Cured Cornish mackerel with 'nduja, cucumber and pork skin
- Starter
- Medium
- 4
- 45 minutes
PT45M
James Cochran's smart mackerel starter barely requires any cooking at all, just a simple cure for the mackerel, the gentle heat of a dehydrator and a blowtorch if you have one handy. A sharp cucumber pickle cuts through the oily fish, whilst pork rind and spicy 'nduja from the south of Italy combine to bring texture and piquancy to the dish.
Ingredients
- 4 fresh mackerel fillets
- 300g of 'nduja
- 200g of pork rind
Mackerel cure
- 100g of soy sauce
- 150g of ponzu
- 125g of mirin
Pickled cucumber
- 1 cucumber
- 300g of water
- 200g of vinegar
- 100g of sugar
- 10g of yellow mustard seeds
- 10g of salt
Equipment
- Dehydrator
Method
1
Dehydrate the ‘nduja for 72 hours in a dehydrator set at 85ºC. It’s best to do this in a colander over a bowl so you keep the oil. Once the ‘nduja is completely dry, store in an airtight container for later
- 300g of 'nduja
2
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Boil the pork rind for 3 minutes then drain, press flat and chill in the fridge to allow the fat to set
- 200g of pork rind
3
Once the pork skin is chilled, scrape all the excess fat away and dehydrate the pork skin at 85ºC for around 24 hours (it can go in with the ‘nduja)
4
Once the pork skin is completely dry, preheat an oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Bake the rind for 6–8 minutes until it turns crispy and puffs up (about ). Crush the skin into a crumb and reserve
5
Slice the cucumber as thinly as possible using a mandoline and place the slices in a heatproof bowl. Toast the mustard seeds in a hot dry saucepan, then add the rest of the pickle ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, pour it over the cucumber and leave to cool
- 10g of yellow mustard seeds
- 1 cucumber
- 300g of water
- 200g of vinegar
- 100g of sugar
- 10g of salt
6
Trim the mackerel fillets and score lines into the skin. Mix together the ingredients for the mackerel cure, then submerge the mackerel in the mixture and leave to cure for 20 minutes
- 4 fresh mackerel fillets
- 150g of ponzu
- 100g of soy sauce
- 125g of mirin
7
Remove the fillets from the cure, pat dry thoroughly and blowtorch the mackerel skin until black (alternatively you can put the mackerel skin-side up under a hot grill)
8
To serve, divide the mackerel fillets between 4 plates. Dress with the cucumber on top, followed by crumbled 'nduja and pork skin
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Cured Cornish mackerel with 'nduja, cucumber and pork skin
