Pacific mackeral

[David Hall]

Like most here fishing is more than a hobby to me.  It is a passion that I enjoy in all aspects. I enjoy fishing with my family with friends even with those friends I haven't met yet.  monterey bay is where it all happens for me.  My boat lives there permanently berthed in Moss Landing.  In one hour from my home I can be clearing the harbor mouth and heading out to some of the most productive fisheries in the world.  Right now the most abundant fish in the bay happens to be the pacific mackerel.  I have always thought of them as a bait fish, freezing and saving them for my crab pots and have never eaten one, don't no of anyone who ever told me they have? Somebody has I am certain of that.   When I think about other cultures such as mediteranean or Asian peoples you can just turn on the food channel and see how they prepare and enjoy just about everything that they harvest from the sea.  I searched the recipe section here and found one recipe from long ago for a larger Florida mackerel.  I know that there must be people on this site that have prepared and eaten pacific mackerel and it's time for you to step up and pass on the knowledge so I and my grandkids can better appreciate the bounty of sea.

[Rancanfish]

My reply?  Nah.  But I don't enjoy Sardines or Anchovies either.

[swill88]

I'm no expert but a favorite of mine at Japanese restaurants is the Spanish mackeral Aji. Smoked. Delicious.
I believe it's another name for Pacific mackeral.
High in omega3 oils it's one on the healthiest fish you can eat.
Saba, another mackeral dish is delicious as well.

[Tightlines667]

Saba, another mackeral dish is delicious as well.

We use Saba for bait here.  It comes by the case and is clearly marked.."Not for human consumption", though this doesn't stop the Fillipino fishermen.

I have actually had good Saba sashimi though.  It is a very soft, rich and oily fish.

[David Hall]

Bait is all I ever used it for also, Looks like its going to stay that way although I did see a recipe for Saba, might have to try it once just to see, the fish sure looked the same and the ones im catching are good size.  Ill let you know how it comes out.
Besides eating baitfish is a Norwegian fishermans rite of passage!  Im only 25% norwegian so Ill just take one bite unless its really good.

[conchydong]

Try "curing" it Japanese style. Mackerel is one of my favorite sushi/sashimis. I like the bold flavor.
There are many videos on the internet on how it is done but basically they salt it, refrigerate it, then rinse the salt , skin it, and soak it in rice vinegar for final cure.
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[RowdyW]

The only way I'll eat mackarel is smoked & made into a fish dip. Wahoo & Amberjack makes a much better dip anyway. Like has been said "I don't want to eat bait".

[whalebreath]

Lots of kinds of Mackerel and I've eaten a number of them in different places but Scomber Japonicus isn't one of them and isn't likely to be any time soon-dark fleshed animals like Saury, Sardines, & Mackerel taste far too strong.

[jcool3]

many asians prefer pacific mackerel to rockfish I was suprised to learn!
On youtube there is a recipe
How To Fillet A Mackerel.And Cook It In Real Time.Mackerel.
by Scott Rea
I tried it for the first time, suprisingly good.  Not real oily, not a strong taste.  Real basic recipe, no seasonings, just pan fried.
If I get some good asian recipes, I will post them.  Also check out http://www.culinate.com/articles/culinate8/small_fish_mackerel

After limits of rockfish, ran into school of mackerel south of Half Moon Bay.  Caught 50 in an hour on sabiki .... wild ... good size.

[Bryan Young]

My favorite is on the grill.  Clean and just grill with the skin on.  Add shredded Daikin ( radish ) and soy sauce.  Brain food.

[MarkT]

Brain food? Sure, my brain might go for some Mackeral if I drink enough first!

[Bryan Young]

Brain food? Sure, my brain might go for some Mackeral if I drink enough first!

That's an unsaid requirement. 

[David Hall]

All good ideas here as I would expect.  I have watched all the you tube videos Jcool3, that is what encouraged me to post on here under the heading I used instead of. "Who here eats bait." LOL.  This batch of about 100 that I caught got vacuum sealed whole uncleaned and in the freezer to use as crab bait.  The next batch I catch the large ones will be cleaned and prepared a couple different ways for eating, I will pan fry a bit, cure a few and also try Bryans recipe with the Daikin radish and soy sauce.
I will report back. 
Thanks everyone you have all encouraged me to eat bait.

[Normslanding]

What do you do with the Beets?
All kidding aside. As a kid many of the people in my hometown were from the Med. They cooked Mac's fried in a pan, a little slower, onions, and olive oil.
They (also Sardines) were cooled, and eaten cold like corn on the cob. Sounds bad eats good.

[jigmaster501]

Pacific mackeral are histamine containing species as well as parasite containing species.

They MUST be kept at an internal temperature of 40F or less from the time caught to consumption.

If you are going to eat them uncooked as sushi, sashimi or cured, they must be frozen first to kill all parasites.

In a home freezer that gets below -4F. You need to lay out the fillets to get them hard frozen fast. You want to get from 32F -23 F ASAP. Once hard frozen and below -4F. Put them in a freezer bag or vacuum seal and leave at < -4F for 7 full days. That is the required time to kill parasites at that temperature.

Take them out of the vacuum bag and defrost them in a opened plastic bag that is hanging over the edge of a bowl and run warm (60-70F) water over them until soft and them remove from the bag.

You have to kill surface pathogens so you can soak the fillets in a chlorine solution 1/4 cap per gallon of warm tap water for 10 minutes. Rinse and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pacific mackeral are excellent eating fish cooked as well. Remove the bones and grill them, bake them, steam them, you can't go wrong.

I will say that they taste best when you break the gills and bleed them as soon as you catch them.

Enjoy.