The Smell Of Smoked Mackerel

I love Smoked Mackerel, for breakfast, at lunch time or late at night, with bread and butter. The problem is though, that many people dislike it and particularly don't like the smell. The people I live with are of no exception to this rule. The smell is somewhat alleviated if you just eat them cold, straight out the fridge. The problem with that, for me, is the skin is really not very good and so I have to remove it. Also the flavours are not so developed when cold. The best way to eat this fish in my opinion, is to place it in a hot, dry pan, skin-side down for 2 mins or so; the skin crisps and the flavour of the hot fish is tremendous. The upshot of this method is, however, that it permeates throughout the place, making it smell like a Grimsby Smokehouse. Here's what I do:

• Take a pan with a lid and place over a medium / high heat, with no oil at all.
• Place the mackerel skin-side down in the pan and put the lid straight on top.
• Leave for around 1 minute, before lifting the lid and squeezing 1/2 fresh lemon over the fish, replacing the lid and removing from the heat.

The use of the lid obviously cuts down on the smell. The lemon acts in 3 ways: Firstly it neutralises the smell very well. Secondly it discourages the fish from sticking (since you're unable to move it around whilst the lid is in place) and thirdly, it really adds to the flavour of the mackerel.

Best enjoyed with sliced brown bread and butter.

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