Fish Skin Crisp, Tempus No.8 Crumb & Mayonnaise, Mackerel & Beans


To celebrate the continuing roll-out of Tempus No.8 Chef and Tempus Co-Founder, Tom Whitaker has created this bite sized dish to showcase the versatility of No.8 - in this case with fish. Pork and seafood are a classic combination and here Tom brings flavours, processes and textures into play to deliver balance, fun and great flavours.

 

FISH SKIN CRISP, NO.8 CRUMB & MAYONNAISE, KONRO SMOKED MACKEREL, CHIVES AND BROAD BEANS

Fish skin crisp, No.8 crumb and mayonnaise, mackerel, chives & beans

  • Light oil (in this case we used a fennel infused pomace oil)

  • 1 egg yolk

  • Quarter of a lemon

  • English mustard

  • Coarse rock Salt

  • Malden salt

  • 100g frozen broad beans (blanch in hot water for 3 minutes and pod)

  • Fresh chives

  • 100g Tempus No.8

  • 1 mackerel filleted and boned

  • Panko bread crumbs

  • Brown sugar

  • Mirin

  • 2 Fish skins from whole fillets (we use salmon here but you can use other skins as long as they are quite strong)

  • Sunflower oil

Method:

  • The fish skin crisps are made by dehydrating skins overnight in a dehydrator or oven at 50c. The following day they should be hard and can be stored indefinitely in an airtight container. At Tempus we also cold smoke the dehydrated skins for an extra layer of flavour, but it will work perfectly well without the smoking phase.

  • The mackerel can be made the day prior and will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge. Turn the fillets flesh side up on a tray and generously sprinkle with rock salt and brown sugar, place into the fridge for one hour to cure – then wash off the cure and pat dry. Leave in the fridge for a further hour until ready to use.

  • You can hot smoke them using various methods. I use a Konro grill with wet beech wood on the coals with the fillets placed to the side of the heat to cook slowly and take the smoke. I covered the grill with the lid of kettle bbq to keep the smoke. A normal kettle bbq would work equally well but ensure the fillets are not directly over the heat otherwise they will cook to quickly. Once firm and nicely smokey they can be reserved – don’t over-smoke or over-cook as they will become dry.

  • Gently warm the No.8 in a pan on a medium heat with a 40ml of light oil (we used the infused fennel oil here) until it melts and the salami renders to a crumbly texture.

  • Pass through a jay cloth lined sieve, reserving both crumbs and oil.

  • Mix the crumbs with 25g of panko and a few teaspoons of the oil to make the crumb - reserve.

  • Whisk the egg yolk and mustard together, add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of Maldon salt. Continuously whisk the mixture whilst adding a steady stream of the No.8 oil until a thick mayo is achieved. Add more lemon or salt to season and reserve.

  • Heat cooking oil in a pan to 180c then submerge the pieces of fish skin under the oil using a sieve or perforated spoon – cook them for 2 minutes and then place them on kitchen roll to dry and cool.

  • To serve – squeeze two or three dots of the mayo onto the skin crisp. Top with flakes of smoked mackerel, garnish with chives and broad beans. Finish with no.8 crumb.