Delicious Grilled Spanish Mackerel

There are a few hidden gems in Spanish cuisine that haven’t become popular to a worldwide level yet, but they are loved in Spanish households. 

One of them is the grilled Spanish mackerel, which is a perfect blend between the flavors of the Mediterranean sea and the vegetables from the orchards of Andalusia.

It will immediately become one of your favorite Spanish fish recipes since it is easy to make and has only a couple of ingredients.

You, dear reader, support this blog. If you purchase through a link, we earn a small commission. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Background of the Dish

This dish is basically grilled mackerel, but it has a twist thanks to the flavors of the vegetables and olive oil, which add a new taste but let the mackerel shine.

This Spanish mackerel dish has been a dish consumed in almost all Andalusian houses for quite a few years now, mostly because it is cheap and very healthy.

With this grilled Spanish mackerel recipe not only do you have the nutrients of vegetables, but mackerel has a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3, as well as vitamin B, especially B12.

Pin for later!

Things You’ll Need for Grilled Spanish Mackerel

The best part about making this Spanish mackerel recipe is that the only main ingredient is the mackerel fillet. 

You can replace the others as much as you like, which gives you a lot of freedom to play with this recipe.

You’ll only need a frying pan or a saucepan when it comes to the equipment, and you are good to go.

Ingredients

• 4  mackerel fillets (clean of thorns)
• 5 sweet red tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper
• ½ eggplant
• ½ zucchini
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 lemon wedge 
• 2 sprigs of fresh or dried thyme
• olive oil
• Salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)

How to Make Grilled Spanish Mackerel – Step by Step Guide

1. The first step in this Spanish fish recipe is to grab your favorite frying pan and cover the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil. Then sauté the chopped onion, minced garlic, and diced green pepper. 

2. Once they get a brighter color, add the aubergine, zucchini, and just one of the diced tomatoes. Season to taste and cook the vegetables until you see that the ingredients are soft but still firm on the outside.

3. Up next, grab the remaining tomatoes, grate, and add them to the pan. Then stir until everything gets combined (remove the skin from the tomatoes). Cook everything together for 3-4 minutes.

4. At the last minute, add the fresh thyme leaves and a fresh lemon wedge to the pan. Stir to integrate, letting it rest with the fire off for a couple more minutes, or it might burn and get a bitter taste.

5. For the final step, brush a grill pan with olive oil and when it is hot, add the mackerel fillets, cooking them for 2 minutes on each side. They cook very fast, and for me, that’s a perfect time, but you can leave them to cook for a little bit longer if you want. 

Substitution of Ingredients

My favorite part about this particular grilled mackerel recipe is that you can make a lot of changes, even make a completely new version, and the result will still be delicious.

Of course, the mackerel fillet is the start of this dish, and you can use any type of mackerel (there are more than 48 commercial species that can be at sale for human consumption).

You might be wondering what does mackerel taste like? Well, it depends on what type you use, but the most common one has a strong taste that will immediately take you to the ocean. In some cases, it can be a little bit bitter though.

If you don’t like mackerel fish then you can use other fish fillets such as salmon, hake, sardines, etc. You can also add more vegetables, or just eliminate them from this recipe, it is completely up to you, 

If you liked this recipe then I encourage you to try other Spanish recipes such as Spanish Fish Soup, Cazon en Adobo, Boquerones en vinagre, and the famous Deep Fried Octopus.

And make sure you don’t miss the baked Spanish mackerel fillet or the Spanish salmon recipe if you love fish.

Try other fish recipes with mackerel like the mackerel patty recipe, grilled mackerel recipe, or baked mackerel in foil.

The mackerel pate recipe should not be missed either, for it’s an easy-to-make mackerel spread for your tapas inspiration.

Tips on Serving Grilled Spanish Mackerel

This Spanish mackerel dish is one of the most popular foods in Spain, and it can be eaten at any time of the day, but it is a classic Spanish dinner.

I like eating it at dinner because it is a pretty light dish, so you won’t go to bed feeling all heavy. You can also try the king mackerel recipe, a great dish which is also very light.

Since this is a typical food in Spain, I recommend you to do an all-Spanish meal and serve it with patatas a lo pobre, tortilla de patatas or you can even make a Spanish mackerel rice recipe.

How to Store Grilled Spanish Mackerel

As well as other mackerel recipes, you can store this dish in your fridge without any problem. 

Just make sure to store it in a covered container, or cover it with a plastic bag, otherwise, your fridge will be filled with the mackerel smell.

This mackerel fish recipe shouldn’t be frozen, because the fish will lose its freshness, and the same thing will happen with the vegetables.

If you see in the step-by-step instructions of this recipe where we show how to cook mackerel, then you’ll see how fast it is. So I recommend you to make this recipe the same day that you’ll eat it.

Recipe Card: Grilled Spanish Mackerel

---

---