# Eating King Mackerel



## Kenn (Dec 24, 2012)

I just read an article about Kings have high mercury content. Also they are not a very tasty fish.
Is this true?


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## jasoncooperpcola (Jan 2, 2008)

Personally I wont eat them. I think I'd rather eat a box of squid. Since they are higher up on the food chain yes they have more mercury.


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## LUNDY (Aug 23, 2012)

high mercury yes, but what fish isnt. asking an entire forum on taste of a fish is gonna just confuse you more. its a personal thing. i myself like it smoked, and made into smoked king dip.


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## Fairwaterfishing (Mar 17, 2009)

I would rather eat a box of squid too there quite good. Kings are fine eat them fresh and don't over cook them, the big ones have all the mercury the small schoolers are fine.


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

jasoncooperpcola said:


> Personally I wont eat them. I think I'd rather eat a box of squid. Since they are higher up on the food chain yes they have more mercury.


 
Fried Calamari........yum........ or on the grill with a little garlic salt.


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## MULLET HUNTER (Oct 3, 2007)

I classify king mackerel just like I do, white trout, amber jack, blue fish, and Spanish..... They are all trash fish in my book and I ain't eating them again...


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## richm0nd (Apr 17, 2013)

x2 to the mackerel dip, make it spicy and you're in business.


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## richm0nd (Apr 17, 2013)

MULLET HUNTER said:


> I classify king mackerel just like I do, white trout, amber jack, blue fish, and Spanish..... They are all trash fish in my book and I ain't eating them again...


wow


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## stauty trout (Jul 19, 2012)

Fresh King fried isn't too shabby, or like Lundy said Smoked is pretty good. Mullet though, Come on man fresh White trout fried is just as good as speck.. doesn't keep well and I love some amberjack I'll take any of them you don't want!.. As for the Blues and spanish though they're all yours!


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## Fishermon (Oct 19, 2007)

if you eat mc donalds, bk, drink, smoke, etc..youd be fine eating king macks :thumbsup:


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## TOBO (Oct 3, 2007)

Smoke um if you got um.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

LUNDY said:


> high mercury yes, but what fish isnt. asking an entire forum on taste of a fish is gonna just confuse you more. its a personal thing. i myself like it smoked, and made into smoked king dip.


Smoked king dip is fine now! Runs circles around any tuna dip. 

Fun fact, Cobia have a higher average mercury level than king mackerel.

Sent from my LG G2X using Forum Runner


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## Kenn (Dec 24, 2012)

well then I guess my next question should be how about Spanish Mackerel?


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## swhiting (Oct 4, 2007)

MULLET HUNTER said:


> I classify king mackerel just like I do, white trout, amber jack, blue fish, and Spanish..... They are all trash fish in my book and I ain't eating them again...


I find some irony here that your name is MULLET HUNTER.

I'm assuming if you hunt mullet, you eat mullet.

But, you won't eat a king, white trout (because they're way worse than specs), amber jack, (I'm gonna give you blue fish...) and Spanish????

(Just poking fun MULLET....)

OP, try them smoked (my favorite way in a dip), try them fried, try them grilled with some Italian seasoning. Find out for yourself.

I do suggest trying a schoolie though. Just like a lot of fish, the bigger ones are fun to catch, but the smaller ones are better tasting, and may be better for you because of the mercury content, as stated.


:thumbup:


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## PJIII (Oct 29, 2011)

I still can't y'all eat mullet over here!! I've grilled kings and they taste great. Also I love white trout and have know problem freezing them. It's all how you handle them!!


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

I don't eat King but I enjoy fresh Spanish.....Mullet Hunter I could cook you a piece of AJ up that you would like, it's all in how you handle and prepare it!


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## Kenn (Dec 24, 2012)

so I am coming down June 22-30 and fishing around the Massachusetts. I am looking forward to King fishing.
But what can I look forward to catching to take back home and eat? I'll defineatly try some King and spanish also.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

I stopped eating mackerel when I had a big fish fry and fried mangrove and red snapper along with king and spanish. Compared to the snapper the mackerel was all but inedible. Havnt eaten them since and I dont think Im missing a thing!


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## fishboy (Oct 6, 2007)

There is nothing wrong with kings, I personally keep them under 35". Clean them properly ie) no blood line left, and they are excellent. I fillet them and after removing the blood line you get two tenderloins per side. Grilled, fried, or smoked there are not to many ways to mess them up, they have firm meat that cooks up very white and it stands up to many different seasonings.


