When we wrote “mackerel” on the blackboard menu, it didn’t sell, so we renamed it silver tail and a star was born. Now when we serve silver tail with bacon and sage, or in a breakfast Benedict, it flies out of the kitchen. We sell so much that our supplier thinks we might be feeding farmed killer whales in the backyard. Our guys at McKiernan Luncheonette do a great job of smoking 50 pounds (23 kilograms) every week, which culminates with the Saturday brunch mackerel Benedict, with eggs, hollandaise, maple syrup, and an English muffin.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 1
Ingredients
Preparation
This isn’t much of a recipe. It’s more of an idea. If you don’t like or can’t get smoked mackerel, substitute with smoked trout, no problem. You can use store-bought English muffins, or make the recipe for blini on page 91, only shaping them a bit bigger. Use 3 or 4 tablespoons of hollandaise (page 177) per serving, and drizzle a bit of maple syrup on the fish and then warm it a little under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes. Also spread a bit of honey mustard (page 136) on the muffin for an “undercover taste agent.” As you can see from the picture, we use a whole mackerel for each serving (see Smorgasbord insert for how to smoke a whole 10- to 16-ounce/280- to 455-g mackerel for this recipe). It is indeed pretty, but it is the pits to use because of the bones. We prefer pinboned fillets, one per person, served with a pair of poached eggs. And eggs love chopped fresh chives.
