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1
Remove the guts, gills, and head (see photo).
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2
Very fresh mackerel still has scales, so remove them too.
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3
Filet the fish and remove the backbone.
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4
Be as thorough as possible in removing any fine bones using fish bone tweezers.
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5
You could also remove the fine bones just before eating, if you prefer.
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6
If you remove the bones while you're slicing the fish to serve, the fish will be easier to eat.
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7
Salt the fish with a generous amount of natural salt.
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8
Arrange the fillets in a single layer on a tray or plate, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
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9
If you chill for for too long, the flesh will become tough.
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10
If moisture is produced from the fish as shown in the Step 4 photo, that's good!
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11
Leave the tray or plate tilted slightly, so that he fish won't be sitting in the liquid that is produced, making it tastier (see photo).
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12
Rinse the salt from the mackerel.
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13
You could use plain water, but rinsing with sake or vinegar is the real way to do it!
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14
But in fact, this might not change the flavor much!
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15
When the salt is rinsed off, be sure to thoroughly blot the fish dry (this part is critical).
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16
Put 300 ml vinegar, 100 ml mirin and 5 teaspoons sugar in a freezer bag and dissolve well.
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17
Add the mackerel from Step 5 to the bag, and let marinate for 5-15 hours.
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18
The key is to eliminate as much air as possible from the bag.
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19
If you aren't going to eat the fish right away, remove it from the marinade, wrap it in plastic wrap; it should keep for 2 days in the refrigerator!
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20
To eat, peel off the skin starting from the head side.
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21
Do this carefully so that you don't rip the flesh!
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22
You can do this easily with your bare hands.
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23
Cut or slice as you like!
