Spanish Mackerel Filet

[TrickyDick]

A guy I work with is a fishing nut. He loves it, and occasionally will sell me some fish. He fishes in the gulf Florida coast out of Homasassa.

I haven't seen it yet, but he says there are a bunch of Spanish Mackerel Filets skin on, that he has by this frozen I'm sure.
He also has included some bluefish, and trout (not sure what kind) but mostly the fish is the mackerel.

I've been trolling the fishing sites and everyone has a favorite way to do the mackerel, but I don't think any of them has a MAK,

I was thinking about cold smoking them (at least some of them, not sure how much there is) and eating as is or even making into a spread. I'm in uncharted territory here, so I thought I shout out for some suggestions on how to prepare this fish.

Thanks

TD

 

[TrickyDick]

Well, I got the fish today. 10-12 fillets. Plus the bluefish and the trout. I think I'm going to smoke it all.

I think I'm going to do some with a dry "brine", and some with a wet brine.

I'm going to use my amazin tube smoker to cold smoke them. I'm not sure which pellets would contribute the best flavor however as I've never cooked before. I have a variety of possibilities, but I think I'm going to probably just use cherry fuel pellets.

I don't think I'm going to go too crazy seasoning either of the brining solutions. I might add a bit of desert gold, as I hear folks like that flavor on fish. I don't want to get too crazy, since I'm probably going to make a fish dip with this and will season that when I make it

TD

 

[TentHunter]

I never smoked or even cooked Mackerel before either, but don't worry; I won't let that stop me from watching to see how yours turns out!

 

[TrickyDick]

Going to be doing the brine and dry "brine" this afternoon hopefully after finishing a few tasks for SWMBO, then tomorrow plan is to smoke them, along with that Boar "bacon" (its not gonna be pretty) I said I would do, and also, some hopefully "crispy" Poppers.

TD

 

[RickB]

I never smoked or even cooked Mackerel before either, but don't worry; I won't let that stop me from watching to see how yours turns out!

Mackerel is a very oily fish and quite a strong flavor. Wll hold up well to smoking. Some say the more the better. Have never tried smoking and don't know how that will affect what some say is a very fishy taste.
Looking forward to the cook and results.

 

[TrickyDick]

Thanks. I had heard the same. From what I gather, it is best eaten on the day it is caught, especially when its not being fried or smoked. Mine was caught last Sunday. I'm still going to smoke it, along with a bluefish.

I ran out of salt, so I ended up doing just the dry salt and sugar rub with some black pepper and a dash of some fish rub I found in the pantry from Williams and Sonoma called potlatch fish rub.

Anyway. Here are a couple prelim pics from my iPhone. I'll flip it tonight when I get off work, and smoke it tomorrow afternoon.View attachment 2107View attachment 2108those bricks are a goodly 15 pounds each I'd say weighing it down..

TD

 

[TrickyDick]

View attachment 2114
Here are the filets.

I had a hard time keeping the amazin tube smoker lit, so finally I decided to put the MAK on smoke.
I think I should have soaked them in water for a bit rather than just rinsing the salt and sugar mix off of them. The finished dip was a bit too salty for my liking. Probably these small fillets didn't need as much contact time.
The dip I think might have been slightly over processed but very spreadable and smooth, but a bit dense.
I think I lost the pic of all the ingredients

I used 1 pkg cream cheese, 1/4 c + 2T sour cream, 1/2 pound of smoked fish after removing skins, a large piece of roasted red pepper and about 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce. A splash of hot sauce. Horseradish, lemon juice, black pepper.

I might thin it out a bit with some light mayo. And maybe a bit of sweet relish.
All in all, it turned out pretty tasty. Will definitely be trying this again, but might try and see if I can get that tube smoker working better for a colder smoke.
TD

 

[TentHunter]

Glad it worked out, even if not perfect. The dip sure sounds tasty. I wouldn't pass up a chance to try it.