Devilled Mackerel Recipe
By Genevieve Taylor
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Easy
Devilled refers to the spiciness of the marinade, although if you tone down the cayenne it’s a much less intense affair. The simplicity here is good, and I would serve these with no more than good bread and butter, a little green salad and a squeeze of lemon juice.
A word of warning: the marinade here is quite thick and the fish’s skin quite shiny, so you may get annoyed that it’s not sticking well. Just do your best and make sure to rub plenty of the marinade inside the gut cavity and then, over a long marinating time, the flavours will work their magic.
Due to the mustard, these fish are even more prone to sticking than normal, so if you have some large skewers you can thread them up – as in the picture – and hang them between bricks over the fire.
This recipe is extracted from Scorched by Genevieve Taylor (Quadrille, £25), Photography by Jason Ingram
TRY: Genevieve's recipe for Turbot with a Sherry Vinaigrette Baste & Monkfish Sumac Skewers with Warm Chickpea Purée, Spinach and Burnt Lemon!
Ingredients for Devilled Mackerel
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 3 tbsp English mustard powder
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 4 mackerel, about 300g each, gutted
- Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Devilled Mackarel
- About 6–12 hours before you want to cook, make the marinade by mixing together the olive oil, both mustards, the garlic, paprika, ginger and cayenne pepper. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Rest the mackerel in a dish or roasting pan in a single, snug layer and scoop on the marinade. Use your hands, with gloves if you are sensitive to chilli, and rub well all over, including inside the gut cavity. Slide into the fridge and leave to marinate for a good few hours – overnight if you have time.
- When you are ready to cook, fire up the barbecue ready for direct grilling, allowing the coals to burn fully hot before you cook. If you are not cooking on skewers hung over the fire, set a fish cage or grill tray over the fire to heat up.
- When the fire is ready to cook on (see page 31 for fire tips), cook the mackerel for a few minutes each side until the outside is crisp and lightly charred and the internal temperature is 60°C. Serve hot from the fire.
About the author
Genevieve Taylor, a BBQ and live fire expert, has penned thirteen cookbooks, including bestsellers like 'Charred,' a vegetarian BBQ guide, 'The Ultimate Wood Fired Oven Cookbook' and 'Foolproof BBQ.' An omnivore, she challenges the typical meat-centric BBQ narrative. Her latest hit, 'Seared,' focuses on quality meat and fire. Her upcoming release, 'Scorched' (Spring 2024), will complete a trilogy dedicated to cooking fish and seafood over fire.
