Thread: Grillng a King Mackerel

Let's just presume that you've caught one or acquired one (that implies "gifted" not "taken from someone's ice chest"). Fillet that bad boy on the cleaning table and cut out the dark lateral line. Wash it off and put it in a baggie.What I do when I get home is to start up the grill and cook the fillets, cut in about one-pound sections. Before putting the fillets on the grill, I sprinkle garlic powder, Slap Ya' Momma spice and spray it down with butter substitute. I spray the grill with PAM Spray. I grill those fillets until they're opaque and enjoy them fresh from the Gulf - same day, hot off the grill.
There's a lot left over, so I flake up all of the rest. Maybe I'll revisit my roots and try cutting a fillet into strips to fry later. But everything else gets flaked up into a simple fish salad with dill relish, a dab of mustard, Duke's mayo to taste, celery salt (just a bit, also to taste since you can add more, but you can't take it out), pepper (ditto) and a drizzle of honey. Honey? On FISH? Heck yeah! It's great on sandwiches, on crackers, on tortilla chips or by itself. You may even want to try it in flour tortillas with fried fish!
The beauty of this tasty concoction is that you don't have to be a master chef. I'm sure that a lot of folks have their own version of king mackerel fish salad. The way that I prepare it takes minutes after it has cooled and it stores well in the fridge to have that evening or the next day.

Edited to add: I caught a King Mackerel this morning and grilled it like I said I would and it was delicious! I also flaked up the rest that I put on the grill and put it in the fridge to await mixing. I couldn't eat another bite now, anyway!

Edited again to add - The fish salad was fantastic! I can't wait until lunch today to have some more!

Y'all try this with your king mackerel fish salad: Toast a Thomas English Muffin and spread mayo on both sides. Put the fish salad on the bottom half and coleslaw on the top. What a great sandwich!

As a test, I froze a few King mackerel fillets and thawed one out, grilled it, and flaked it into little pieces after letting it rest for several minutes. I put the flaked mackerel in the fridge to cool and then added the mayo, celery salt, dill relish, honey, etc. and the result was fantastic!

Loose grilling baskets (with about 1 inch of space) are ideal for grilling mackerel fillets or steaks, allowing for several turns to brown evenly on both sides.
Just be sure to spray Pam on the inside of each basket before placing the fish in it to avoid excess sticking.