Turkish · Lunch · Dinner
Turkish Grilled Mackerel with Onion and Parsley Salad
Uskumru Izgara
Whole mackerel grilled until the skin is crisp and smoky, served with a sharp sumac-dusted onion and parsley salad and a squeeze of lemon. A classic Istanbul seaside plate, rich in omega-3s and ready in well under an hour.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 32 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 11% · Fat 58% · Protein 31%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 4 medium whole (about 300 g each; about 720 g edible flesh)Whole mackerel, gutted and cleaned
- 1 tbsp14 gOlive oil
- 1 tsp6 gSalt
- 1/2 tspBlack pepper, ground
- 2 medium300 gRed onions
- 1 large bunch60 gFlat-leaf parsley
- 2 tsp5 gSumac, ground
- 2 medium170 gLemons
- 2 medium240 gTomatoes (optional)
- 2 cups40 gArugula (optional)
Steps
- 1
Heat a grill, grill pan or barbecue to medium-high.
- 2
Rinse the mackerel inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
- 3
Cut 3 shallow diagonal slashes on each side of the fish.
- 4
Brush the fish lightly with the olive oil and season with 2/3 of the salt and the black pepper.
- 5
Halve the red onions and slice them into thin half-moons.
- 6
Rub the onion slices with the remaining salt for 1 minute, rinse briefly and squeeze dry to soften their bite.
- 7
Chop the parsley, including the tender stems.
- 8
Toss the onions, parsley and sumac with the juice of 1 lemon in a bowl.
- 9
Grill the mackerel for 5 to 6 minutes per side until the skin is charred and crisp and the flesh flakes easily at the backbone, reaching 63 °C / 145 °F.
- 10
Slice the tomatoes and arrange them with the arugula on a platter, if using.
- 11
Cut the second lemon into wedges.
- 12
Serve the mackerel hot with the onion and parsley salad, tomatoes, arugula and lemon wedges.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use whole sardines instead of mackerel and grill them for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, since they are smaller.
- Swap the whole fish for mackerel fillets if you prefer no bones, grilling skin-side down first for a few minutes until just cooked through.
- If you cannot find sumac, toss the onion salad with extra lemon juice and a pinch of lemon zest for a similar tang.
- For a milder salad, use sweet white onions or thinly sliced spring onions in place of the red onions.
Storage
Grilled mackerel is best eaten fresh while the skin is crisp; refrigerate any leftover fish within 2 hours in a covered container and eat within 1 to 2 days, either cold or reheated until steaming hot. Do not freeze the cooked fish or the onion and parsley salad, and keep the salad in the fridge for no more than a day.
Make ahead
You can clean, slash and refrigerate the mackerel up to a day ahead, and salt, rinse and slice the onions a few hours in advance. Chop the parsley and toss the salad with sumac and lemon just before serving so it stays fresh.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: Fish
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (319 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 448 kcal | 140 kcal |
| Protein | 35.2 g | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12.1 g | 3.8 g |
| of which sugars | 4.4 g | 1.4 g |
| Fiber | 3 g | 0.9 g |
| Fat | 28.8 g | 9 g |
| of which saturated | 6.4 g | 2 g |
| Sodium | 788 mg | 247 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
