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Featured Comment:
“I just made this, thank you! Marinate the fish in sake gives them extra oomph factor, nice!”
– Mentari
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What is Saba no Shioyaki (Japanese-style Grilled Mackerel)?
Saba no shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き) is a traditional dish crafted with mackerel fillets seasoned lightly with salt and then grilled to perfection. In Japanese, “Saba” translates to “mackerel,” while “shioyaki” denotes “salt grill.”
This dish is special in Japanese households, often gracing dinner tables accompanied by freshly cooked rice, miso soup, and pickles. However, it’s versatile enough to be a choice for lunch, dinner or even breakfast.
Japan boasts a variety of mackerel, including:
- Blue mackerel
- Indian mackerel
- Double-lined mackerel
- Chub mackerel
Strolling through Japanese supermarkets, one might notice a significant portion of mackerel imported from Norway, in fact, 90% of imported mackerel in Japan is from Norway.
Mackerel’s presence in Japanese culture is longstanding. Archaeological findings from the Jomon era (circa BC 3000 to BC 100) have revealed mackerel bones, suggesting its consumption dates back to ancient times.
Historically, mackerel wasn’t just a staple for the common folk; it also graced the plates of the aristocracy.
How I Developed This Recipe
In developing this recipe, my focus was simplicity and authenticity, ensuring that it encapsulates the essence of saba no shioyaki.
By integrating many tips and techniques, I’ve curated a dish that resonates with tradition and can be finished in under 30 minutes.
Having experimented with numerous fish recipes over the years, I highly recommend this recipe as one of the best fish recipes I have ever made, so please give it a try!
How We Eat Mackerel in Japan
As one of the most popular types of fish in Japan, we eat mackerel in many different ways, such as:
- Salted and grilled (saba no shioyaki)
- Saba miso (simmered in miso base sauce)
- Karaage (deep fried)
- Sushi
- Shime saba (pickled)
- Saba katsu (breaded deep-fried mackerel)
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Mackerel fillets (skin-on): For the best fish dishes, particularly with mackerel, which can deteriorate in freshness swiftly, prioritize fish with firm flesh, snug skin, and distinct white lines on the fillet, signaling fat content. Aim for wild, seasonally relevant mackerel. For instance, chub mackerel is ideal in Japan from fall to winter, while blue mackerel shines from summer to early fall.
- Sake: This serves to neutralize odors and tenderize the fish. For a deeper dive into sake’s role in Japanese cuisine, refer to my post on the 20 Most Useful Condiments and Seasonings for Japanese Cooking.
- Salt: Essential for seasoning and accentuating the mackerel’s natural flavors.
- Sudachi (optional): This citrus counters the fish’s salty notes and elevates the overall flavor profile. While I’ve incorporated sudachi due to my location in Japan, using local citrus from your area is recommended. Other citrus varieties that harmonize with grilled mackerel encompass lemon, lime, kabosu, yuzu, and bitter orange.
- Grated daikon (optional): Grated daikon radish, termed oroshi daikon or daikon oroshi, is a cherished accompaniment, particularly for fish. It offers sterilization, aids in fat digestion, and promotes overall digestion. Combined with grilled fish, it enhances digestion and mitigates fishy aromas, resulting in a flawless flavor fusion. If you can source daikon radishes in your region, it’s a pairing worth exploring!
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Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make perfect Saba no Shioyaki every time. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
STEP
Wash the mackerel
Take your mackerel fillets and wash them with cold running water. Next, place them in a sealable container and rub a small amount of sake over the top.
Seal with a lid and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes, 30 minutes if you have time.
STEP
Preheat the grill
Nearly every Japanese home has a fish grill for dishes like saba no shioyaki or salted salmon. It’s like a grill oven or broiler and can be used in a similar way.
Before grilling fish, it is important to ensure the oven grill is well-preheated. 3-5 minutes on a medium-high to high heat setting is usually about enough time, although this can depend on your grill, and electric grills generally take longer. Be sure to thoroughly preheat before placing your fish under the heat source.
Placing fish on a cold grill takes longer to cook and causes the skin and flesh to stick to the grill. This can negatively affect the fish’s texture, ruin its appearance, and be annoying when it’s time to wash up.
Additionally, you can lightly oil the surface of the wire rack inside the grill oven to prevent the skin and meat from sticking.
STEP
Dry the mackerel
While the grill is preheating, pat the mackerel dry with kitchen paper on both sides.
STEP
Sprinkle salt
Sprinkle both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Sprinkling the salt from a height will help evenly distribute it over the surface and stop the salt from clumping together in one place.
STEP
Make incisions
Make 3 to 4 shallow, diagonal cuts on the skin side of the mackerel, being careful not to cut too deep.
STEP
Grill the flesh side first
Place the mackerel fillets on the grill with the skin side down and cook for 4 minutes. You might need to increase the time by a few minutes depending on the strength of your oven grill and the thickness of your fillets.
STEP
Flip and grill the skin side
Flip the mackerel fillets over and grill the skin side for 3 minutes or until lightly charred and crispy.