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## swhiting (Oct 4, 2007)

JD7.62 said:


> I stopped eating mackerel when I had a big fish fry and fried mangrove and red snapper along with king and spanish. Compared to the snapper the mackerel was all but inedible. Havnt eaten them since and I dont think Im missing a thing!


That's why you don't hear people invite you over for steak and hot dogs or Italian food with Indian food. I love a good hot dog, but next to a ribeye.. come on man. Don't let your palette know. It's like looking at all the tv's at Sams. Yes some look a lot better than others, but you ain't gonna have 30 others on your wall at home for comparison..... :yes:


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## salt-life (Feb 20, 2012)

swhiting said:


> That's why you don't hear people invite you over for steak and hot dogs or Italian food with Indian food. I love a good hot dog, but next to a ribeye.. come on man. Don't let your palette know. It's like looking at all the tv's at Sams. Yes some look a lot better than others, but you ain't gonna have 30 others on your wall at home for comparison..... :yes:


+1!!!!


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Kings -keeper size, up to 15 or so pounds. Filet, cut out the bloodline, marinate in Dale's and Zesty Italian dressing while you are starting your charcoal. Spray your baskets with Pam, grill 'em up, serve with some rice. Pretty good to me.


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## feelin' wright (Oct 7, 2007)

Smoked King dip is probably my favorite thing to do with them. Just remember to brine them (or marinate in dales) before smoking.


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## devinsdad (Mar 31, 2010)

jcasey said:


> Kings -keeper size, up to 15 or so pounds. Filet, cut out the bloodline, marinate in Dale's and Zesty Italian dressing while you are starting your charcoal. Spray your baskets with Pam, grill 'em up, serve with some rice. Pretty good to me.


Maybe with some onion slices on top while grillin.... A few squeezes of lemon juice also adds to the taste. YUM!


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## Caddy Yakker (May 21, 2011)

Yes kings are very high in mercury, higher than most fish the same size. I worked for a lab that test fish for methyl mercury for 5 yrs.


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## SouthAlabamaSlayer (Oct 13, 2011)

King is a cheap and amazing substitute for crab in West Indies salad or crab cakes. Boil it in crab boil and it's hard to tell the difference once mixed with the other ingredients. I hate them cooked any other way, too fishy. I LOVE Spanish grilled, though. But hey, what do I know? AJ is in my top three fish in the ocean to eat.


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## Austin (Sep 30, 2007)

To cook kings normally (other than smoking or making a dip) try cutting the filet's in half (making them thinner, not shorter pieces) and then marinating or frying, or whatever you normally do. Thinning out the meat allows it to be more susceptible to seasonings and such.


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## afishanado (Oct 26, 2009)

This is one of my favorite ways to cooks kings.

Fillet the king and cut into bite sized chunks.
Get pot of crab boil(old bay is great) going and I make it strong.
Drop the chunks into the boiling water and when after 3-5 minutes scoop them out and dip in drawn butter. Honestly it is not too bad at all.

Just don't over-cook it or it will fall apart.


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

I eat them occasionally. Maybe once a year.

After they are cleaned and chunked with no blood line I throw them in a zip lock with Louisiana Hot Sauce. When they are fried the taste is awesome and no heat from the sauce. This is probably the only fish I ever fry.


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## flukedaddy (Apr 11, 2009)

King balls on the smoker, butter lemon and seasoning of choice. once maybe twice a year. Never tried the dips but after all the talk figured I hit that up this year.

Not to derail but what about gar? I saw a nice one the other night in the sound. Had reservations on what I would do with him. I do remember the ole crazy dudes on swamp people eatin dem gars. Are they worth a dam?


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## Bduv (Nov 20, 2007)

I dont eat them grilled or fried anymore, but smoked kings are awesome. Use it in dip or freeze it in small packs (+/-1lb) and take it for snacks on long fishing trips.

I try to cut the gills to bleed the ones that I keep. It makes the blood line much smaller and the meat is almost white instead of the normal grey color. Much better eatin in my opinion.

Bryan


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## Cracker (May 15, 2012)

PJIII said:


> I still can't y'all eat mullet over here!! I've grilled kings and they taste great. Also I love white trout and have know problem freezing them. It's all how you handle them!!


