Mackerel Skies

Mackerel Skies

Every day I walk the same route, with the same noisy dogs, around the same gardens and yet somehow each day it is different.
Whenever we get a break from English lowering skies, it is always uplifting to look up at all the different sorts of clouds: the scudding, thick small white distressed marshmallows, the larger white pillows edged in Nordic grey or, one of my personal favourites, a mackerel sky. Even more rarely, from time to time, the sky is also unbelievably blue, a deep strong ultramarine or cobalt or azure blue – so clearly blue that it makes all of us smile.
The traditional rhyme is "Mackerel sky, mackerel sky. Never long wet and never long dry" and these clouds are a sign of changeable weather. The meteorological explanation is that cirrocumulus clouds are given a rippled effect by high altitude atmospheric waves. As these high clouds increase and the barometric pressure declines, rain becomes likely within the next 6-12 hours.

Recently there have been several mackerel skies. The clouds get their name from their undulating, rippling pattern which is similar in appearance to the many shades of grey on the sides of migrating mackerel fish as they swim through light filled water.
Spending time in Cornwall by the sea, the fishing boats and trawlermen were part of everyday life as was mackerel fishing. We all somehow knew when they were heading out to sea and when they were returning with their catch. However, the “mackerel-crowded seas” mentioned by Yeats are sadly no more. A once abundant species, it has been overfished thanks to much argued fishing quotas which has resulted in its sustainability rating being downgraded. Today, the fishermen setting off to catch mackerel tend to be small scale, inshore fishing vessels using handlines both to catch fish to sell and to lure keen anglers out on charters.

Mackerel is a delicious fish, closely related to tuna. Its moist flesh is high in omega 3 oils and it is best eaten when very fresh: barbequed, baked or raw as sushi. Smoked it makes an excellent pate. As ever it is about appreciating what we choose to eat.
The slang expression of surprise “Holy Mackerel” dates back at least 200 years and is perhaps a reference to Catholics eating fish on Fridays. Possibly, as a result, some people always serve mackerel in the shape of a cross with a mixed green salad and crusty bread: “bread and fishes”.

In the summer it marries well in taste and association with samphire. This is best foraged in June, July and August and can be readily found in the mudflats and salt water marshes that exist all round the British coastline. Samphire is also sometimes called Saint Peter’s herb after the patron saint of fisherman. In the USA it is known as “sea beans” whilst in Canada it is called “sea asparagus”.
Irrespective of where it is found, it needs to be thoroughly washed before eating to get rid of all the grit. It can be eaten raw but it is also delicious boiled or steamed for a couple of minutes and served with a drizzle of melted butter and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
The following is one of my favourite mackerel recipes and I seem to be, as in last week’s blog, very happily focused on food!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 12-16 minutes
Serves: 3-4 depending on size of fish caught

