Grilled King Mackerel on a Cedar Plank

This grilled king mackerel recipe starts with a very special trip. My youngest son loves to fish. A few weeks ago while on vacation at the coast we decided to book our first deep-sea fishing trip. We had friends down with us and the kids were crazy excited about it, as were the adults.

The owners of Fish Witch Charters are a father-son operation out of Carolina Beach, NC, with over thirty-plus years of experience. Highly recommended and referred to us by a friend of my wife. After planning this first experience for the kids, the owner Captain Shane called the day before our trip to let us know that other Captains were catching King Mackerel. He asked if we would want to go out and fish for Mackerel. Per his advice, we agreed, and the next morning we headed 13 miles off the coast of North Carolina for six hours to catch King Mackerel.

Not long after getting about ten miles offshore, we reeled in our first of nine King Mackerel. Each of these fish weighed six to eight pounds each. After they were filleted they made a nice size piece of fish to grill. Needless to say, my son had an absolutely great time and is ready to go back out again!

One point about my experience chartering a fishing boat… it was really first class. The first mate took excellent care of us. To the point where my son asked, “is reeling in the fish all we get to do?” After that question, he was quickly helping the first mate bait the hooks and run the lines. He wanted in on the action!

Once we returned the first mate cleaned and filleted the fish for us. He then bagged them up in Ziploc bags and we were on our way. The result was four one-gallon bags of King Mackerel.

The following night while still at the coast we baked a few fillets just to try them out. They were delicious! What you see here in this post is how I grilled the king mackerel fillets once we got home. You will notice that the recipe is very simple. The king mackerel is such a fresh and clean tasting fish, there is no need to over-do a recipe in an attempt to hide a fishy flavor. There is none of that fishy taste with king mackerel.

For this grilled king mackerel catch and cook, I used Kingsford Applewood charcoal on the Weber Kettle grill. Prior to grilling, you will want to soak your cedar plank in water for about two hours. Using the Weber Charcoal Chimney starter, light the charcoal and let it burn down for about fifteen minutes. While the charcoal is heating up, take the king mackerel with the skin side down and place as many pieces as you can on the soaked cedar plank. If you have a lot of fish to cook just use two or more cedar planks to hold your fish.

Once the fish are placed, use a dry rub for a little flavor. You can certainly use any fish rub or just salt and pepper. I used an organic lemon, garlic & chive rub from Seeds of Change. Give the fish a good covering of the rub and then top with sliced lemon.

Place the hot charcoals in an indirect heat position on the grill. I use the Weber charcoal trays and place them to the far left and far right on the charcoal grate leaving the center of the grill area for the cedar plank of fish.

Place the plank on the grill and remember you will not have to flip or turn the fish at all. Given the filets are sitting on the cedar plank, it will take a little longer for the king mackerel to cook. I let these cook for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Grilled King Mackerel is so tender and flaky you certainly don’t want to overcook it. Once the fish is cooked to temperature or nice and white in the middle… take them off the grill.

Once off the grill squeeze the juice from the lemons onto the filets. The citrus of the lemon and hint of sweet smoke from the cedar plank and applewood charcoal is simple and perfect for this fish.

Grilled King Mackerel on Cedar Plank

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