Cooking Mackerel

[Brian Reay]

I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.

I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a Motorhome
is not a good idea).

I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash' flesh,
olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for the oven).

What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
oven, it was about 20mins @ 200 C, which was perfect for us. I opened
the foil for the second half.

I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

[Malcolm Loades]

Post by Brian Reay
I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.
I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a
Motorhome is not a good idea).
I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash'
flesh, olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for the
oven).
What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
the foil for the second half.
I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

I wouldn't bother wrapping it in foil if I was BBQing it. I'd keep it
whole and yes, slash it and rub with olive oil and any herbs you fancy
and straight onto a hot BBQ. Don't try and move it for some time!
Initially it will have stuck hard to the bars but as the skin crisps and
burns (in a nice way) it will become looser when it can then be turned
over. I think you'll be able to see when it's cooked since it's in the
open but you can always poke it with a fork to check! On a reasonable
hot BBQ probably 4 minutes on the first side and 3 on the other, but
don't take those times as written in stone. A BBQ is not a
thermostatically controlled environment like an oven.

Malcolm

[Brian Reay]

Post by Malcolm Loades

Post by Brian Reay
I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.
I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a
Motorhome is not a good idea).
I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash'
flesh, olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for
the oven).
What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
the foil for the second half.
I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

I wouldn't bother wrapping it in foil if I was BBQing it. I'd keep it
whole and yes, slash it and rub with olive oil and any herbs you fancy
and straight onto a hot BBQ. Don't try and move it for some time!
Initially it will have stuck hard to the bars but as the skin crisps and
burns (in a nice way) it will become looser when it can then be turned
over. I think you'll be able to see when it's cooked since it's in the
open but you can always poke it with a fork to check! On a reasonable
hot BBQ probably 4 minutes on the first side and 3 on the other, but
don't take those times as written in stone. A BBQ is not a
thermostatically controlled environment like an oven.

Thank you Malcolm.

That gives about 7 mins cooking time, which seems remarkably short or
have I miss-understood?

[Malcolm Loades]

Post by Brian Reay

Post by Malcolm Loades
I wouldn't bother wrapping it in foil if I was BBQing it. I'd keep it
whole and yes, slash it and rub with olive oil and any herbs you fancy
and straight onto a hot BBQ. Don't try and move it for some time!
Initially it will have stuck hard to the bars but as the skin crisps and
burns (in a nice way) it will become looser when it can then be turned
over. I think you'll be able to see when it's cooked since it's in the
open but you can always poke it with a fork to check! On a reasonable
hot BBQ probably 4 minutes on the first side and 3 on the other, but
don't take those times as written in stone. A BBQ is not a
thermostatically controlled environment like an oven.

Thank you Malcolm.
That gives about 7 mins cooking time, which seems remarkably short or
have I miss-understood?

The two methods, oven and BBQ, are totally different.

If the fish, or any other food, is wrapped in foil and put in the oven
the heat first has to get through the foil - the foil will reflect the
heat back. That's also true the other way round when you wrap hot food
in foil to keep it warm, the heat of the food is reflected back.

In an oven the food is never subjected to a temperature higher than the
oven thermostat setting. On a BBQ, or frying pan for example, the
surface of the food is subjected to a far higher temperature than the
air in the oven. The food is then cooked internally as the heat from
the surface is absorbed through the surface. The higher the surface
heat the quicker the inside will cook. Hence frying, BBQing etc will
always be quicker than oven cooking.

Malcolm

[Brian Reay]

Post by Malcolm Loades

Post by Brian Reay

Post by Malcolm Loades
I wouldn't bother wrapping it in foil if I was BBQing it. I'd keep it
whole and yes, slash it and rub with olive oil and any herbs you fancy
and straight onto a hot BBQ. Don't try and move it for some time!
Initially it will have stuck hard to the bars but as the skin crisps and
burns (in a nice way) it will become looser when it can then be turned
over. I think you'll be able to see when it's cooked since it's in the
open but you can always poke it with a fork to check! On a reasonable
hot BBQ probably 4 minutes on the first side and 3 on the other, but
don't take those times as written in stone. A BBQ is not a
thermostatically controlled environment like an oven.

Thank you Malcolm.
That gives about 7 mins cooking time, which seems remarkably short or
have I miss-understood?

