by Chuckwagon » Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:37 am
Guys… I’m just a landlocked lubber from the desert, but I do know that mackerel is a prime culprit for scombroid (fish) poisoning if it is not handled properly. If I remember correctly, scombroid mackerel after only one day (unless it is cured) produces toxic histamines. My father loved mackerel when he lived on the coast. He would only eat the fish if the commercial fishermen immediately packed it in salt aboard their vessels before curing it later the same day. My ol’ friend Rytek Kutas came up with this recipe in 1965 while in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Brine Recipe:
1 gallon of water
3 ounces Prague Powder #1
1 ounce brown sugar
3 ounces uniodized salt
1 ounce crushed black pepper
1 ounce bay leaves
Four hours in strong brine. Drain them well and open them slightly to facilitate further draining. Dry the fish five hours in a smoker at 80°F. (27°C.) without smoke. Increase the smokehouse temperature to 220°F. (104° C.) and cook the fish two hours in dense smoke. I like alder wood for fish - its not as heavy as others.
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it probably needs a little more time on the grill.