# Holy Mackerel! (Amazing Smoked Mackerel)!



## leah elisheva (Jun 23, 2015)

Happy Tuesday to all!

Having been gifted some very generous and extremely fresh mackerel from one very kind fisherman, I cleaned some, smoked plain, atop grill grates on my tiny gas smoker on low heat, for 25 minutes, and then added into brown rice spaghetti with fresh basil, raw elephant garlic, avocado oil, smoked Chardonnay sea salt, red pepper flakes and both lemon zest and squeezed lemon.

This was truly lovely! The skin being the best part! 

Certainly, I could have smoked these for just 20 minutes and they would have been even softer, but the 25 was still great and next time I will just do it a little shorter.

Normally too, I ALWAYS leave the heads on fish! But, these heads were not large enough to have significant meat in them and not small enough to munch up whole, so I took scalps and then solely smoked the bodies.

In any event, a hearty thank you to our Captain Randy, and for the best mackerel ever! How very appreciative and lucky am I!

Cheers and warm wishes, Leah












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## mummel (Jun 23, 2015)

You always make such good stuff!  +1


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## tropics (Jun 23, 2015)

Leah That is amazing you made bait look tasty LOL Mackerel are a required taste Thanks for sharing.

Richie


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## leah elisheva (Jun 23, 2015)

Thank you so much Mummel! And Tropics as well! Yes, I eat bait, and I love it!!!! 
Cheers to all!!! Make your evening delicious! - Leah


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## boykjo (Jun 23, 2015)

Very nice Leah.............It looks delicious

Joe


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## letthemeatrest (Jun 23, 2015)

looks delicious! i just discovered this fish 2 years ago.  i wish i could get it that fresh in the mid-atlantic area!

i like to put olive oil + salt & pepper and grill it directly over high heat for a few minutes per side and do 1 flip... the skin literally fries itself!! so good


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## leah elisheva (Jun 23, 2015)

Thank you so much Joe! And that's  one helluva machine you have there in your Avotar photo! Fantastic stuff!!!

And thank you too LetTheMeatRest! Great handle, and your grilled mackerel sounds sensational too! Hope you track down some more!

Cheers and warm wishes, Leah


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## daveomak (Jun 23, 2015)

DAMN WOMAN......   those macs look cooked perfectly....   I've bought filets and fried them...  Yours smoked, look better than mine fried...


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## crazymoon (Jun 23, 2015)

Leah, those mackerel look excellent and the meal looks delicious !


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## leah elisheva (Jun 23, 2015)

Dave! Thank you tons!!! The skin on these was really a treat! You're so lucky to have found fillets to buy, as it's hard to find here and so I am humbled beyond belief to have been gifted these! Addictive treasures  mackerel sure are! Such a tasty fish!

And CrazyMoon thank you also! I made a salad with arugula and some other sweet lettuce and then red onion, avocado, black olives and chopped "Angelcots" or white apricots and then did balsamic & avocado oil and some sea salt and pepper. The meal was really nice and also filling! Thank you tons!!!

Cheers!!!!!!!!!!! - Leah


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## moikel (Jun 23, 2015)

They are such a great fish.Kept poor people alive around the world for centuries.
Still cheap, under utilised & harvested to feed to farmed fish!
I like to rub them with a Malaysian style paste & grill them or brine them in black beer & bits & smoke them in a Scottish way.
Great job.


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## gary s (Jun 23, 2015)

Wow !!!   Beautiful Fish,  Great cook and even better pics.  Another Home Run    
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Gary


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## captain randy (Jun 23, 2015)

Wow, what a fantastic looking meal! You always seem to make everything look so good. Great job Leah!!


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## leah elisheva (Jun 23, 2015)

Hey Mick, thanks  so much! Isn't  it funny how so many of those fish we love - sardines and such - sustained such cultures yet are junk fish to others? In any event, your beer brine sounds fun! All of your epic meals are terrific!

And Gary, thank you as well! Your kind words are appreciated and the points are so nice - thanks too! I know my cooking is simple but I have fun plating and am glad it's enjoyed. So kind!

Captain Randy; thanks so very much! If not for YOUR super generous doings, I wouldn't be the benefactor of such a gastronomical and delicious meal. How very grateful am I!

Happy evening to all! And here's to delicious things!  (lLike Mackerel)!

Cheers!!!!!! - Leah


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## atomicsmoke (Jun 23, 2015)

Awesome pile of goodness. Great smoke Leah.


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## moikel (Jun 23, 2015)

I pay between $6 -8 a kg for those guys. Pulped into pellets or mash to feed farmed salmon et al.Salmon $27 a kg for fillet.

Something wrong with that picture.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





They are identical fish north or south hemisphere.Fresh, dried &/ or smoked they fed people be they Glasgow dockyard workers or Sri Lankan tea pickers  & the list goes on.

I will do my South Asian take on them soon. I can't rustle up a beach grill over coconut husks & palm fronds but you get the picture


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

Thank you Atomicsmoke! Here's to awesome piles of goodness then! I like the way you think!!!

And Mick, so interesting on price points! It will be fun to see any version of yours again too!!

Cheers to all and happy hump day!!! Make today amazing' - Leah


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

Smoked another batch today & pulled the meat & skin onto a salad - balsamic, avocado oil, porcini sea salt, tri colored freshly ground pepper. Amazing!!!!

Oh, simple Portuguese affordable & fabulous Vinho Verde as the pairing! Just wonderful! Cheers and thanks for sharing in my lunch! - Leah












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## atomicsmoke (Jun 24, 2015)

Can't beat this combination. Packs a punch of nutrition and is a sensorial bomb.

