Smoked mackerel mousse is an extremely simple and quick dish to make.  Especially if you are not into smoking of food products yourself.  So for this recipe we use store bought smoked mackerel.

The only two other ingredients you need are creme fraiche (or soured cream) and fresh dill weed.

Voila, it is that simple!

The art of making smoked mackerel mousse

In essence this is a very quick and simple recipe. Before, I have experimented with making a bechamel sauce and then combining that with the smoked mackerel pieces and whipped cream and dill.  Although certainly acceptable, I find the combination of soured cream and smoked fish yielding the best taste and moreover is the easiest to make.  Cream allows for the delicate smoked flavor of the fish to come through. Do use salt or even pepper sparingly.

Ensure that the smoked fish is cut into smaller pieces and check for any bones that may have remained. Use so much creme fraiche or soured cream that the mixture is pretty stiff, not very fluid. This may mean to take 2 parts fish and 1 part cream.

Wash and dry the dill weed and remove any stems. Then cut it very fine and mix with the fish/cream mixture.

Special equipment

none

smoked mackerel mousse©️ Nel Brouwer-van den Bergh

Smoked mackerel mousse

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Dutch, English, Scandinavian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the mousse

  • 6 oz (170 g) warm smoked mackerel
  • 3-4 oz (85-110 g) creme fraiche or soured cream
  • 1/2 bunch fresh dill weed
  • a few drops lemon juice (optional)

Instructions
 

Making the mousse

  • Wash the dill weed and dry it in a herb centrifuge. take the leaves from the stems and cut the leaves fine. Discard the stems
  • Take the smoked mackerel and make it lose with a fork or knife. Check carefully if there are any remaining bones in the smoked flesh.
  • To the smoked mackerel pieces add spoon by spoon the creme fraiche and mix vigorously with a fork. Make it a smooth mousse, although small chunks of mackerel are fine to remain
  • Mix in the dill weed and mix again
  • For best results let the mixture rest for a half day. Any resting time will benefit the taste.

Notes

Method: no heat treatment
Food allergy & intolerance information: fish
Keyword creme fraiche, dill weed, mackerel, smoked, soured cream

Remarks

  1. You can save the mixture in the refrigerator for up to three days
  2. Delicious on rye bread or lavash crackers
  3. The intense deeply smoked taste of the mackerel does very well with the neutral creamy taste of the cream. The acidity helps the fish taste come out. A similar dish with smoked salmon is possible. But smoked salmon thinly sliced does very well by itself on toast too.

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