Marinated Mackerel
The migration of the mackerel occurs in spring. The mackerel is a Black Sea fish, which periodically moves upstream the River Danube to reproduce. The mackerel gathers in large schools at the mouths of the Danube in March, and swim upstream, sometimes up to 500 kilometers to lay their spawn. This is the moment fishermen await for to capture this tasty, seasonal fish, often weighing between 200 and 600 grams.
România Internațional, 27.03.2016, 14:09
The migration of the mackerel occurs in spring. The mackerel is a Black Sea fish, which periodically moves upstream the River Danube to reproduce. The mackerel gathers in large schools at the mouths of the Danube in March, and swim upstream, sometimes up to 500 kilometers to lay their spawn. This is the moment fishermen await for to capture this tasty, seasonal fish, often weighing between 200 and 600 grams.
The most popular recipe is the grilled mackerel in brine sauce. Scale the fish, remove the organs and wash them. Salt the mackerel well and leave them like that for about half an hour. Wash the salt away and grill the fish or on a plate sheet on glowing embers or on the cooker flame. To cook the fish evenly, the mackerel must be turned on the other side as well. Allow the fish to parch and then remove the mackerel from the grill, put them in a bowl, pour the brine sauce made using boiled water, mashed garlic, pepper, thyme and chili pepper rounds. Cover everything with a lid for about 20 minutes, long enough for the brine sauce to soak, and for us to prepare the polenta. Arrange the fish on a plate with the polenta. Sprinkle finely-chopped parsley leaves on top. The brine sauce best goes with a cool glass of white, half-dry or dry wine.
Here’s the recipe for marinated mackerel. Scale the fish, cut off the heads and the tails. Cut the greater part of the fish in rounds about two inches thick. Wash the fish rounds several times. Drain the mackerel pieces, pour a lot of salt over them and allow them to salt for tree days. Remove the fish rounds from the salt, wash them several times, and put them in glass jars.
You need to prepare a marinade separately with equal quantities of water and vinegar. Put everything to boil, with bay leaves, pepper and mustard corns. Pour the lukewarm marinade in jars, close them tightly and then store them in the pantry. You can have the marinated mackerel ready to serve after a week. You can also prepare a marinated mackerel salad, with salad leaves, radish and fresh onion. Enjoy!
