Got some mackerel just a few hours old - eat now or wail til tomorrow?

[Tinkjon]

We've just been given some mackerel which was caught earlier today, so it's really fresh. Have never eaten fish that fresh before and am desperate to try it. But we already have tonight's meal done and it won't keep beyond today so have to either eat it today or chuck it - which means leaving the mackerel until tomorrow. Obviously the mackerel will still be perfectly edible tomorrow but will it lose all of it's lovely freshness? Does 24 hours make that much difference? I'm always hearing that nothing beats straight out of the sea fish so I'm loathe to leave it until tomorrow - I'm tempted to cook it anyway and have 2 dinners

[Tinkjon]

Oh and also how do I cook it? Don't want to do any fancy recipe stuff and not especially up for filleting it beforehand - can I fry or grill it whole or should it be oven-baked? Thanks!

[policywonk]

It is lovely when it's super-fresh. It won't be quite the same by tomorrow (but still good I'd imagine).

You do know that you'll have to gut it, right? (Unless that's already been done.)

I always fillet before cooking/bbq-ing so don't know about cooking whole, sorry.

[lulu25]

eat it now

sashimi

[policywonk]

lulu, dp and I went on a fishing trip in Brighton a few years ago to catch mackerel. Some Japanese people were on the boat with us, and they ate the mackerel on the boat as soon as they'd caught it!

[Desiderata]

Jeez, some people have no patience.

[fishie]

what was tonight's dinner which will not keep for a day?

anyway, eat mackerel. slit up stomach, guts out then squash it flat (put your hand flat on the back and push, think kipper) and grill it. you can cut the head off first if easier / liked.

[policywonk]

Desi. It was seriously impressive. They had the little sushi mats, little pots of this and that, and incredibly sharp knives. Made the rest of us feel inadequate.

[Desiderata]

Did they kill it first?

And were the pots Tupperware?

[Tinkjon]

fishie, tonight's dinner was chicken leftovers from 2 days ago, and had already been frozen, so couldn't wait any longer

[harpomarx]

tinkjon, mackerel's the one fish I wouldn't leave till tomorrow, specially if you want to eat it whole.

but... you could cook it tonight and have cold tomorrow (in fish cakes or cold with horseradish/mayo (just gut, season with salt, pepper, lemon, slick of oil and bung under the grill. We always cook it heads on cos ex-dh likes to eat the eyes...

if I had to eat it tomorrow I would fillet it and fry in seasoned flour - this works better than grilling imo if the flesh has started to go a bit mushy which is what happens to mackerel pretty quickly.

otherwise you could freeze it now (gut it first though, I think) and have it another day. Still will be good but I guess you're keen for the freshly caught experience!

[Kbear]

I love fresh mackerel - I would ditch the chicken and eat the mackerel.

[BreeVanderCampLGJ]

Mackerel, should be eaten before the next tide.

[SorenLorensen]

Definitely don't wail til tomorrow - you'll lose your voice.

[fishie]

i hope you have eaten that fish by now.

[EffiePerine]

roll in oatmeal and pan fry. And do it today - would make a great starter

[harpomarx]

reckon tinkjon is gutting as we speak, fishie.

remember to wipe your hands before touching the keyboard, tink

[Tinkjon]

Well in the end, ds decided he was going to wake up and scream all night long, so we didn't eat a proper meal at all and just ate the chicken cold! Dammit... will have it tonight instead, and just risk losing my voice thanks for the cooking tips, ladies!