To Pickle or Bake Mackerel to Keep all the Year is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic method of baking mackerel in a vinegar and spice mix before bottling the fish to store. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To Pickle or Bake Mackerel to Keep all the Year.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
To pickle or bake mackerel, to keep all the year.
GUT them, cut off their heads, cut them open, dry them very well with a clean cloth, take a pan which they will lie cleverly in, lay a few bay-leaves at the bottom, rub the bone with a little bay-ſalt beat fine, take a little beaten mace, a few cloves beat fine, black and white pepper beat fine ; mix a little ſalt, rub them inſide and out with the ſpice, lay them in a pan, and between every lay of the mackerel put a few bay-leaves ; then cover them with vinegar, tie them down cloſe with brown paper, put them into a ſlow oven : they will take a good while doing ; when they are enough, uncover them, let them ſtand till cold, then pour away all the vinegar, and put as much good vinegar as will cover them, and put in an onion ſtuck with cloves. Send them to the oven again, let them ſtand two hours in a very ſlow oven, and they will keep all the year ; but you muſt not put in your hands to take out the mackerel, if you can avoid it, but take a ſlice to take them out with. The great bones of the mackerel taken out and broiled, is a pretty little plate to fill up the corner of a table.
Clean, gut and scale the mackerel then remove the heads. Wash and dry thoroughly then rub plenty of sea salt all the way along the backbone.
In a bowl, combine the mace, cloves, pepper and 6 tbsp fine sea salt. Use this mixture to thoroughly rub inside and outside the fish. Layer the fish, packing them head to tail in a baking dish. Make two layers of six fish each, placing the bayleaves between the layers.
Pour over enough vinegar to cover the fish then cover everything with a double layer of kitchen foil. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 140°C and bake slowly for about 80 minutes, or until the fish are done through (they will flake easily with a fork). At this point remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
When cold, discard all the vinegar, add the clove-studded onion, pour over enough fresh vinegar to completely cover the fish then return to the oven and bake slowly at 140°C for two hours more.
Remove from the oven and use a pair of tongs to remove the fish from the dish and pack them into a cleaned and sterilized wide-mouthed jar, setting them with the tails uppermost. Pour over their baking vinegar and top up with fresh vinegar until the fish are completely covered. Seal securely then place in a boiling water bath and process for 40 minutes.
Remove from the bath, allow to cool completely and set aside in a cool, dark, cupboard until needed.
