat.
- Mix the fish with the tomato mixture, pour the marinade and add the chopped greens. Leave the mackerel to marinate overnight.
Recipe 5: Pickled Mackerel with Soy Sauce and Lemon
This marinade is also quite unusual, and will allow the usual mackerel to “play” in a new way. The only thing you need to immediately warn is that the fish will turn out to be quite salty.
Ingredients Required:
- Mackerel - 4-5 carcasses
- Soya sauce - 5.5 tbsp
- Sugar - 2 tablespoons
- Purified water - 1.4 liters
- Bay leaf
- Lemon - ½ pieces
Cooking method:
- Prepare the mackerel: cut off the head, tail, cut the fish into pieces.
- Prepare the liquid for the marinade. To do this, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, then add sugar and bay leaf. Let the water boil for a minute or two, after which remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.
- Pour the fish with warm water, add soy sauce and lemon sliced into thin slices.
- Pickle 5-6 hours.
Pickled mackerel - tips from the best cooks
- For several decades, cooks have been arguing whether mackerel should be thawed before pickling or not. In fact, you can cook fish in several ways, including without defrosting. How to defrost a fish quickly? Put it in a bag of cellophane and dip it in water.
- Purchase fish at retail outlets that sell only fresh produce. What should a good frozen mackerel look like? The carcass should be firm, without friability. If there are gills, then they should be solid and dark in color. The smell of fish should be neutral. Do not buy fish if it is covered with a thick layer of ice, this indicates the staleness of the product. Frozen mackerel should have a thin white glaze.
- Do not be afraid to experiment. The above marinade recipes are good, but you can safely add whatever ingredients you like. Try adding slices of orange and apple, beetroot, and various spices to the marinade. A very original flavor to the fish will give parsley root.
- Sugar must be used in the marinade. Try unrefined brown instead of regular white sugar. If you do not want the pickled mackerel to be very salty, you can replace the salt with soy sauce. A pair of spoons per liter of water will be enough to make the fish tasty and not very salty.
- To make the fish sour, take a spoonful of wine or rice vinegar.
- What is the best way to serve pickled mackerel? Drain and fill the fish with oil. You can also add onions, garlic, sweet peas. Fish with white sauce is very tasty: it can be mayonnaise or sour cream. You can also make the sauce yourself: mix vegetable oil, egg yolks and mustard powder.
