Soused Mackerel
Sousing is sort of a cross between pickling and cooking, where the fish is poached gently in a highly spiced vinegar
Servings: 18 fillets
Ingredients
- 12 Mackerel
- 200 g Salt
- 300 ml Cider Vinegar you can use white wine vinegar
- 300 ml Water
Pickling Spices
- 150 g Sugar
- 1 Red Chilli dried
- 1 tsp Black Peppercorns
- 1 tsp Coriander Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Celery Seeds
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 6 Allspice Berries
- 4 Bay leaves torn
- 4 Parsley Stalks
- 2 Celery Stalks finely sliced
- 2 Onion small, finely sliced
Instructions
- Fillet the fish bait-cutter style. Cut away and discard the thin sliver of brown flesh containing the belly bones. Remove the pin bones.
- Sprinkle a third of the salt over a large tray. Lay half the mackerel fillets on it, skin side down. Sprinkle over a third of the salt. Add the second lot of mackerel skin side up and sprinkle on the remaining salt.
- Leave for 5 minutes and then rinse off the salt quickly but thoroughly.
- Combine all the souse ingredients in a large pan with the 300ml of water and 300 ml vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Lay the rinsed mackerel out on a large roasting tin. Pour over the hot sousing liquid, which should cover, or nearly cover the fillets.
- Cover the tin in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 180 C
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. They should be allowed to marinade for 24 hours before eating, 6 hours at the very least!
- They will keep in the fridge for week.