Butter-Broiled Spanish Mackerel with Cucumber & Mater Salad
One thing about summer fishing, when not much else is biting you can usually count on a few spanish mackerel around the beaches while trolling small spoons.
I do believe this type of fishing is one of my favorites, so I suggest you get out there and enjoy it yourself. And once you have a few fish to fry, try to prepare them this way.
You will need:
1 stick real butter
3 mackerels (6 fillets)
1 large lemon
salt & pepper
broiling pan
aluminum foil / saran wrap
lemon pepper seasoning
dry or fresh dill
1 medium cucumber
2 med-large vine ripe tomatoes
1 small sweet onion
1/4 cup red wine vinaigrette dressing of your choice
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
To get started, make the salad first. This gives the dressing time to penetrate the cucumbers. Begin by cutting the tomatoes into large, bite-size chunks before adding them to the mixing bowl.
Then peel and slice the cucumbers (as you would for a garden salad). For the onion, I like to peel and cut it in half, slice it thin, and then add it to the mixing bowl.
Now add the vinaigrette dressing and Italian seasoning. Finish by tossing the salad and covering it with saran wrap (be sure to press the plastic to touch the salad to get the air out).
Place the salad bowl of salad in the refrigerator while you prepare the spanish mackerel.
For the fish, pre-heat the oven to broil (use the middle rack). Cover the pan with foil (easy clean up!), and then place the fillets skin-side down. Then tuck the tail under itself (by approximately 1 inch). Folding the tail and placing skin-side down will allow for easy removal from the pan with a spatula once serving.
Once the filets are on the pan, use lemon pepper and dill to sprinkle over the fish.
Next melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour it over each fillet (or if you rather, you can always use olive oil).
Now turn the oven to high broil and wait until it’s ready. Put the pan in the oven and cook the fish approximately 10-15 minutes (but the size of the fillets and ovens may vary the cooking time). I just always look for golden looking meat and a little white fish fat.
Once the fish is done, pull out the pan and yell at everyone that dinner’s ready. Use the remaining butter to place on each fillet.
Serve the spanish mackerel with the cucumber & mater salad (and french fries also work well with this dish) and fresh lemon.
Eat American seafood!
Chef Danny H.
Danny Hieronymus was born and raised in Wrightsville Beach into a commercial fishing family and has been catching fish throughout NC all his life. He has also been cooking with his mother since he was 8 years old in the family restaurant. He can be reached at capefearcookin@yahoo.com.
