Grilled Whitby Mackerel with Burnt Lemon - Connor Field
How long will it take?
How hard is it?
How many people can do it together?
30 minutes
Easy
As many as you like
Summer
a wildish story
Whitby has always looked to the sea. For centuries, fishing boats have headed out from this harbour, bringing back herring, mackerel, cod, crab and lobster from the North Sea. That deep connection to the water has shaped the town's culture, its people and, perhaps most deliciously, its food.
You will still find little smokehouses curing herring into kippers over oak fires, fish and chip shops that line the harbour and festivals that celebrate the produce from this historic stretch of coast. It's that world - boats, fires, and a catch worth celebrating - that this dish is rooted in.
I grew up a long way from all this - inland, on the edge of the Peak District. But the sea has found its way into my life all the same, through boats in Barmouth, and more recently through trips out on the water in Whitby itself with my wife and father-in-law, mackerel fishing on the same stretch of coast this story belongs to.
The real heart of this dish, though, is my nan. It was her kitchen in Barmouth where I learned to fillet a mackerel, after coming in from fishing with my grandad on a popular local mackerel boat, The Viking. I'd bring the catch in and she'd already have the board and knife out, ready to show me again: how to find the backbone, how to keep the fillet whole, how to gut and prep a fish properly so nothing went to waste. She had endless patience for it, going over the same motions with me evening after evening until my hands knew what to do without her guiding them. She's not with us anymore, but I can't fillet a mackerel without thinking of her - and this is still exactly the way she taught me to do it.
This recipe is my way of bringing that kitchen in Barmouth to a Whitby harbour: mackerel straight off the grill, finished with lemon that's been charred alongside it - a trick that does double duty, making the lemon far easier to juice while mellowing its sharpness into something rounder and almost sweet, just enough to cut through the richness of this truly stunning fish.
What do you need?
Serves: as many as you like, just scale up Per person:
1 whole mackerel, gutted and butterflied
½ lemon
Fresh dill, to finish
Field Blends Lemon, Sumac & Green Herb seasoning (or your own mix of chopped dill, parsley and thyme with lemon zest)
Extra virgin olive oil
How to do it.
1. Start by preparing the mackerel. Working on a board, use a sharp filleting knife to cut along the belly from just behind the head down to the tail. Remove the guts and rinse the cavity under cold water, then pat the fish dry. To butterfly, run your knife along one side of the backbone from head to tail, keeping the blade flat against the bones, then repeat on the other side so the fillet opens out flat like a book, still joined at the back. Snip out the backbone with scissors if you want it fully boneless, or leave it in - it lifts out easily once cooked. Score the skin two or three times on each side; this helps it crisp and lets the smoke and heat in without curling up.
2. Cut your lemons in half through the middle - this gives you a flat, cut face to place directly on the grill.
3. Next, get your fire ready. You want a good bed of hot coals or a well-heated grill, enough heat to sear quickly without lingering, so the fish cooks through without drying out.
4. Lay the mackerel flesh-side down on the grill and leave it, resist the urge to move it. This is what gives you that char and stops the fish sticking. After 3–4 minutes, once the flesh has good colour, flip skin-side down to finish, another 3 to 4 minutes depending on the size of the fish. The skin should crisp and the flesh turn opaque and flake easily.
5. Place your lemon halves cut-side down on the grill at the same time as the fish. Leave them until the cut face is properly charred and blistered, almost blackened in places, this is the point. Grilling breaks down the lemon's acidity and starts to caramelise its natural sugars, so the juice that comes out is rounder and sweeter than raw lemon, with none of the harshness that can overpower delicate fish. It also softens the flesh, so the lemon yields its juice far more readily when you squeeze it.
6. Move the mackerel to a serving plate. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil, then scatter over your Field Blends Lemon, Sumac & Green Herb seasoning (or your fresh herb and lemon zest mix). Squeeze the grilled lemon half over each fish while it's still warm - you'll notice how easily the juice runs compared to a raw lemon. Finish with a scattering of fresh dill and serve immediately, ideally by the coast with a view of the sea.
