Pan-fried horse mackerel in 25 minutes: a cheap fish that fishermen keep for themselves. In October it is fresh and fairly priced at Burgas markets. Fried in a thin coat of flour and topped with garlic and lemon, it makes an easy Monday dinner.

25 minprep 10 min · cooking 15 min
4 servingsDinner
Easydifficulty
430 kcalper serving

Ingredients

  • 1 kgfresh small horse mackerel (12–14 fish)
  • 100 gflour
  • 2 tspsalt
  • ½ tspblack pepper
  • 150 mloil for frying
  • 2lemons
  • 4 clovesgarlic
  • 1 small bunchfresh parsley

Method

  1. Clean the fish

    Remove the heads and guts by pulling them out with your fingers or by cutting open the belly. Rinse under cold water and pat dry well with paper towels.

    The drier the fish, the less it spits in the pan and the crispier the crust.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Clean the fish

  2. Season the fish

    Sprinkle the fish with 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, add the juice of half a lemon and leave for 10 minutes.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Season the fish

  3. Coat in flour

    Tip 100 g flour onto a shallow plate. Coat each fish on both sides and shake off the excess, so only a thin layer is left.

    Swap a third of the flour for cornflour to make the crust crunchier.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Coat in flour

  4. Heat the oil

    Pour 150 ml oil into a wide pan and heat it over medium-high heat to about 175°C.

    A cube of bread dropped into the oil should turn golden in about 30 seconds.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Heat the oil

  5. Fry the fish

    Lay the fish side by side, not touching, and fry for 3–4 minutes on each side until the crust is golden. Turn each fish only once. If the pan is small, fry in two batches.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Fry the fish

  6. Drain the fat

    Move the cooked fish onto paper towels for about a minute to soak up the excess fat.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Drain the fat

  7. Prepare the garlic

    Finely chop 4 cloves of garlic and the leaves from the small bunch of parsley. Mix them with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of salt.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Prepare the garlic

  8. Pour over and serve

    Spoon the mixture over the still-warm fish. Cut the remaining lemon into slices and put them next to the fish.

    Pan-fried horse mackerel — Pour over and serve

How to serve it

Serve with a salad of red tomatoes and onion, and a lemon slice to squeeze over the warm fish.

Did you know

Horse mackerel lives in the Black Sea. In Bulgarian cooking it is most often fried whole, coated in flour.

Per serving (approx.): 430 kcal · protein 33 g · fat 26 g · carbohydrates 13 g