The two methods, oven and BBQ, are totally different.
If the fish, or any other food, is wrapped in foil and put in the oven
the heat first has to get through the foil - the foil will reflect the
heat back. That's also true the other way round when you wrap hot food
in foil to keep it warm, the heat of the food is reflected back.
In an oven the food is never subjected to a temperature higher than the
oven thermostat setting. On a BBQ, or frying pan for example, the
surface of the food is subjected to a far higher temperature than the
air in the oven. The food is then cooked internally as the heat from
the surface is absorbed through the surface. The higher the surface
heat the quicker the inside will cook. Hence frying, BBQing etc will
always be quicker than oven cooking.

Thank you and Saxman for confirming the times. I will have a go on a BBQ.

I've done very little BBQing, senior management doesn't care for it.
However, I do hanker after a proper, serious, BBQ.

[Saxman]

Post by Brian Reay
I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.
I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a Motorhome
is not a good idea).
I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash' flesh,
olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for the oven).
What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
the foil for the second half.
I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

The River Cottage book on Sea Fishing advises this.

B-B-Q

Massage fish with olive oil and season with salt, pepper all over.

Place a layer of bay leaves in a grill basket.

Place fish over and place bay/fennel inside the fish.

Place more bay/fennel over the fish.

When the coals have turned to a grey ash, place grill basket close to
the coals.

Cook 4-5 minutes or until done.

[Brian Reay]

Post by Saxman

Post by Brian Reay
I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.
I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a Motorhome
is not a good idea).
I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash' flesh,
olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for the oven).
What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
the foil for the second half.
I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

The River Cottage book on Sea Fishing advises this.
B-B-Q
Massage fish with olive oil and season with salt, pepper all over.
Place a layer of bay leaves in a grill basket.
Place fish over and place bay/fennel inside the fish.
Place more bay/fennel over the fish.
When the coals have turned to a grey ash, place grill basket close to
the coals.
Cook 4-5 minutes or until done.

Thank you. That sounds like a useful book.

[Saxman]

Post by Brian Reay

Post by Saxman

Post by Brian Reay
I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.
I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a Motorhome
is not a good idea).
I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash' flesh,
olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for the oven).
What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
the foil for the second half.
I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

The River Cottage book on Sea Fishing advises this.
B-B-Q
Massage fish with olive oil and season with salt, pepper all over.
Place a layer of bay leaves in a grill basket.
Place fish over and place bay/fennel inside the fish.
Place more bay/fennel over the fish.
When the coals have turned to a grey ash, place grill basket close to
the coals.
Cook 4-5 minutes or until done.

Thank you. That sounds like a useful book.

It's a VG book. Not just recipes, but how to fish, when to fish,
tackle......The complete fish book. 5 stars on Amazon.

http://goo.gl/rvYjU9

[Brian Reay]

Post by Saxman

Post by Brian Reay

Post by Saxman

Post by Brian Reay
I cooked baked some mackerel in the oven last night. We enjoyed it.
I'd like to cook it on a barbeque, one of those simple disposable ones,
when we are away from home in our Motorhome (cooking fish in a Motorhome
is not a good idea).
I'm thinking remove head, tail, fins, etc. wash, pat dry, 'slash' flesh,
olive oil, some herbs, wrap in tin foil (all as I did in for the oven).
What I'm not sure about is the cooking time on the barbeque. In the
the foil for the second half.
I'd expect to have to turn the fish on the barbeque, so I'd be cooking
blind. Can anyone give a guide as to a rough time I should expect, please?

The River Cottage book on Sea Fishing advises this.
B-B-Q
Massage fish with olive oil and season with salt, pepper all over.
Place a layer of bay leaves in a grill basket.
Place fish over and place bay/fennel inside the fish.
Place more bay/fennel over the fish.
When the coals have turned to a grey ash, place grill basket close to
the coals.
Cook 4-5 minutes or until done.

Thank you. That sounds like a useful book.

It's a VG book. Not just recipes, but how to fish, when to fish,
tackle......The complete fish book. 5 stars on Amazon.
http://goo.gl/rvYjU9

Thank you, I've been thinking of resuming fishing. It is some years
since I last used my kit but, with retirement, comes more time (I hope).