I could eat these salads every day, three times a day.


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## daveomak (Jun 24, 2015)

Looks good as usual....   I am subscribed BECAUSE, I'm waiting for you to cook sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast one day...   Only 1...   or maybe country fried chicken steak and white gravy or liver and bacon and onions with a side of cream gravy......    HAHAHAHAHA  

I feel like I'm on a diet looking at your food....  NOT....


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

I agree with you Atomicsmoke! So fun to mix all that jazz with salad and experience the flavors and textures and all that that entails!

And thank you Dave! Hilarious!

Yes, rest assured, I do indulge!

Check out my bison Bolognese over pasta with parm shredded atop - (Wino section/group) of which I ate the whole damn thing, to the point of epic pain, had "the meat sweats' even, and yet am ever so proud of that damn dish!

But "junk food" to me, is that fantastically evil Ducktrap brand of smoked mackerel, covered in peppercorn and laden with enough bad white sodium (not even good sea salt but the white regular stuff) AND sugar, and yet every now and then, I will eat the whole package - reptilian skin and all - and a jar of pickled herring which unfortunately has crappy salt (not my beloved good sea salt) and sugar added too, but I love both of those junky things and very much!

I'd call them guilty pleasures but I do not have guilt about pleasure, but can call them junk. Really, yummy, junk.

And so, I can go there! Smiles. Happy hump day! (My freezer is devoid of camel burgers right now or I would make those, which I actually love, on this hump day indeed).

Anyway, cheers to you! I share your penchant for cold food too and that's so fun!!!! Always a pleasure! Happy all!!! Cheers and warm wishes, Leah


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

Oh Dave! On more heavy eating, check out my whole roasted Tuscan chicken in my "Happy June" thread in the wino group too! I pulled and yanked at that carcass afterward - grease running down the chin - and ate the skin and all things and it was WON-DER-FUL!

To eating! Indeed! Many smiles, Leah


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## Bearcarver (Jun 24, 2015)

Awesome as usual, Leah!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Makes me wish it was Football Season & I had a few of those to pick on during the game!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Those look Sooooo Tasty!!------------
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





And some 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





For Captain Randy for making it possible for Leah to please us all with this Awesome thread!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

Bear!! Happy midweek to you and thank you so much! 

Hope winds and predicted storms didn't hit your area too hard!? We have sunshine now, thank goodness!

Yes, these would be good tailgating snacks! Good idea!

And thank you for points, and I'm delighted you gave some to Captain Randy too as I am beyond grateful and wouldn't have these lovely meals if not for his generous kindness indeed!

Hope you're grilling or smoking or cooking up one of your wonderful things!!! Cheers and warm wishes, Leah


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## crazymoon (Jun 24, 2015)

Awesome again !!!!!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 24, 2015)

Leah Elisheva said:


> Bear!! Happy midweek to you and thank you so much!
> 
> Hope winds and predicted storms didn't hit your area too hard!? We have sunshine now, thank goodness!
> 
> ...


Thanks Leah!!

The Storms hit hard, but the Tornadoes missed us.

Bear


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

Glad you're OK Bear! Some of the news footage looked bad. Here is to safe and sound summer-esque stuff and to delicious food for all!!!!! Cheers! - Leah


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## leah elisheva (Jun 24, 2015)

And thank you too CrazyMoon! (just got your post now & see it snuck in there earlier but I didn't see it then etc). Glad you enjoyed my second batch! I LOVE mackerel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## brayhaven (Jun 25, 2015)

Looking good Leah.  Do you brine them or anything?  Some say to bleed mackerel right away by cutting the head & tail and cleaning the cavity out? I always loved smoked mackerel but never smoked any myself.  Usually just broil with some wine & butter sauce & flaked almonds.

Your note about always leaving the heads on reminds me of an old "Gunsmoke" episode.  Doc & Festus were arguing as usual, and Doc invited Festus over to Delmonicos for catfish.  Festus asked if the kept the "haids on em".  And Doc said "of course not". Festus said ""Us Hagans don't eat no catfish without the haids on em"  Doc asked "why on earth not".  Festus said. "Elsewise ya might be eatin' a meermaid"... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  

Thanks for sharing,

Greg


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## leah elisheva (Jun 25, 2015)

Greg that's fantastic!

Thank you for making me smile and for both great mermaid jokes and what sounds like a fabulous almond recipe for mackerel too!

I did not brine and didn't even oil these first, as I usually do before smoking anything, but instead I simply oiled and seasoned when plating and it was great!

Thanks tons for your post! Terrific stuff!

Cheers!!!!!!! - Leah


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## eman (Jun 25, 2015)

It all looks good Leah,

Let me give you a recipe one of our members posted . i have tried it w macks and mullet  Macks are a bit better.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/60570/delicious-smoked-king-mackeral-dip-recipe

after posting this i saw you commented on it in 2113


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## daveyp (Jun 28, 2015)

Wow really looks good!! I'm new to smoking and have been wanting to try  smoking fish , did you throw them on fresh ? No seasoning or brine ?


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## leah elisheva (Jun 29, 2015)

Thank you Eman! Great link! And thank you Daveyp, too! I usually mop all things through oil first, (grapeseed oil or high heat friendly oils that are equally healthy) but with mackerel being such a deep oil fish, I simply smoke it plain, and then add my oil, sea salt and all things when plating it. Cheers and happy new week!!!! - Leah


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