STEP
Plate up
Once done, place on serving plates and serve as you like! I recommend serving with a slice of sudachi (or citrus of your choice) for squeezing and grated daikon drizzled with a touch of soy sauce for a refreshing kick!
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Tips & Tricks
Japanese-style grilled mackerel is a simple dish that is easy to make. However, with just a few small tricks you can ensure your home-grilled saba no shioyaki is the best it can be!
- Choose the best mackerel: For the best result, choose mackerels with firm flesh, tight skin, and visible white fat lines.
- Use sake or salt to remove unwanted odor: To mitigate the fishy aroma of mackerel when cooking, you can either sprinkle salt to draw out excess water or rub with 1 tbsp of sake. After treating, let the fillets sit for at least 15 minutes (preferably 30), then pat dry with a paper towel.
- Be generous with heat: Using low heat for grilling fish can cause it to lose essential oils and flavor, yielding a dry mackerel. It’s best to grill on medium-high to high heat: 4 minutes on the flesh side and 3 minutes on the skin side. While I use a gas oven grill, remember that cooking times might differ based on your specific grill.
FAQ
Here are answers to frequently asked questions I have received across all platforms, including here, YouTube, and Pinterest. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to me anytime! It will be a big help for everyone in this community!
Will any Sake work or is a specific one recommended for flavor profile?
Pure rice sake (junmai shu) will be the best! Check out my sake post for more details.
Any alternative on sake?
Sake is a bonus measure to soften the odor and texture, so you can omit it completely if you prefer!
I have a 6 in 1 indoor grill, do you think I should use air fryer function or grill function or broil function, and what temperature or minutes?
I have no personal experience with this or similar products, so it will be a total guess, but I believe that the broil function might be the most suitable option. So, I cannot provide exact temperature and cooking time recommendations as well. However, as a reference, when cooking this type of fillet fish in a toaster oven, it is typically cooked at 220°C (428°F) for approximately 10 minutes.
What other types of wild-caught Japanese fish are good to cook this way? Is it a pain to clean the grill after?
Salmon, yellowtail, saury, and cod would be good options, and I have separate recipes for salmon and saury if interested. As for cleaning, it really depends on what type of grill you use, but if you have one like in this video, it’s not hard to clean up.
How to Store
For grilled fish, freezing preserves moisture, preventing dryness. To store, while still warm, tightly wrap the fish in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag, expelling air before sealing.
This way, it will keep up to a month.
To reheat, unwrap the frozen mackerel, sprinkle a tablespoon of water per slice, and microwave at 500W for about two minutes per fillet.
Storage summary
Room temperature – Not recommended.
Refrigerated – Not recommended.
Frozen – Up to a month.
I hope you enjoy this Saba no Shioyaki recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers.Thank you!
More Japanese Fish Recipes
- Shiozake(Japanese Salted Breakfast Salmon)
- Miso Glazed Salmon(pan fried)
- Sanma no Shioyaki(Grilled Pacific Saury)
- Sakana no Nitsuke(Japanese simmered fish)
Saba no Shioyaki (Japanese Style Grilled Mackerel)
5 from 6 votes
By Yuto Omura
Saba no Shioyaki is a simple yet delicious dish made with beautifully grilled mackerel fillets seasoned with salt. The perfectly crispy skin and tender flesh will allow you to enjoy the taste of fresh mackerel to the full!
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time7 minutes mins
Total Time22 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 2 portions
Calories 218
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 7 minutes mins
Total Time: 22 minutes mins
Course: Breakfast, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 2 portions
Calories: 218
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 mackerel fillets skin-on
- 1 tbsp sake
- salt
- 1 wedge sudachi optional
- grated daikon radish (daikon oroshi) optional
Instructions
Wash 2 mackerel fillets under cold running water and place them in a container. Pour1 tbsp sakeover the surface and rub it over both sides.
Cover the container and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes, 30 minutes if you have time.
Once rested, remove the mackerel from the fridge and preheat your oven grill or broiler on a medium-high/high setting.
Dry the surface of the mackerel with kitchen paper on both sides.
Sprinkle a generous pinch of salt from a height on each side, this will help evenly distribute it.
Make 3 shallow, diagonal incisions on the skin of the mackerel.
Place the fillets on the grill with the skin side down and cook for 4 minutes. (Exact time might vary depending on the strength of your oven grill and the thickness of your fish.)
Flip over and grill the other side for 3 minutes.
Serve each portion 1 wedge sudachi and grated daikon radish drizzled with a dash of soy sauce (optional).
Enjoy!
Video
Keyword Japanese grilled mackerel, Japanese mackerel, Japanese salted mackerel recipe, saba no shioyaki
Notes
Serving suggestion: I usually enjoy this dish with Japanese rice, pickles and miso soup. It can also be served in bento boxes.
Nutrition
Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.5g | Protein: 18.3g | Fat: 12.8g | Saturated Fat: 4.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.6g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 234mg
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