08/25/2026
August Mackerel - Love em or Hate em?
Plenty of folks seem to despise these "good fer nuthin' - taste like garbage - the cat won't even touch em - worthless - only good for bait" - fish.
While they don't really put up a fight when you hook them, we've taken delight in adding a few to our icy cold fish box every year they show up.
Turning them into decent tablefare can be a fussy endeavor, but if you do it "right" they can actually be quite delicious.
A few things we've found to be key:
▪︎ Bonk, bleed, and ice immediately
▪︎ Skin the fillets, cut out the pinbone line (center of fillet), and carefully trim off the dark meat/bloodline/fat
▪︎ Cook small pieces hot and fast. Instead of trying to do a whole fillet, try searing or blackening smaller strips (sea salt and butter in a skillet leaving the fish a little rare on the inside is pretty good).
▪︎ Try making ceviche. Cured overnight in a medley of lime, cilantro, peppers, onion, tomato, black pepper, and sea salt - this rubbish fish might actually bend your mind!
