This is an interesting cross between cold-cured mackerel like Gravad Max and cooked mackerel, and a lot quicker. It involves leaving mackerel fillets in a cure (like bacon) then rinsing and grilling.
First prepare your very fresh mackerel to create four bone-free fillets per fish. Start by filleting as usual, then remove the line of lateral pin bones by cutting either side of them. Run your finger along the fillets to make sure they are bone-free.
Now create a mix of cure. For four mackerel:
- 100g salt
- 100g caster sugar
- 4 tsp roast and ground fennel seeds
- 4 tsp roast and ground coriander seeds
Rinse and pat the fillets dry with a paper towel. Put a layer of cure in a shallow dish, lay the fillets over and cover with more cure. Leave in the fridge for an hour. Take them out, and you will be surprised to find the fillets have tightened up considerably because the cure has drawn moisture out of the flesh. Rinse the fillets thoroughly in fresh water, and pat dry again. Now you are ready to cook!
This is really quick: you can either grill skin-side up, sear in a pan skin side down or blast the skin with a blow-torch (more cheffy). Whichever way, you want the skin crisp and blackened, and the flesh moist and just cooked through.
Now enjoy as a starter as is, or as a meal with a salad. Something sharp and citrussy goes well, such as trimmed blood orange segments, gooseberry conserve or even rhubarb compote. We had it as a Scandi meal with Swedish flatbread, pickled cucumber, potato salad and beers.