Mackerel rillettes
This recipe for mackerel rillettes (or potted mackerel) starts with poaching the fish. The flesh is then taken off the bones and forked into a seasoned mixture of butter, mustard, cream and lemon juice.
In France this is traditionally eaten as an aperitif snack, served on small slices of toast.
In France this is traditionally eaten as an aperitif snack, served on small slices of toast.
54 K 3/5 (5 reviews)
1 hour
Easy
900 g
10 IngredientsLast modified on: June 19th 2019
6 mackerel
3 tablespoons 
210 g 
6 tablespoons 
3 tablespoons Mustard
6 tablespoons lemon juice
chive flowers (optional)
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 40 min.
Cooking: 20 min.
All in all: 1 hour
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1
Ask your fishmonger to prepare 6 mackerel for you: cleaned and the head cut off.
Stage 2 - 3 min.
Rinse thoroughly under cold running water, then put in a large pan of cold water with 3 tablespoons coarse salt.
Stage 3 - 20 min.
Put on low heat and poach gently at a simmer for about 10 minutes.
Ideally, check the temperature of the fish flesh with an electronic thermometer. It will be cooked once the centre of the thickest part reaches 122°F (50°C).
Ideally, check the temperature of the fish flesh with an electronic thermometer. It will be cooked once the centre of the thickest part reaches 122°F (50°C).
Stage 4 - 30 min.
Remove the mackerel from the poaching water and leave to cool, then take all the flesh off the bones and discard the rest (skin, bones, etc.).
Unfortunately, there's no getting away from it: this is a long and tedious job.
Put all the boned flesh into a bowl.
Unfortunately, there's no getting away from it: this is a long and tedious job.
Put all the boned flesh into a bowl.
Stage 5 - 5 min.
Stage 6 - 2 min.
Mix well with a fork.
Check the seasoning. Transfer into jars and leave overnight, at least, in the fridge.
Check the seasoning. Transfer into jars and leave overnight, at least, in the fridge.
Stage 7
When you want to serve your rilletes, toast some slices of bread (rounds of French baguette here).
Stage 8
Spread the rillettes generously on the toast and decorate, if you like, with a few chive flowers. Then enjoy!
Remarks
Do feel free to vary either the ingredients or the amounts in this recipe. The general spirit of it is: poached mackerel flesh, a little butter and/or cream, herbs and spices of your choice, plus a hint of acidity (normally lemon juice, but vingar or white wine will also work).
For a tastier version, poach the mackerel in a fish stock, rather than salted water.
For a tastier version, poach the mackerel in a fish stock, rather than salted water.
Keeping: A few days in the fridge, in a sealed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 470 RDI=180 % | 30 RDI=2 % | 410 RDI=60 % | 5,640 RDI=280 % | 23,600 RDI: 280 % |
| Per 100 g | 20 RDI=7 % | 0 | 20 RDI=2 % | 220 RDI=10 % | 920 RDI: 10 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 900 g : 8.90 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Butter
Like these other recipes: Lemon tart, Moist Lemon Cake, Shortbread tart with sweet apricots and rosemary, Chicken breasts in a potato crust, Cramique, ... See them all 461
Cream
Like these other recipes: Elsa's Comtoise galette, Caesar salad, Spicy roast cauliflower gratin, Mushroom buckwheat pancakes, Hearty leek and sprout soup, ... See them all 114
Mackerel
Like these other recipes: Mackerel Fillets in White Wine, ... See them all 1
Lemon juice
Like these other recipes: Rémoulette of celeriac, Pea and avocado salad, Strawberry, kiwi and mascarpone verrines, Chocolate mousse, Tender tuna, ... See them all 72
Other recipes you may also like
Crème brulée
Crème brûlée (burned cream) is quite easy to prepare: it's a simple egg-cream dessert. The only difficulty is in making the delicious crunchy caramel layer on top. The perfect crème brulée (for me) is a cold and soft cream, with on top a nice hot caramel crust. This is a completely new version...December 31th 20111.66 M 74.3 4 hours 40 min.
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site.September 16th 2020526 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
Bouquet garni
Used very frequently in French cuisine, a secret of French chefs, it adds flavour to a lot of recipes, and it's easy to prepare. The basic principle is to make a small bundle of herbs, bind them in green leek leaves and to tie it up, so that the whole thing can be removed and discarded easily after...March 21th 2017416 K3.5 15 min.
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline.June 21th 2017463 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
How to cook Morteau sausage well
This is, in my opinion, the best smoked sausage. You can cook it in a number of ways, here are three of the best known.November 15th 20182.76 M 23.4 40 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-04-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.