Description
Ingredients: Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), olive oil, salt
Ramón Peña Small Atlantic Horse Mackerel in Olive Oil, Gold Line
$12.50
Mackerel belongs to the Scombridae family, while horse mackerel belongs to the Carangidae family. It is smaller than other mackerel and has a lighter flavor.
The name horse mackerel comes from the old Dutch word Horsmakreel. This means a mackerel that spawns on a ‘hors’, which is a shallow area in the sea or a bank. The English took the name and called the fish horse mackerel.
130g tin
Pictured in sri lankan stir fry with bell peppers, green beans, onions, and carrots.
In stock
Reviews
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Jeff (verified owner) –
At any given time I have just as many tins of mackerel on hand as I do sardines. I love mackerel – it’s my favorite sushi/sashimi and some of my favorite tins are mackerel. Before getting this tin, I had only had tinned mackerel filets, never the whole (small) fish.
Some of the best sardines I’ve tried have come from Ramón Peña, so when I saw these horse mackerel from them I knew I had to try them.
Opening the tin started the comparison journey to my experience with sardines and mackerel filets, well, maybe I should say jump started the journey, as immediately I caught a firm, unique aroma. Not unpleasant, not cloying, but new, different.
Pulling the fish out found them to seem fairly stout, holding together fairly well despite the manhandling necessary to extract them from their tight quarters.
Keeping with my tradition of always trying the first bite straight from the tin I dove right in. At first bite this horse mackerel is a bit firm, maybe it’s better to say dense, though the flesh does flake easily – it has a nice bite, a nice chew to it. I also noticed the spine a bit – which is often easy to miss in sardines – I wouldn’t say I noticed the spine at every bite, but it was there. On the palate, this has a somewhat forward taste – it is a bit more forward than many of the tinned mackerel filets I’ve tried. The rest of the tin is a bit of a blur – a bit more unadulterated bites, a bit of sourdough toast, some crackers, some Espinaler sauce…
If you’re a tinned fish aficionado and want to check off another box, this should be on your list. If you want an experience in a tin, this one will give you that. If you’re going to spend a bit on a premium tin, Ramón Peña is one of the names to go with.