Baked in the oven, this Grilled Mackerel or Saba Shioyaki is the simplest fish recipe you can make on a busy weeknight. Serve steamed rice, miso soup, and a side salad to accompany this flavorful fish!
Grilled Mackerel or Saba Shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き) is one of the popular seafood dishes served as an entree or part of a bento combination in Japanese restaurants in the U.S. You may already know this, but what you may not know is how fast and easy it is to make this grilled fish at home. This is the reason I love making this for my family dinner — it feels special, but is so very simple.
What Does Saba Shioyaki Mean?
Saba (鯖) is mackerel and Shioyaki (塩焼き) means salt (shio) and grilling (yaki). As you can guess, the only seasoning we need for this dish is salt, which brings out the rich flavors of mackerel. Anyone can just season with salt and cook, and call it a recipe; however, I’ll show you a few tips you can use to make the dish extra delicious!
2 Tips to Make Delicious Grilled Mackerel (Saba Shioyaki)
1. The Use of Sake
If you’re familiar with Japanese cooking, you’d notice that the majority of recipes call for sake (Japanese rice wine). There are many benefits of using sake in Japanese cuisine, and this recipe is no exception.
We use sake in this grilled mackerel to:
- Add umami
- Tenderize the fish
- Make the texture more “plump” (“Fukkura” ふっくら in Japanese)
- Remove any fishy odor
If you are not sure what type of sake you can buy, read this post on my blog.
2. The Use of Salt
Salt is used not only to season the fish, but it also extracts water from the fish and eliminates any unpleasant smell. Once you sprinkle the mackerel with salt, let it rest for 20 minutes. Do not let it sit anytime shorter or longer. If it is rested too short a time, the fish does not soak up enough salty flavor and the smell may still linger. On the other hand, if you rest it for too long, the smell may be gone but the flesh will get too tight and lose its texture.
What to Serve with Grilled Mackerel
Thanks to its light yet flavorful texture, saba shioyaki pairs well with many dishes. Here are my suggestions:
Rice
Soup
2-3 Sides
- Kinpira gobo (stir-fried burdock root and carrot)
- Chikuzenni (Nishime) (simmered chicken and vegetables)
- Spinach gomaae (spinach with sesame sauce)
- Simmered kabocha squash
- Pickled cabbage
More Mackerel Recipes on Just One Cookbook
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Grilled Mackerel (Saba Shioyaki)
Ingredients
- 2 fillets mackerel (saba) (10 oz, 280 g)
- 2 Tbsp sake
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For Serving
- 1 inch daikon radish (2.6 oz, 75 g; grated)
- 1 wedge lemon (cut in half)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. I cut my mackerel fillets in half crosswise for presentation.
- Coat 2 fillets mackerel (saba) with 2 Tbsp sake.
- Pat dry with paper towels (and discard the sake) and transfer the fish to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle both sides of the fish with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC) with a rack placed in the middle position. For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).
- After 20 minutes, pat dry the excess moisture released from the fish.
- Place the fish skin side down on the parchment paper and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the flesh is golden brown.
To Serve
- Peel and grate 1 inch daikon radish (I use a ceramic grater) and squeeze out most of the liquid.
- Serve the grilled mackerel on individual plates with the grated daikon and 1 wedge lemon (halved) on the side. Pour a few drops of the 1 tsp soy sauce on the grated daikon and use as a refreshing condiment on the fish. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published in April 2013. The images and content have been updated in February 2019.
Hi Nami,
Hoping to try your recipe tomorrow. I have half cut wild caught Norweigian frozen mackerel filets from Costco, on hand. Can I thaw them and follow your recipe just the same?
Thank you, Lynn
Hi Lynn, Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Yes. That should work for this recipe. We hope you enjoy!
I’m so glad I found this recipe. There was a Japanese style izakaya that opened near where I live that I used to frequent often that served this. They closed their doors forever in 2020 and I haven’t found another place that served grilled mackerel and I thought you needed a grill which my landlord won’t let me have.
I cannot wait to try this.
Hi Jordan! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
We hope you enjoy homemade Saba Shioyaki soon. 🤗
Wouldn’t you wipe off the coated sake if you pat dry the fillets? Do you have to let the sake marinate the fillets for a little while before you pat them dry? Thanks
Hi, Anthony! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
The sake used in this recipe is not for marinating but for other purposes, as Nami mentioned in this post. So you pour it over the Mackerel and you can wipe it without having to wait.
We hope this helps!
My god, this was unbelievably delicious. I used an air fryer at 350 F, 10-15 minutes and it came out great. Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe.
Hi LNW! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Saba Shioyaki!
Thank you for your kind feedback and for sharing your cooking experience with us.
Happy Cooking!
Another delicious recipe from Nami! This mackerel was easy to make, succulent, crispy…so good.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Karen! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
Nami and JOC team are so happy to hear you enjoyed the dish.
Happy Cooking!
Love all your recipes!
For this mackerel recipe, I ran out of sake. Do you think I can use vodka?
Hi G.R.! Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed all of Nami’s recipes!😊
We prefer using dry sherry or Chinese rice wine as a substitution for Sake in recipes, but for this recipe, vodka might work since it is just to rinse the fish.
We hope this helps!
Thank you, you are very inspiring and I learn a lot about the Japanese cuisine.
Hi Audrey! Thank you very much for your kind words! It means so much to us.
Thank you for reading Nami’s post!
First time trying mackerel, and it was incredible. Crispy skin with moist and flaky flesh. Thank you! Can salmon be prepared this way too?
Hi Daniel! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Nami’s recipe!
Sure, you can use this recipe for salmon too. You can also check out Nami’s salted salmon recipe:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-cook-salmon-salted-salmon/
Enjoy!
If you don’t mind clarifying – is the sake marinade supposed to be wiped off the fish immediately after it is applied? Or is there supposed to be a small wait time for the fish to ‘marinade’, before adding the salt? Thank you!
Hi Richard! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
The sake used in this recipe is not for a marinade and is used for other reasons as Nami mentioned in this post. So you pour it over the Mackerel, and you can wipe it without the wait time.
We hope this helps!
Where did you get the dish that you pour sake on the Saba? It is the perfect size and depth.
Hi Gwen! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and for your kind feedback!
Here is a link for the dish: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RL9DMG?ref=exp_justonecookbook_dp_vv_d
We hope this helps!
Thank you for responding. It’s the rectangle white dish with a blue edge. Have been looking for a dish like that. Not the nesting bowls. Just loves all of your recipes. Am trying the new Salmon one you posted soon.
Oops…🤭Sorry, Gwen! Here you go! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044S5C4I?ref=exp_justonecookbook_dp_vv_d
And this is the link to many other items that Nami likes or uses for cooking. https://www.amazon.com/shop/justonecookbook
We hope this helps!😊
It came out amazing even though my fish wasn’t perfectly cut. Best home-cooked fish, and way healthier than fried batter. I will be using this technique more in the future!
Hi Tasha! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed Grilled Mackerel!
Hi I love to try this recipe but we don’t consume alcohol. What can I substitute Sake with ink this recipe?
Hi Aida! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
For this recipe, you can skip Sake.🙂 We hope this helps!