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A Nice Skill

Griddled Mackerel with Rhubarb

Filleting a mackerel is a nice skill: ‘nice’ in the sense of

requiring precision, deftness and care, but also implying

a certain pleasure in the task. A sharp knife is required,

and two quick cuts behind the gills start the procedure.

With the fish on a board, you then need to make two long,

parallel cuts either side of the backbone, only as far as the

central vertebrae, on both sides. You then manoeuvre your

knife around each side of the backbone in turn, proceeding

to cut all the way through past the stomach cavity, thus

separating each fillet entirely from the bone. Thereafter

the knife should be slid under the ribcage, which must be

cut away before facing the greatest challenge, the removal

of the line of tiny pin bones that protrude at right angles

from the backbone down into the middle of the fillet.

As with other round fish such as salmon, sea bass or

red mullet, the traditional method is to pull out these pin

bones with tweezers, making sure you pull away at an

angle so as not to tear the fillet. With mackerel, the flesh

is quite soft and it is likely to pull away in great clods

along with the bones. The modern method is to cut a fine,

V-shaped channel down either side of the pin bones that

meets just below the skin and to simply lift the line of

bones out in one neat stroke. With this achieved, you then

have before you a mackerel fillet. A very good fishmonger

will be able to perform this task for you, but do not expect

the nice but nervous attendant at your local supermarket

to be able to do anything of the sort.

In the past, it was more usual to cook mackerel on the

bone, but filleting this fish transforms it. If you choose, you

do not have to cook the fillet at all – cut in thin strips at

an angle down towards the skin, it is excellent served raw

with wasabi and soy sauce – but the cooking process is

also simple. Fried with the skin-side down in a pan, it

becomes very crisp, and with the flesh only just cooked

the result is much more succulent than if the fish is on the

bone. It is a paradox that oily fish, such as tuna, salmon

and mackerel, become horribly dry when overcooked.

What with its sustainability, abundance in our local

waters and the health-giving properties of its high quotient

of omega-3 fatty acids, mackerel is the near-perfect food.

The only drawback is that it must be eaten when very

fresh: look for bright, prominent eyes, a moist shiny skin

and a glistening demeanour, then fillet at will.

61

February