My brother in law is a keen fisher, and he loves every moment when he finds himself in the middle of a large school of Atlantic Mackerel. In July he managed to catch 400, and he offered me 12, filleted, ready to throw in the pan.
Large schools of Atlantic Mackerel hit the south eastern coast of Norway from spring to fall. If you are located in one of these schools you are able to catch industrial quantities of fish in no time. Locally they are either fried, pickled, or made into mackerel burgers, a real treat.
I placed mine in the freezer, as I know that friends are expecting a good mackerel meal the last weekend in August.
I was right. As we left Oslo, the mackerels were on everyones mind.
I thought I would prepare them traditional way. That means flour them gently, adding salt and pepper, then frying them in a pan, serving the fish with cold cucumber salad, sour cream sauce, and boiled potatoes.
Terje, one of my guests, had brought his gas powered Weber grill, and convinced me to put the fish on the barbeque, rather than preparing them the traditional way. Skin side down, lightly floured. He put the lid on and it was a success.
Perfectly cooked, crispy skin, served with boiled almond potatoes, sweet and sour cucumber salad and sour cream. A treat!!!