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Broiled Salt Mackerel
Freshen by soaking it over night in water, being careful that the skin lies uppermost. In the morning dry it without breaking, cut off the head and tip of the tail, place it between the bars of a greased fish-gridiron, and broil to a light brown; lay it on a hot dish, and dress with a little butter, pepper, and lemon juice, vinegar.
Salt mackerel is still sold in brine or dry-salted, usually split flat and boned. The whole method hinges on the overnight soak and on keeping the fish over the heat rather than under it for too long.
- Skin uppermost, and whyThe instruction is not decorative: with the skin up and the flesh facing down, salt drawn out of the fish sinks away from it into the water rather than settling back into the cut surface. Use a wide dish, plenty of cold water, and change it once or twice; refrigerate rather than leaving it on the counter overnight.
- How salty is too saltyModern salt mackerel varies enormously. After soaking, cut a sliver and taste it raw-cured; if it is still fiercely salty, give it another hour or two in fresh water. Over-soaking only costs texture, while under-soaking ruins the dish.
- Fish-gridiron substituteA hinged wire fish basket is the direct equivalent, and worth owning for any oily fish. Failing that, broil skin side up on a preheated, oiled rack set over a sheet pan; salt mackerel is fragile, and turning it with a spatula risks breaking it.
- Heat and timeUnder a modern broiler on high, or over a hot grill, a split mackerel needs roughly 4 to 6 minutes flesh side first and 2 to 3 on the skin if it is held in a basket or gridiron and can be turned; left skin side up on a rack, cook it through without turning. "Light brown" means the surface just beginning to blister and colour, not dry throughout. The flesh is done when it separates from the backbone.
- Dry it properlyBlot both sides thoroughly with a towel before it goes near the heat. Water on the surface steams, and steamed mackerel will not brown before it overcooks.
- The dressingThe original lists butter, pepper, lemon juice and vinegar; the punctuation suggests the last two are meant as alternatives rather than both at once, though the text does not say so outright. Melt the butter over the hot fish and add either lemon or a sharp cider vinegar, no salt.
- YieldOne split salt mackerel, roughly 3/4 to 1 lb before soaking, feeds two at breakfast or two modestly at supper.
Salt mackerel was breakfast food, in an era when cured fish was one of the few forms in which the sea reached an inland kitchen. Mackerel spoils faster than almost any commercial fish, so the Atlantic fleets salted it in barrels at sea and graded it by number, No. 1 being the fattest and largest. It was a fish that had to be planned for the night before, judged by taste rather than by a timer, and served hot at an early hour. The gridiron, greased and set between bars, belongs to the open-fire and coal-range kitchen, where broiling meant cooking over the heat rather than under it.