Stuffed mackerel recipe
On a recent trip to Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, I witnessed the skipper of a small boat gutting mackerel in a most unusual manner. He called it “fancy gutting” and I fancied a go. Sean had caught plenty, so he let me have a couple to try my hand at. Despite its name, the “fancy” technique turned out to be as easy as it looked.
The beauty of it is that, with the fish’s belly left intact, the cavity is perfect for stuffing, making this a superb option for a barbecue. Some might choose to dish it up with a gooseberry sauce, but the Guyrope Gourmet would urge you to keep things simple and to let the lemon and fresh herb stuffing do its magic.
Ingredients
- 2 mackerel
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 bunch of fl at leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 dash olive oil
Details
- Cuisine: English
- Recipe Type: Barbecue
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 10 mins
- Cooking Time: 10 mins
- Serves: 2
Step-by-step
- Using a sharp knife, make a small slit forward from the anus (which is on the underside of the fish before the tail).
- Prise out a small loop of intestine from the slit and sever the intestine.
- Make a cut around the fish's head at about a 45-degree angle.
- Twist and pull the head and guts away from the body.
- Rinse the fish under running water.
- Stuff the cavity of the fish with a wedge of lemon and a handful of fresh coriander and flat leaf parsley. Drizzle with olive oil and barbecue for 5 minutes on each side.
Recipe taken from the Guyrope Gourmet Cookbook
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