What spices go with mackerel

Q: What spices go with mackerel?

Mustard seed, Sumac, Ginger, Black pepper. The northern European answer to the same problem. Mustard's pungency is produced by an enzyme reaction and is sharp rather than warm, which cuts oily fish cleanly, and Bengali cooking arrives at the identical pairing from the opposite direction — mustard oil and mustard seed with hilsa and mackerel.

Quick answer

Mustard seed, Sumac, Ginger, Black pepper — in roughly that order of how well established each combination is.

Each is explained below, with the cuisines it belongs to and the point at which it stops working.

Why mackerel behaves as it does

Oily fish is the one category where assertive spicing is not merely tolerated but required. Mackerel is high in polyunsaturated fat, which oxidises quickly and produces the flavours people describe as fishy, and the traditional responses are acid and pungency: sumac and lemon in the Levant, mustard and horseradish in northern Europe, ginger and daikon in Japan. Its oil also carries fat-soluble aromatics as well as any meat does, so a spice rub on a grilled mackerel reaches the whole fillet.

Culinary conventionA consistent pattern across Japanese, Levantine and northern European treatments of oily fish.

Classic

Long-established in at least one cuisine — the combinations you can rely on.

Mustard seed

Classic

The northern European answer to the same problem. Mustard's pungency is produced by an enzyme reaction and is sharp rather than warm, which cuts oily fish cleanly, and Bengali cooking arrives at the identical pairing from the opposite direction — mustard oil and mustard seed with hilsa and mackerel.

How: In a mustard sauce for grilled mackerel; Bloomed in mustard oil, Bengali style

Documented in cuisineBritishBangladeshiEstablished culinary practice

Strong

Sumac

Strong

Oily fish and acid is the most reliable pairing in seafood cookery, and sumac is the Levantine way of getting acid onto something without adding liquid. Mackerel's oil oxidises fast and produces the flavours people call fishy; the sourness reads directly against them.

How: Dusted over grilled mackerel; With onion and parsley in a Turkish fish salad

Documented in cuisineLevantineTurkishEstablished culinary practice

Ginger

Strong

The Japanese treatment of saba, and it works on two levels: gingerol's sharpness cuts the oil, and ginger has a documented deodorising effect on the amines that make old fish smell. Grated fresh rather than dried, and added late.

How: Grated over simmered saba; In the simmering liquid with soy and mirin

Dried ginger does not substitute here

Documented in cuisineJapaneseEstablished culinary practice

Good

Black pepper

Good

Straightforward and effective. Mackerel is strong enough to take a great deal of pepper, and a heavily peppered fillet grilled hard is a complete dish.

How: Cracked over before grilling

Culinary conventionBritishEstablished culinary practice

Cuts and forms

Whole, Fillet, Smoked, Tinned. These do not all take the same spicing — the notes above flag where the difference matters.

All pairing pages