Smoked Mackerel with Chermoula & Beets on the Big Green Egg
This recipe comes to us from Big Green Egg (who collaborated with River Cottage). Here's how they describe it: 'Mackerel’s great at standing up to big, bold flavours, like this chermoula — a kind of North African salsa. The result is beautiful, unctuous and aromatic. Serve as a starter with a hunk of bread to mop up the juices, or as a main course with roasted new potatoes or couscous.' It the perfect use for the Big Green Egg Northwest Alder Grilling Planks.
There are three components to this recipe: the mackerel, beetroots (cooked 'dirty' or straight on the coals), and chermoula, which goes well with any simply flavoured seafood, meat, or vegetarian main.
Serves 2
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 whole mackerel, butterflied*A bunch of freshly picked baby beets
4 garlic cloves
A small bunch of fresh coriander
1 red chilli, deseeded
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ground paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp rose water
1/2 preserved lemon
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste
*Ask your local fishmonger to butterfly the fish for you if you don't feel confident, or book a seat in our Whole Fish & Seafood cook school class.
Method
- Set Up the Grilling Plank and Big Green Egg: Soak one Alder Grilling Plank and woodchips in water for an hour. Set the EGG up direct with a Stainless Steel Grid or Half Moon Cast Iron Searing Grid if you have one (this will make it easier for you to get to the beetroot). Fire up the grill as normal and aim for a temperature of around 220˚C. When we add our fish later, that'll bring the temperature down to about 200˚C, which is exactly where we want to be.
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Cook the Beets: Gather your beetroots. If they're fresh, baby-sized ones, add them to your coals towards the outer edge. The bigger the beetroot, the closer to the glowing centre it should be. Leave them cooking dirty for about 18-20 minutes. You want them softened yet still retaining a firm feel, so really big beetroots could take up to 30 minutes. Adjust the timings for your mackerel accordingly.
- Make the Chermoula: In the meantime, you can start making your chermoula. Finely chop your garlic, coriander and chilli. Add to a large mixing bowl with the cumin, cayenne, paprika, a healthy squeeze of lemon juice and your olive oil, rose water, preserved lemon and vinegar. Season with coarse sea salt and give it all a stir.
- Fill the Mackerel: Spoon a generous amount of the chermoula onto one of your mackerel fillets. Press it down into the fish to hold it in place. Fold the second fillet on top of the first. Repeat with your second mackerel.
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Smoke the Mackerel: Place the mackerel gently onto your soaked alder wood board. Take your beetroots off the coals and add a handful of the soaked wood chips to the coals. Now, add the mackerel on the board directly onto the grid. Close the lid and leave for 8-10 minutes.
- Prepare the Beets: We want to tap into the smoky flavour of the beetroots as much as possible, so if you're using small, fresh ones, don't bother peeling them. If your beets are a bit bigger, wash them in cold water while rubbing the skin away with your hands. Dice roughly, then add to a mixing bowl. Dress with a little more of the chermoula.
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Finish and Serve: Your mackerel should be done by now. You'll know for sure by using a probe: you're looking for a temperature of 45˚C. Plate up, alongside a healthy amount of the Moroccan beets and more chermoula. Enjoy while it's hot!
BK Tips
- Stop by our London stores in Hampstead, Chiswick, Islington, and Battersea Power Station for one of our Big Green Egg demonstrations, or to talk to our team of 'eggs-perts' about purchasing a Big Green Egg barbecue.
- Shop our range of barbecue tools and accessories.