 I'd rather have fried mullet then I had snapper or any other fish for that matter.


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## jasoncooperpcola (Jan 2, 2008)

I love fried mullet. Really king is the only fish i do not like. But my absolute favorites are redfish, mingo snapper, and triggerfish.


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## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

jasoncooperpcola said:


> I love fried mullet. Really king is the only fish i do not like. But my absolute favorites are redfish, mingo snapper, and triggerfish.


Man next time I smoke a fresh king if I remember ill shoot you a message and give you a little to try. All I can say is that it is UNREAL. Ask PFF members SNATCH IT,DRAGONSLAYER AND ONEMORECAST!! UNREAL!


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## flex (Feb 26, 2013)

fish taste is a personal thing and it changes over time. I personally love spanish mackerel, perhaps my favorite fish to eat aside from whiting.. if you are wondering just keep 1 fish and try it out, if you like it then keep more next time. example i kept a hardtail one time and ate it and decided pretty quickly that i would never keep them again lol. 

the higher up a fish is on the food chain the more mercury. since i'm assuming you aren't eating fish everyday then you will be fine. the bigger threat is buying farm raised fish from the store full of hormones.


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## Chet88 (Feb 20, 2008)

Fresh King with blood line cut out and chunked. Toss the chunks in French's Yellow Mustard until covered. Batter in your standard fish fry. Drop in hot grease and get ready to slap yo momma.


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Lay the King on its side and make cuts from back to belly about 1 inch apart. The whole length should have slits all the way from head to tail. Put your fingers in a cut and "punch" the "balls" (tenderloins) out. There will be no blood line at all. If you broil them with butter brushed on they will be a little stronger tasting and called "poor mans lobster". Batter with whatever and drop till it floats, and no one will be able to tell you what it is. Usually only tastes like what you season it with.:thumbup:


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

This is why I have always heard "saltwater is for fishing - freshwater is for eating". Can't help but wonder what kind of "fish meat" mullet hunter likes


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## Okuma (Jun 25, 2011)

Fresh Mullet fillets and backbones are by far my favorite! Mullet gizzards are awesome! A lot of people don't eat them but if you clean them just right they are awesome!


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## MULLET HUNTER (Oct 3, 2007)

Try'n Hard said:


> This is why I have always heard "saltwater is for fishing - freshwater is for eating". Can't help but wonder what kind of "fish meat" mullet hunter likes


Favorite is probably swordfish, then fried mullet, snapper, redfish, tuna, wahoo, escolar, scamp/grouper, sheepshead, bluegill, crappie, catfish "freshwater", flounder is up there, Cobia, raw oysters, mussels, frogs, and crawfish..... Not a fan of specks, but I will eat them from time to time... White trout are spoiled about the time they break the surface of the water, amberjack and them tail worms don't do it for me either...

I have eaten all of the fish I mentioned, just some I won't eat again... I guess I would try some smoked king dip, I had it fried and I will never try it again...


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## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

lastcast said:


> Lay the King on its side and make cuts from back to belly about 1 inch apart. The whole length should have slits all the way from head to tail. Put your fingers in a cut and "punch" the "balls" (tenderloins) out. There will be no blood line at all. If you broil them with butter brushed on they will be a little stronger tasting and called "poor mans lobster". Batter with whatever and drop till it floats, and no one will be able to tell you what it is. Usually only tastes like what you season it with.:thumbup:


We do wahoo like this also!! WAHOO BALLS!!!


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## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

MULLET HUNTER said:


> Favorite is probably swordfish, then fried mullet, snapper, redfish, tuna, wahoo, escolar, scamp/grouper, sheepshead, bluegill, crappie, catfish "freshwater", flounder is up there, Cobia, raw oysters, mussels, frogs, and crawfish..... Not a fan of specks, but I will eat them from time to time... White trout are spoiled about the time they break the surface of the water, amberjack and them tail worms don't do it for me either...
> 
> I have eaten all of the fish I mentioned, just some I won't eat again... I guess I would try some smoked king dip, I had it fried and I will never try it again...


J I make dip and man it's bad to the bone! I'm not a big fish fan.....if I get a fishy bite while eating IM DONE! I know,I know it's fish. I can eat smoked king dip all day any day!!


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