NURI Mackerel Fillets in spicy olive oil. Skinless and boneless mackerel with chili, gherkin, and bay leaf – the spicy tin that requires no picking.
NURI Mackerel Fillets in spicy olive oil are Atlantic mackerel fillets, steam-cooked, de-skinned and de-boned, and hand-packed in olive oil, accompanied by two percent chili, gherkin, carrot, clove, pepper, and bay leaf – 125g tin with 90g of fish. No chili oil from a bottle, no extract: the heat comes from the chili pepper included in the tin.
NURI Mackerel Fillets in spicy olive oil are the answer to two desires that are usually contradictory: spicy and simple. For those who find skin and bones a struggle with the spicy sardines, here you get the same chili, the same pickled vegetables, and the same olive oil – on clean fillets that fall apart with a fork. We find the spicy mackerel is ordered slightly more often than the mild version, and we suspect: for precisely this reason.
Soft flesh, warm heat, bay leaf in the background
Mackerel is a softer, milder tinned fish than the sardine, and the chili gives it what it otherwise lacks: an edge. The heat is warm and fruity; it arrives after the fish and lingers briefly – more of an after-impression than a burn. Clove and bay leaf give the oil a spicy depth, while gherkin and carrot are included in the tin as pickled vegetables and taste exactly like that.
The fillets are light with a dark stripe; they flake into large pieces and remain succulent in the oil. The oil is slightly reddish and tastes of chili – if you drizzle it on bread, you'll experience the heat even before the first piece of fish.
This tin is not suitable for those who want the heat purely on its own – the pickled vegetables are part of the recipe and are visibly present in the tin. If you prefer your mackerel mild, choose the Mackerel Fillets in Olive Oil. And if you want even more heat, you will only find it in the sardines, specifically the Sardines in extra spicy olive oil.
On bread with butter, in salads and bowls, in the pan
Bread, butter, mackerel, a slice of the gherkin from the tin – that is the simple supper this tin was made for. The butter softens the heat, the gherkin provides acidity. A squeeze of lemon if you like; pepper is unnecessary.
In a salad, spicy mackerel replaces tuna and chili at the same time: potato salad with green beans and egg, using the chili oil from the tin for the dressing. In a bowl with rice, avocado, cucumber, and sesame, it is the piece of fish with a kick. Served warm, it pairs well with fried potatoes, which you can sauté in the oil from the tin, or with pasta tossed with garlic, lemon zest, and parsley – add the mackerel only at the end and just warm it through.
One tin is enough for a supper for two; you'll need two for a salad for four. And if you open the tin to go with a beer, a little bread, butter, and a few radishes make a dinner that’s ready in five minutes and looks like much more.
Do not cook it – the fillet will disintegrate when heated and become dry, and the chili will turn bitter. Only warm it up or use it cold.
Our tip: Mash two fillets and mix with cream cheese, lime juice, and cilantro – a spicy mackerel spread for tacos, flatbread, or Sunday breakfast.
Mackerel and piri-piri from Matosinhos, handmade since 1920
NURI is produced by Pinhais & C.ª in Matosinhos, the fishing port of Porto, 500 meters from the Atlantic. The factory has been operating using the same method since 1920: only fresh fish, placed in brine, steam-cooked, then de-skinned and de-boned and placed into the tin by hand, piece by piece. For the spicy variety, the chili pepper, gherkin, carrot, bay leaf, and clove are added by hand before the olive oil is poured in.
The recipe is the same as for the spicy sardines – only the fish is different. And because the chili pepper continues to infuse while in the tin, the product tends to get spicier rather than milder over time; if you forget it in the cupboard for a year, you’ll get a more pronounced version.
Ultimately, this tin is also wrapped by hand in paper featuring a design that dates back to the 1930s. The tins reach Germany via the importer Maritime Zeitkapseln from Hanau.
The spicy tin for those who want it bone-free
Spicy mackerel is the tin for people who love spicy food and previously only knew tinned fish as tuna. It is the perfect tin for a lunchtime bowl, for supper with a beer, or for a pantry staple that lasts for years. And it is the tin we recommend to customers who like the spicy sardines but prefer using a fork rather than their fingers at the table.
It is available together with the mild mackerel fillets and the two tomato-based sardines in our Mackerel & Sardine Tasting Pack. You can find all other varieties on our NURI page.
This tin is not suitable for children or for those who generally avoid chili – the heat is mild, but it is definitely there. The mild mackerel fillets are the right choice in that case.
Mackerel fillets with chili, gherkin, and bay leaf from Matosinhos – the spicy, boneless tin for bread, bowls, and the frying pan.
