I bought some spanking fresh mackerel from the fishmongers
It was so fresh – it should have been driven straight home, coated in flour and tossed in a sizzling hot pan – instead it ended-up being tossed into the freezer…
It’s not generally recommended to home-freeze oily fish, such as mackerel. But if it’s very fresh and filleted it will freeze successfully. However, regardless of the original freshness, when it defrosts, don’t expect to re-create that ‘straight-into-the-pan’ ultra-fresh eating experience. Happily, with mackerel you can adopt a more robust approach: bolder flavours will divert attention away from the fish’s distant landing date. A Japanese soy marinade or miso braise works well.
I have learned about Japanese cooking from a couple of ‘Harumi’s’ cookbooks and a Nobu ‘party book’ – based on Peruvian as well as Japanese ingredients. Harumi Kurihara’s books are excellent and a good introduction to Japanese cuisine. She demonstrates many wonderful flavour combinations as well as simple cooking techniques – including this mackerel recipe. Harumi says cooking fish in miso is popular with Japanese men. I don’t know about that, but it met with Mrs WDC’s approval.