Jamaican Mackerel Recipe in Tomato Sauce
Learn how to cook fresh mackerel Jamaican style with this easy recipe. Tender mackerel simmers in a rich tomato-based sauce enhanced with herbs, peppers and aromatics for a fresh, flavourful meal in just 30 minutes!
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
- Large Skillet or Dutch Oven for cooking the mackerel and preparing the sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Fresh Mackerel cleaned, head and tail removed (optional), cut into pieces or filleted
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 med Onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1/2 Bell (Sweet) Pepper any colour, chopped
- 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper finely chopped or whole, as desired
- 3 sprigs Thyme fresh
- 1 can Tomatoes finely chopped or crushed
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp All Purpose Seasoning
- Fresh Herbs of your choice, for garnish, optional
Instructions
Prep Fresh Mackerel
- Check to ensure fish has been properly scaled, fins removed and gutted. Then thoroughly rinse with lemon or lime and cool water. Drain and pat dry with paper towel. Season both sides of the fish with salt, black pepper and all purpose seasoning, then set aside.
Jamaican Mackerel Recipe in Tomato Sauce
- Using a large, non-stick skillet, heat cooking oil over medium high heat. Add fish fillets and fry for a few minutes on each side until golden and crisp. Do not flip until it can freely move (a crisp exterior should have formed on the fish). Remove fish from oil and place on wire rack to drain excess oil; set aside.
- Discard oil, leaving about 2 (two) tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Return to the stove, and reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, bell peppers, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper and sauté until softened and fragrant.
- Add diced tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes sauce heats through, breaks down and the mixture becomes aromatic and begins to simmer then thicken.
- Gently add the seared mackerel back into the pan, ensuring the pieces are coated evenly with the sauce. Simmer for an additional few minutes, allowing the flavours to meld, sauce to thicken and the mackerel to heat through. Adjust seasonings if needed. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with steamed rice or Jamaican Hard Dough (Hardo) Bread.