Mackerel is a classic among traditional Breton and Portuguese canned foods.
Mackerel, a blue fish with zebra stripes, has tender flesh that is preserved in cans until opened, where it reveals all its richness.
The mackerel from our suppliers are prepared by hand, thus retaining their delicacy.
A can of mackerel is sometimes overlooked in favor of sardines, although it offers just as many flavors and preparation options. In a can, it is easy to transport and is ideal for a quick lunch or a spontaneous aperitif in summer.
Mackerel - good for body and mind
Our mackerel are caught using a purse seine net. This is a device that operates in "open water". The fishermen use an Hecho sounder to locate the schools of fish and lower the purse seine net to the desired depth. The purse seine net never touches the seabed.
Mackerel is a schooling fish that lives in huge, very compact schools. Mackerel, distinguished by its slender body, its varied and iridescent colors with a blue back, green zebra pattern, pearly white belly and white sides, lives on the continental shelf from the surface down to a depth of 200 m. As a migratory fish, its habitat extends from Galicia to the Norwegian coast. It migrates through the Bay of Biscay, the Celtic Sea, the English Channel, the North Sea, as well as through the waters of the St. George's Channel and West Ireland.
It is one of the main products of fish canning factories, as fillets, marinated, escabeche, in tomato sauce or even as rillettes. Mackerel is a fish with a distinctive, pronounced taste and firm flesh, and is therefore easy to prepare.
The major catches begin in Europe in August in the Norwegian Sea, in early September in the English Channel, and in January, February and March around Scotland, Ireland and the Celtic Sea between Brittany and the south coast of Ireland.
The mackerel from our suppliers are fished in the Celtic Sea around Scotland and Ireland and landed in the port of Dingle or Killybegs.
Dingle Harbor is something like the heart of the town! It is the reason the rest of the village can live from tourism, fishing and local gastronomy! Dingle Harbor is visited first for its charm, its atmosphere, for the constant coming and going of the fishing boats...
Killybegs Harbor is the largest fishing port in the county and Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, in the north of Donegal Bay, near the town of Donegal. Killybegs is a natural deep-sea port with a huge tidal range of 12 meters.
Know-how, filleting, canning
The headed and gutted mackerel are washed and placed in flat grills to cook. The mackerel are cooked in a court-bouillon, prepared with a bouquet garni, onions and carrots, at a precisely specified temperature and for a specified duration. As soon as the mackerel have cooled, they are filleted with scissors by the experienced and skilled female employees of our canning factory and hand-packed together.
Trimming the mackerel is a skill for which the female workers need 3 to 6 months of training and practice to obtain "clean fillets and beautiful cans". The garnishing completes the production of our recipe for mackerel fillets, marinated with Muscadet and tomatoes: they are carefully placed by hand into each can of mackerel. The lemon slice, the slice of gherkin, the small piece of chili and finally the peppercorn intertwine their aromas with each other to give our recipe its full character.
The final touch:
The sauces are prepared by the same female workers during canning and poured over the fillets before sealing.
