BBQ Big Green Egg Smoked Cherry Wood Mackerel with ‘Jack by the Hedge’ Root
Not everyone is lucky enough to own a Big Green Egg BBQ. I bought one for the BBC2 ‘s Great British Menu’ and my judge Nigel Howarth loved the flavour it gave to my rose veal dish.
Today we are cooking mackerel on the big green egg…
First job
Soak your small handful of cherry wood chips in cold water. You can use other woods such as apple, hickory, or oak if you prefer but I find the cherry wood quite mild and it complements the flavour of the fish well.
Fill up your BBQ 2/3 rd‘s full of charcoal and a few BBQ lighters and let’s get the thing going!
To prep you’re Mackerel…
Simply fillet and remove the bones from the mackerel. The time it takes to do this clearly depends on how many you are cooking for, this could take 10 minutes or it could take an hour! I am cooking 30 fillets so it is a devil of a job!
(its much easier to get your fishmonger to do this for you!)
Marinade the mackerel in your own foragers finds. I am using Jack by the Hedge root, a potent number much like horseradish. Simply peel off the dark root until you see a lighter colour underneath, wash well and grate like cheese.
Cover the mackerel over with the Jack by the Hedge root and allow to marinade with a little glazing of Yorkshire Rapeseed oil.
Now your BBQ is hot place the mackerel onto the plate skin side down and sprinkle the cherry wood chips down the side of the glowing embers to create smoke. Leave the BBQ lid half open to allow some smoke to escape creating a fabulous smell to intrigue your guests!
Cooking should take about 6-8 minutes. Afterwards, remove the mackerel with a palette knife and serve with lemon. Add to a forager’s salad or simply a bowl of your favourite vegetables or salad leaves.
