Easy Baked Mackerel
Easy baked mackerel – just olive oil, salt, pepper and bake
Some time back, I saw maameemoomoo’s grilled saba with teriyaki sauce recipe, and I fell in love with it. Her grilled fish not only looked so deliciously beautiful, I also like the fact that they were oven-baked instead of grilled or pan-fried on the stove, saving lots of effort. My version, ever the lazy one, involves seasoning the fish with basic salt and pepper. This is a quick way to sneak in one more side dish to the dinner table effortlessly.
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Tip: line baking tray with parchment paper for easy cleaning
Ingredients
(Serves 2)- 2 mackerel (saba) fillets (if using frozen, thaw before use)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- one lime (halved) or 2 lemon wedgesEquipment needed
- pastry brush
- baking tray
- parchment paperDirections
1. Pull out any bones from the mackerel fillet using kitchen tweezers.
2. Brush olive oil with a pastry brush over the mackerel skin. Season the fillet with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
3. Line baking tray with parchment paper for easy cleaning. Place mackerel fillets skin side up.
4. Bake the fillets at preheated oven of 200°C for about 10 minutes, or until the skin starts to brown & crisp. Serve with cut lime or lemon wedges at the side.
Cooking Notes
1. Feel free to cook more fillets, just make sure they occupy one layer on the baking tray.
2. If you like a simple Japanese dip, you can add some grated daikon to a small saucer of light soy sauce or ponzo sauce.
Check out all fish fillet recipes.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
ooo.. baking it looks just as good as grilling it. I’m intrigued since baking means less fuss!
I don’t cook fish nearly as much as I should — thanks for the easy recipe!
Pretty shots!! Makes me wanna grill this fish SOON!
Easy dishes, don’t just love them? :)
That’s a delicious way of doing saba – goes esp well with lemon chilli!
Where do you get fresh saba fillets? I’ve always only seen frozen ones from the supermarket but would love to get my hands on the fresh stuff. Is it from the wet market? If so, what’s it called in chinese?
if you want fresh fillets, get from the wet market (I am assuming you are from Singapore too), tell the uncle you want saba and he’ll probably fillet them for you.
yes, I’m from Singapore too. :)
really? i’ve never seen it in the wet market though. thought there might be a “local” name for it like batang / ngor hng etc. ok – i’ll try next time. thanks!
I love baked fish too. They just taste SO good. Also, no greasy kitchen to clean up. I had just bought 2 rainbow trouts and going to bake for dinner later.
It’s kinda a stupid question, but is mackeral the same as the ‘batang’ fish we see at NTUC? I get so confused by the different names used! I’ve never seen any fresh fish labelled ‘mackeral’ at NTUC.
it’s not stupid at all. I don’t think it’s batang, should be saba. If you check out the frozen seafood section, you should see this fish vacuum pack (not sure the labelled name but the appearance is distinctive) :)
great! anyway frozen is cheaper too:)
Have fun on your vacation!
Wow this actually does look and sound very easy! Love your pretty lime garnishes too!
Lovely, simple and tasty. I’m pretty lucky that I can get fresh mackerel any time I like; they’re common in UK waters, and quite cheap. As a tip to get rid of the pesky pin bones (if your fishmonger won’t do it for you – you can always ask) is do V-cut them. Lie the fillets flesh side up, so that you can see/feel the strip of fine bones along the middle. Use a sharp knife and cut along the fillet on both sides of the strip of pin bones, angling the knife in slightly – take care not to pierce the skin. You should now be able to peel out a thin V-shape bit of flesh along with all the bones, leaving your fillet completely boneless. It’s much easier to do than to describe – a matter of seconds a fillet.
Yummy, simple and looks so delicious! The skin of the fish has a nice golden brown colour and looks crispy as well. Delicious with just a slight squeeze of lemon and a hot bowl of steaming rice.
S&P may work better for me cos I don’t have teriyaki sauce….time to buy saba (mackerel) soon!
Mmm… this reminds me of Korea! My mom would always make fish this way…. Love it! Have fun at vacation!
So easy and so good for you. I am so happy to live near China Town where I get all my fresh fish…it’s like catching them youself.
I love mackerel, this based mackerel looks so nice!
Hi, thanks for the recipe and i just tried it today. However, it was unsuccessful and i’m not sure where went wrong. The fillet was stuck to the paper and the skin was not crispy :( I was told to squeeze some lemon onto the skin then bake it to get the crispy skin….? I got it baked for around 20 minutes instead of 10 minutes.
Pat dry the fillet with paper towels, then brush olive oil. Face the fillets skin side up. If your oven has an adjustable rack, try to place it higher where the top heating coils are located. Also preheat the oven for 10 minutes. The baking time of 20 minutes is all right, the timing is until the skin becomes crispy. Hope you will be successful the next round :)
My husband went fishing this morning and caught a few of these! Glad I found your recipe! I never know how to prepare fish..
Thank you! :) i just made this for my lunch, with some homemade teriyaki sauce i modified from a family recipe.
2 tablespoons soy sauce (shoyu)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
dot of sesame oil
1 teaspoon chinese hua diao jiu (to replace mirin)
Boil til the sugar is dissolved. Add more sugar or shoyu until you get the desired sweetness.
Thank you for sharing your family recipe! Do you marinade the mackerel with the teriyaki sauce to bake in the oven, or do you cook the sauce separately, and drizzle it over the cooked fish?
May I know can I use black promfet to bake? Is it the same procedure? Many thanks.
Hi Cindy, check out this baked fish recipe for reference: http://www.noobcook.com/baked-ginger-soy-fish-wrapped-in-banana-leaf/
Great recipes & information for Mackeral by everyone!
Costco stores just started selling Mackeral in their stores. It’s located in their frozen food section – with (7) individually packaged fillets, caught in Norway, for $14.79~ It was the first time I baked a fish. Just preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then bake for 20-25 minutes. It tastes great! I like preparing it with olive oil & spreading chopped garlic with a sprinkle of oregano on top & then a dash of soy sauce over to finish it up with. I like cut up boiled potatoes & steamed Red Chard on the side! Enjoy your Mackeral dinner!