Baked Mackerel With Potatoes And Onions is a super simple and effortless meal. With all of the classic Greek flavors of lemon, oregano, and garlic. Plus plenty of mellow onions.
Mackerel is a very delicious fish that you need to pay special attention to when you cook it. And that's because its meat tends to dry out easily. So the main purpose when cooking mackerel is to keep its flesh nice and moist.
This depends on two things mainly. One is the cooking method. It's not the ideal fish for pan-frying for example. Light grilling and gentle baking are more suitable cooking methods for this fish.
And two is how long you cook it. Which is what will make a really great or not-so-great dish.
Preparing The Fish
Mackerel is one of my favorite fish to cook with, besides absolutely loving how it tastes, it doesn't have scales. All you have to do is slice open its belly and remove the innards.
Then stuff the belly with lemon and garlic slices so the fish gets nicely flavored while it bakes.
How To Cook
To cook Baked Mackerel With Potatoes And Onions you need to bake it covered (with aluminum foil) so the fish won't lose its moisture. Then to give it a nice roast on top use the oven broil function. This ensures the fish doesn't dry out and only the top surface gets roasted.
How Long To Cook Mackerel In The Oven
There are two ways to cook mackerel in the oven. One is to roast the fish using the grill function at a high temperature. And the other is to bake it at a not-so-high temperature. In this recipe, we go for option number two, to give time for the potatoes to cook as well.
And to answer the question of how long to cook mackerel in the oven 50 minutes to 1 hour at most at a temperature of 200°C / 392°F. And then finish off by broiling at a temperature of 220°C / 428°F and up (depending on how strong your oven is).
SIMILAR RECIPE:
Kolios Plaki is another Greek Baked Mackerel Recipe. In this recipe, the fish gets cooked with lots of fresh tomato slices, onions, and garlic. Another super simple and delicious recipe for Mackerel.
Cooking time will vary slightly depending on the size of the fish. For medium-sized fish (300 grams more or less), 50 minutes are more than enough while larger fish (500 grams more or less) may need up to 1 hour plus the extra broiling time.
Serve With
Serve this Baked Mackerel With Potatoes And Onions together with a Greek salad, a Marinated Tomato Salad With Herbs, a healthy White Bean Salad With Garlic, Lemon, And Herbs, or even a Simple Beetroot Salad.
Recipe
Baked Mackerel With Potatoes And Onions
Ingredients
- 950 grams (3 medium) Mackerel fish
- 650 grams (23 ounce) potatoes peeled and sliced ½ cm thick (¼ inch)
- 150 grams (5.3 ounce) red onion thinly sliced
- 5-6 garlic cloves sliced
- ½ lemon cut into 6 thin slices
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice + extra to serve with
- 1 ½ tablespoon dried Greek oregano + extra to serve with
- 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare the fish by opening its belly and removing the innards. Rinse well.
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 392°F.
- Lay the potatoes in a 28 x 18 cm (11 x 7-inch) baking dish. Add the onion and half the garlic on top. Season with salt, pepper, and ½ tablespoon dried oregano. Drizzle the lemon juice on top.
- Stuff the belly of each fish with 2 slices of lemon and a few slices of garlic.
- Place the fish on top of the potatoes. Drizzle the olive oil and remaining oregano on top.
- Add ¼ cup water to the dish from the side (don't rinse the potatoes or the fish).
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Turn the oven to broil function (see note 1 below). Uncover the dish. Place the baking dish on the top rack of the oven.
- Broil the fish for 7-10 minutes or until it looks nicely roasted on top.
- Let stand for 10-15 minutes to rest (you may cover it again with the foil) then serve with an extra squeeze of fresh lemon juice and dried Greek oregano if you like.
