GRILLED MACKEREL FLATBREADS
some fish grilling tips, chopped tomato and pepper salad + my death row flatbread recipe.
Hello,
This week we’re unpacking a very popular episode of Beer Snacks, the grilled mackerel flatbread. Loosely inspired by the magic balik ekmek, a humble sandwich of grilled fish (often mackerel) served with peppers and tomatoes, maybe a little onion salad, in crusty bread. You can find these all along the Bosphorus river in Istanbul, and at my house in South East London. It tastes excellent and is an excellent way to explore cooking bread and fish over fire, learning about temperature control, lightly curing fish and the best chopped salad around.
Thanks for reading,
B x
When you say “street food”, it can have a funny connotation. Once upon a time, it just meant lamb skewers (arrosticini) grilled over charcoal in Italy, pork-and-pickle-stuffed Bahn Mi rolls in Vietnam, crispy, spicy carnitas tacos in CDMX and other humble, essential cuisine for the masses. Years of culinary-stuntery and cursed food markets have wrenched the label leftward into murkier light, but this Turkish fish sandwich has other plans. Balık ekmek, a popular Turkish street food, translates to “fish bread.”
Freshly grilled or fried fish, usually mackerel, is stuffed inside a crusty loaf or sandwich roll with onions, tomatoes, and sometimes pickles. A squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of spice amplify its fresh, savory flavor. It is especially famous along the waterfront in Istanbul, where vendors prepare it on boats or at nearby stalls.
Today, we’re interpreting the mighty turkish sandwich using a few old favourite recipes. A bulletproof flatbread recipe (from my book), a simple lightly cured mackerel, a chopped and grilled salad and some easy garnishes. The heatwave might be fading away, but summer is far from over. Let’s get into it.
GRILLING FISH
For many, the final boss of grilling is fish. Sticky skin, too-cool-coals and pappy, overcooked meat are the main hurdles. Here are a few top tips for grilling fish like mackerel at home…
Grill the fish in fillets for easy maneuverability, simple cooking and a boneless eating experience.
Lightly cure the fish fillets with fine sea salt for 10 minutes on the flesh side before wiping away with kitchen towels. This will firm up the fish making it easier to grill, season the flesh and improve the texture.
Make sure the fish’s skin is very dry before it hits the grill. A combination of this and a hot grill will swerve the skin sticking to the grates.
Make sure your grill is red hot before you lay the fish down. Ensure the coals have plenty of airflow and are at their peak heat before you add the fish. IF you need a boost, blow air or fan the coals to increase the heat.
MY GRILL OF CHOICE + TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT
The bit of kit I used to cook these flatbreads is the kasai grills Konro. These are a fantastic tool for grilling and their size means they won’t devour fuel. You can cook for hours with just a little charcoal thanks to the superior insulation the walls offer. Crucially though, you can get your fish extremely close to the coals and easily control the temperature with the two small vents on either side of the grill. This enables you to turn the heat up and down, on a bbq! If you’ve never done this before, essentially, the more air you let into the grill, the hotter it’ll get. Close the vents, and the bbq will cool down. This control allows you to cook ingredients that require different temperatures whenever you like, rather than following the typical arc of a fire (cool, to very hot, and then back to cool). They’re a bit of an investment, but a lot of fun to cook with.
ONE FLATBREAD TO RULE THEM ALL
This is my go-to flatbread recipe, it’s in my cookbook, and it’s pretty much foolproof. Depending on how you cook the dough, it can take on many forms. In the book, they’re fried gently in a little olive oil until puffed and a little crisp, you can also toast them in a dry frying pan, bake them in the oven into pitta-esque stuffable flatbreads or grill them over fire. It’s a super versatile bread, loved by Nigella Lawson, and me.
