Homemade Canned Mackerel in Oil

Name: Homemade Canned Mackerel in Oil
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 1.5 l (3 jars of 0.5 l)
Ingredients: Mackerel – 3 pcs. Vegetable oil – 150 ml. Water – 350 ml. Salt – 1 tbsp. Sugar – 0.5 tsp. Bay leaf – 3 pcs. Coriander – 1 tsp. Black peppercorns – to taste.

Published: 06.09.2026

Updated: 06.09.2026

🤤 Здорові рецепти щодня

Cooking time 3 hours Portions 1.5 l (3 jars of 0.5 l)

What softens the bones in homemade canned fish isn't the time on the stove but the steam under a tightly closed lid. That is why in this method the lid isn't lifted for the full two hours: every opening lets steam out, the temperature inside drops, and instead of canned fish you get long-braised fish with bones you can still feel.

For the first fifteen minutes, on the contrary, it cooks without a lid. During that time the excess water evaporates, and the oil and the water have time to bind into an emulsion — it is the emulsion that later coats the pieces evenly instead of collecting on top in a layer.

This is a preserve for the refrigerator, not for the cellar. The jars are taken clean and dry, sterilization isn't needed, because this mackerel will have to be kept cold and not for long anyway.

Doneness here is a matter of steam held under a lid for a fixed two hours; homemade canned fish in a pot ignores the clock and tests the bones by touch instead. The same oil method on small fish gives homemade sprats from Baltic herring.

Caloric content: 285kcal

Ingredients

Mackerel – 3 pcs.
Vegetable oil – 150 ml.
Water – 350 ml.
Salt – 1 tbsp.
Sugar – 0.5 tsp.
Bay leaf – 3 pcs.
Coriander – 1 tsp.
Black peppercorns – to taste.

Thaw the mackerel

Take good-quality mackerel and thaw it partly and naturally, on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Gut the fish

Remove the head, tail, fins, innards and the black membrane. Rinse the carcasses well under running water.

Cut into pieces

Cut the prepared mackerel into portion pieces.

Lay out one row

Take a pot with a thick bottom and a lid without a hole. Pack one row of the cut fish tightly on the bottom.

Salt and add the spices

Sprinkle the fish with the salt and sugar, add the bay leaf, coriander and black peppercorns.

Shake up the emulsion

In a jar, mix the oil with clean water and shake it until it turns into an emulsion.

Pour it in and boil uncovered

Pour the mixture over the mackerel, put the pot on medium heat, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes without covering it.

Simmer for two hours under the lid

Close the pot tightly, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer the mackerel for at least two hours. Don't lift the lid at any point during those two hours.

Prepare the jars

Take clean dry 0.5 l jars. They don't need to be sterilized for this method.

Pack the fish

Divide the finished mackerel among the jars while it is still hot.

Pour in the marinade and close

Pour the hot marinade from the pot over the fish, close tightly with clean lids and, once cooled, put them in the refrigerator.

Check the bones

In the finished preserve the bones are almost impossible to feel. Serve with pieces of red onion.

Store in the cold

Keep the jars in the refrigerator only and not for long — this isn't a preserve put up for winter.

Notes

A thick-bottomed pot and a lid without a hole. A steam hole works against the recipe here: exactly what the whole thing was started for escapes through it.
One row of fish on the bottom. Two rows don't cook through evenly in this pot: the bottom one falls apart before the top one turns soft.
Shake the oil and water into an emulsion. If you pour them in separately, the oil floats up at once and the fish braises in water alone.
Pack it hot and pour hot marinade over it. Warm fish in a cold liquid produces condensation in the jar.
Thaw the mackerel only partly. A carcass that isn't fully thawed cuts more evenly into portion pieces.
Keep it in the refrigerator only. Without sterilizing and sealing, these jars don't stand at room temperature.

Questions and Answers

Why can't the lid be opened for two hours?

The bones are softened by the steam under a tightly closed lid, not by the time on the stove. Every opening lets steam out and the temperature drops — and instead of canned fish you get long-braised fish with bones you can still feel.

Why cook the first fifteen minutes without a lid?

So that the excess water evaporates and the oil and the water have time to bind into an emulsion. It is the emulsion that later coats the pieces evenly instead of collecting on top in a layer.

Do the jars need to be sterilized?

No. This is a preserve for the refrigerator, not for the cellar: the jars are taken clean and dry, and the finished fish is kept cold and not for long.

Why is the mackerel not thawed all the way?

A partly frozen carcass cuts more evenly into portion pieces — fully thawed oily fish falls apart under the knife.

Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.