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Mackerel Broiled, and Tarragon Butter
Remove the inside of the fish through the gills and vent without opening it. Wash, clean, dry, and make a deep incision down the back; lay the fish in a little salad-oil; keep it well basted for about three-quarters of an hour, but cut off the nose or part of the head and tail before it is steeped in the oil. Broil over a clear fire, and when done, have ready the following mixture, with which fill up the incision: Work a little butter, pepper, salt, and tarragon-leaves chopped and steeped in vinegar together. When ready, serve the mackerel with some of the butter spread over it on a hot dish. Time, from ten to fifteen minutes to broil.
A whole broiled mackerel with a compound herb butter melting into the split back. The technique is sound; only the equipment and a few terms need translating.
- Salad-oilNineteenth-century salad-oil generally means olive oil, of a mild eating grade; other oils were sometimes sold or substituted under the name. Any neutral oil or a light olive oil does the same job here, which is to keep the skin from sticking and drying.
- Drawing through the gillsThe gut is pulled out through the gill opening and vent so the belly stays closed and the fish holds its shape on the fire. It takes practice; asking the fishmonger to gut the fish conventionally costs only a slightly slacker body and no flavour.
- The incision is the pointThe deep cut along the backbone does two things: it lets heat into the thickest part so the fish cooks evenly, and it makes a trough for the tarragon butter. Cut down to the bone on one side of the spine, not through it.
- Broil means over coalsThis is grilling over a clear fire, coals burned down so there is no flame. Under a domestic overhead broiler or on a ridged grill pan, use high heat and turn once; the fish is close to the element either way.
- Three-quarters of an hour in oilThat is a basting rest, not a marinade with acid in it, so the flesh will not break down. Twenty minutes is enough if time is short, but do not salt the fish at this stage or it will weep.
- Timing and donenessTen to fifteen minutes suits a mackerel of about a pound. The fish is done when the flesh at the backbone has turned from translucent to opaque and pulls away cleanly, around 145F at the thickest point.
- The tarragon butterChop the tarragon and let it sit in a spoonful of vinegar for a few minutes, then work vinegar and all into softened butter with pepper and salt. Roughly 4 oz butter, a tablespoon of chopped tarragon and a teaspoon of vinegar dresses two fish. It can be rolled in paper, chilled and sliced.
- YieldOne mackerel per person. Serve on plates warmed enough to keep the butter running but not so hot it separates.