Despite being cooked in olive oil, this isn’t a fried fish dish. The fish is poached in oil, not fried. Poaching temperature is lower than simmering temperature. That means the oil shouldn’t be allowed to reach smoking point.

A cooking thermometer would be useful; I had none so I just eyeballed my way through the poaching. It took about 20 minutes to cook the fish at 10 minutes per side. The cooking time will naturally vary depending on the size of the fish.

There are several species of mackerel and most of them belong to the family Scombridae. There are some fish that do not belong to that family but are commercially sold as mackerel too.

Mackerels vary in size. If you’re wondering how many fish you’ll need to feed your family, go by the total weight rather than the number of fish.

Mackerel poached in olive oil

Connie Veneracion

It is important to score the fish and and to season it before poaching. Scoring ensures that the olive oil will reach the innermost portion of the flesh. Seasoning will flavor the whole fish evenly. That is the smarter way rather than relying on the sauce alone which is added only after the fish is cooked.

Use regular olive oil, not extra virgin which is too bitter.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

2 to 4 mackerel (about one kilogram in total weight) scaled and gutted
salt
pepper
olive oil not extra virgin

Lemon butter sauce

¼ cup white wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic smashed
½ cup melted butter
salt to taste
pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste

To serve

lemon slices
mint leaves

Instructions

Poach the fish

Rinse the fish well then pat dry with a kitchen towel.
Score both sides of the fish and rub generously with salt and pepper.
In a wide shallow pan that can hold all the fish in a single layer, pour in enough olive oil to reach a depth of two inches.
Heat the oil to 160F to 180F (see notes after the recipe).
Lay the fish on the oil and cook for ten minutes per side.

Make the lemon butter sauce

In a small non-reactive pan, heat the white wine vinegar with the garlic very gently over low heat for about a minute. Leave to infuse for a few minutes. Strain.
Stir together the melted butter and strained white wine vinegar. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
Season with salt and pepper. Taste. Adjust the amount of lemon juice, salt, pepper or all of them, if needed.