Mackerel stuffed with Dijon mustard, grilled on the barbecue. This is a French way to prepare whole Mackerel. Simple, quick, cheap and full of health benefits.
Fresh mackerels are a cheap fish with a very unique taste, sometimes considered too strong by some, this recipe allows to balance out the flavors whilst being good for your health.
The mustard makes the fish skin a lot more flavorful and less dry without being too much of an overpowering flavor. It is a must try.
What to serve with ? I’d choose the iconic ratatouille or a fancy tian. Or why not a potato gratin.
In this post
Information about mackerels
The mackerel is a very recognizable fish due to both its appearance and its taste.
The mackerel is a rather small fish with an elongated shape and a silvery skin with dark bands and possibly blue colors all along its back.
Mackerels that you can usually find on the market or in stores are usually about 20-30 cm long.
It is fished in the temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
This fish can be eaten whole like in this recipe, or can be eaten in filets to make spreads or rillettes as we call them in French, I often like to prepare these Mackerel and Cream Cheese Spread as an appetizer, to do so I usually ask my fishmonger to remove the fishbones. It is a lot quicker to cook the fish whole and retrieving the skin later as mackerels have lots of small bones.
Mackerels health benefits
Mackerel is a greasy fish (with +/- 13 to 15 gr of lipids for a 100g) it is very rich in essential fatty acids that the body cannot produce.
It is extremely rich in omega 3 which plays a crucial role in the human metabolism, it favors the good functioning of the cardiovascular system, the immune system, the brain and the eyes as well as being a natural anti-inflammatory.
Mackerel is an important source of minerals and trace elements such as phosphorus, magnesium, iodine, zinc, selenium and iron (good for bone health, teeth and tissue regeneration, it is a powerful antioxidant ).
Its vitamin D helps to maintain calcium, it also contains other vitamins B (B2, B3, B5, B6, B12) and some vitamin E.
The mackerel fish is also quite rich with 193 calories per 100gr. It is rich in calories but it’s a fish that contains good grease, it is healthy and filling.
Two ingredients only: Mackerel and Mustard
This recipe is really quite affordable as it only contains two main ingredients and that mackerels are a rather cheap fish. Make sure to choose it nice and fresh at the fish shop.
When it comes to the mustard used, as always I recommend using Dijon mustard. For this recipe it doesn’t have to be wholegrain, or flavored mustard but you can choose to use whichever one you wish. For example, if you are able to find tarragon flavored mustard this would work really nicely with this recipe.
In this recipe you will be using a very large quantity of mustard, about two big spoonfuls per mackerel, the aim is to entirely fill its stomach with mustard.
Do not be scared to use too much mustard or for it to come out too strong. Similarly as in my mustard pork tenderloin recipe, the strength of the mustard usually decreases once it’s cooking.
How to barbecue your mackerels
First you will have asked your fishmonger to carefully gut the fish. If you’re used to it, you can also do it yourself.
It is unnecessary to chop off the head and tail.
Generously fill the inside of your fish using Dijon mustard, it is about two spoonfuls of mustard per fish.
Let it rest in the fridge for about two hours; this gives the mustard the time to diffuse its flavor into the fish.
Now onto the grilling. Turn on your barbecue as you normally would. Place your fish on the BBQ grill, ideally using a rectangular double grill to sandwich the fish in between, this will allow you to easily flip the mackerels half way through cooking.
Once the BBQ is hot, place your fish and cook for about 5-10 minutes on each side of the fish depending on the size of them.
You will know the mackerel is cooked when the skin becomes white and opaque.
And that is it! Only two ingredients, 2 hours of resting time followed by a quick and easy grill on the barbecue.
Variation of this recipe: in the oven
You can easily make this mustard filled mackerel recipe all year long using an oven.
Here are two options that i will detail in the recipe later:
- Once prepared you can place and warp up your mackerels in foil or parchment paper
- Or you can choose to place them in a dish with extra ingredients if you wish such as lemon juice, olive oil, white wine with some onion, herbs or even tomatoes…
Cook for about fifteen minutes at 180°C/ 350°F, flip the fish over half way through and most importantly adapt your cooking time to the size of your fish.
What to serve your mustard filled mackerels
This recipe results in a very flavorful flesh, however be careful as if your barbecue fire is too strong it may dry out the fish slightly.
In addition to the gentle cooking, i recommend serving these mustard flavored mackerels with:
- Either vegetables in sauce like a good ratatouille, or some cream mushrooms…
- Or prepare a small sauce to accompany the fish. Either a salsa with tomatoes, onion, herbs, olive oil and why not some fruit (mango, passion fruit, peaches…)
Another solution is to make a cream cheese sauce, like a tzatziki, or adding lemon, herbs or some mustard…
If you enjoyed the recipe, discovered the flavors of cooking with mustard and saw that the strength of mustard decreases whilst cooking, then I encourage you to try my mustard pork tenderloin recipe. A must try, and go to in my household.
BBQ grilled mackerel with mustard
Ingredients
- 4 mackerels
- 8 spoonfulls mustard Dijon mustard
Instructions
Prepare the mackerel
- Ask your fishmonger to gut the mackerel.
- Garnish the inside of the mackerel very generously with 2 large tablespoons of Dijon mustard in each.
- Leave to cool for two hours.
Barbecue cooking
- Light your barbecue and place the mackerels on the BBQ grill (ideally a double grill).
- Cook for 5 to 10 minutes on each side. Serve immediately.
Oven cooking
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Option 1 in the oven cooked in foil: Wrap the mackerels separately, each in a foil parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Option 2 in a baking dish: Add a bowl of water to create some humidity in the oven. Place the mackerel garnished with mustard in the frying pan or in a baking dish. Add a little liquid of your choice, drizzle of olive oil and/or lemon juice and/or white wine.
- Cook for around 15 minutes depending on the size of your mackerel, flipping them over halfway through cooking.