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Cured Slimey Mackeral - poor mans Lakerda

Posted: 02 May 2017, 12:28
by Fish Grylls
Not the biggest fan of slimeys and yakkas when cooked, but every year I make a small batch of cured Slimey mackeral. The recipe is similar to Lakerda, a Mediterranean mackerel delicacy which can be found in most delis in Melbourne.

I usually make a small batch, usually with 4 or 5 Slimey Mackerel, the bigger the fish the better. Dont bother with smaller fish.

Bleed fish when caught (v. important), cut the heads and tails off and gut (no need to scale). Then place whole fish in a container surrounded by generous amounts of rock salt. Place the container in the fridge.

Whole large fish will take about 4 to 6 days to cure properly. I aim for 5 days as a rule. Every 24hours take the container and tip out the liquids extracted by the salt and add more salt as required. After about 5 days the fish should of firmed up and will be ready to take out of the salt. I wash the salt off, pad dry. Fillet the cured fish, cut into chunks and place in a container with aromatics such as lemon peel, whole pepper, thyme and oregano and fill to the top with canola oil.

Some people will include white vinegar but I find this not to my taste as it will whiten the flesh and change the texture so that it is chewier.

You can also cutlet or fillet the mackerel before placing in rock salt. This will quicken the curing process considerably. With fillets and cutlets only 1 to 2 days curing is ample. I however find the finished product too salty when done like this as compared to a whole fish cured over a longer period.

Four large fish is usually enough to fit into a 1.5kg kilo old honey container and 4 medium fish for a 1kg container.

I usually only make small batches and only have a piece as an appetiser often with home made olives, salami and sometime pickled occy.

This recipe also works well with larger mackerel, eg Spanish - See Shane Delia recipe on the net. I will be taking a bit of rock salt to SWR and hope to enjoing some Lakerda on the trip back.

Slimeys in salt
slimeys salt.jpg
Slimeys cured and ready to be filleted
slimeys dried.jpg
Finished product.... yumm
mackeral plate.jpg

Re: Cured Slimey Mackeral - poor mans Lakerda

Posted: 02 May 2017, 13:39
by maverick
yum.

Re: Cured Slimey Mackeral - poor mans Lakerda

Posted: 11 May 2017, 15:15
by torquayak
Looks awesome.
Will definitely give it a go.
Thanks mate!