Hi guys,
We got into the Spanish Mackerel last night as they were in the sound chasing pogies in big numbers! After doing some fresh filets on the grill very simply yesterday, I took the other half and dedicated them to smoking. After a little research, I decided to do a wet brine with filtered water, sea salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, garlic, and light brown sugar. After brining over night, I let the filets set up on a perforated grill pan to drip dry in the fridge for a few hours then added to the smoker at 200 degrees as my ribs and chicken were finishing up. I decided to stick with the apple wood I had going for the other meats as it is a very mild smoke and wouldn't overpower the fish. This was a great decision. After 90 minutes, the filets were firm to the touch with a phenomenal texture.
I served 1/4 of the filets straight up with a little grilled lemon juice and then made the remaining 3/4 into a delicious smoked mackerel dip with a little cream cheese, onion, yellow bell pepper, chili powder, paprika, minced garlic, cumin and fresh cilantro. We also had a batch of incredibly mild garden fresh jalapenos, so I decided to try out smoked mackerel bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers and they were an absolute show stopper!
I expected a deeper color on the fish, but the texture was perfect, so I pulled them at 90 minutes and the flavor was incredible.
Mother-in-law with a platter of bacon-wrapped smoked mackerel jalapeno poppers!
Everything tastes better when you're cooking with a view like this!
We got into the Spanish Mackerel last night as they were in the sound chasing pogies in big numbers! After doing some fresh filets on the grill very simply yesterday, I took the other half and dedicated them to smoking. After a little research, I decided to do a wet brine with filtered water, sea salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, garlic, and light brown sugar. After brining over night, I let the filets set up on a perforated grill pan to drip dry in the fridge for a few hours then added to the smoker at 200 degrees as my ribs and chicken were finishing up. I decided to stick with the apple wood I had going for the other meats as it is a very mild smoke and wouldn't overpower the fish. This was a great decision. After 90 minutes, the filets were firm to the touch with a phenomenal texture.
I served 1/4 of the filets straight up with a little grilled lemon juice and then made the remaining 3/4 into a delicious smoked mackerel dip with a little cream cheese, onion, yellow bell pepper, chili powder, paprika, minced garlic, cumin and fresh cilantro. We also had a batch of incredibly mild garden fresh jalapenos, so I decided to try out smoked mackerel bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers and they were an absolute show stopper!
I expected a deeper color on the fish, but the texture was perfect, so I pulled them at 90 minutes and the flavor was incredible.
Mother-in-law with a platter of bacon-wrapped smoked mackerel jalapeno poppers!
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