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. creamed horseradish
- 150g/8 ½ oz. Greek yoghurt
- 300g washed picked baby spinach
- 1 tsp English mustard
- grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 3 sprigs flat leaf parsley
- 3 mackerel – allow 1 per person on average
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- two lemon wedges for garnish
- hand full of samphire
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c
- Combine the horseradish and yoghurt and season with salt and black pepper. Mix the mustard with the lemon juice and vinegar and stir in the lemon zest. Add this mixture to the yoghurt.
- Roughly chop the parsley and spinach and add to the yoghurt mixture.
- Fill the washed, cleaned mackerel with the yogurt and herb mixture.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until cooked. (Test at the back of the head or top of the fish spine with the tip of a knife to see if it’s hot).
- Dress the mackerel on a plate with sea asparagus and lemon
- Any unused yoghurt mix can be served on the side.
In the winter mackerel is equally well accompanied by some roasted vegetables such as beetroots, butternut squash, tomatoes and carrots with a generous sprinkling of herbs.
41 Comments
I love this crumble recipe! The ingredients are healthy and nourishing, and it's easy to prepare. I always use oats in my crumble topping. I've never used strawberries and ground almonds in a crumble before, but I look forward to tasting this flavor combination. Ground almonds are available at my local Whole Foods. I also enjoyed hearing about your mother's cooking. I am a mother of twin boys, and they eat often!!! I know they'll love it. Your cooking video is great! Thank you!
je vais essayer la recette dimanche pour mes petits enfants merci
I noticed that Lady Carnarvon mentioned making crumble with pears. Does anyone here have a recipe for that? I am planning a brunch for a few friends and would love to serve the berry crumble as well as the pear crumble. Thanks, Karen
I’m making this today but not sure what temperature I should set the oven to.
It is 180 degrees C, 350 F or gas mark 4. Hope this helps - having an Aga is quite different I know!
What a lovely idea to share your recipes with us! Thank you!
Absolutely divine, they’re all such delicious recipes, I’m so glad I found this blog. Thank you for sharing!
Looks so delicious, plan to make this soon. Enjoy your blog very much!
I bought a scale that shows usa, uk and imperial measurement. Best $10 spent on kitchen gadgets. Look on amazon or a kitchen equipment shop. Mine l put to zero each time I add an ingredient instead of using multiple bowls.
Every brit reading this recipe will be homesick so thank you lady Cararvon for taking time to help us expats feel a little more English especially on a sunday when my family take time to savor and enjoy the sunday lunch tradition.
Really loved this video! Hubby was just handed double "heavy" cream on his...."Babe, while your out can you grab me list- he,he,he! I'm going to venture out with bananas, currents and pecan bits and then incorpate your topping and other ingredients. Wish me luck! You've started a revolution for sure! Maybe you could share a family favorite using butternut squash. My family traditional receipe is really tired and could use a completely different take. I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping for a lovely British take on this favorite. All the best to you and hubby. LOVED Pimms receipe! ☺️
Really loved this video! Hubby was just handed double "heavy" cream on his...."Babe, while your out can you grab me list- he,he,he! I'm going to venture out with bananas, currents and pecan bits and then incorpate your topping and other ingredients. Wish me luck! You've started a revolution for sure! Maybe you could share a family favorite using butternut squash. My family traditional receipe is really tired and could use a completely different take. I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping for a lovely British take on this favorite. All the best to you and hubby. LOVED Pimms receipe!
I especially wanted this recipe. In Downton Abbey, Mrs. Hughes taught Carson to bake an ‘apple crumble’ for dessert.
I made an apple and pear crumble last Sunday - I made plenty of crumble mixture to leave some in the fridge too.
Thank you for sharing recipes from Highclere. A special hello to others who also love crumble. Thank you for the healthy recipe Lady Carnarvon. Very best wishes.
Hello Lady Carnarvon
Thank you for sharing Highclere and your delicious, healthy recipes. Very best wishes to you and your family.
Thank you! Good colours to eat!!
Trying this recipe next weekend, can’t wait. Would love to see more recipes on the site, will you be posting any new options soon?
Thank you.
I will do - it is planning them in amongst a bit of a crazy life at the moment!
This is a colourful recipe - everyone's favourite!
Lady Carnarvon, I'm going to try your lovely Crumble this weekend.
Thank you.
Wonderful!
Lady Carnarvon,
Do you happen to have the fruit crumble recipe written out for Americans by the cups or ounces instead of the grams? I have all the ingredients and am so excited to make it and get it just right!
Thank you!!
I will find it!
I bought a scale that shows usa, uk and imperial measurement. Best $10 spent on kitchen gadgets. Look on amazon or a kitchen equipment shop. Mine l put to zero each time I add an ingredient instead of using multiple bowls.
Every brit reading this recipe will be homesick so thank you lady Cararvon for taking time to help us expats feel a little more English especially on a sunday when my family take time to savor and enjoy the sunday lunch tradition.
Thanks so much! :)
Lady Carnarvon,
I love making fruit crumbles and look forward to making this. My question is the same as Marsha regarding the fruit crumble recipe written out for Americans by cups or ounces instead of grams. What should the oven temperature be for baking?
I look forward to reading your next group of recipes.
I use an aga which is always my problem as it has no temperature on it - i would think 150-200 degrees
Hi Linda,
If this helps you until we get the true conversions, I did the best I could to bake for our Memorial Day last month. Everyone loved it! (But they didn't taste Lady Carnarvon's!) So here's what I used and maybe it would help you?
3 cups or so of summer fruits (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) I filled the bottom of the oval baking dish.
1/2 c. butter (I froze the butter and used a large holes cheese grater to grate pieces into the flour mixture.)
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. oats
1/2 c. sugar (I used light brown) (can use less or more)
1 T. ground almonds
I baked it at 350 degrees F. for about 1/2 hour till bubbly fruit appears.
Served topped with scoop of ice cream.
I know it's not Lady Carnarvon's exact recipe (please forgive me!) but I did the best I could do so I could fix this crumble for my family.
I bake my crumble @ 350 F for about 20 to 30 minutes. It gives it a nice golden brown color & crunch!
Hi Marsha,
Thank you so much for your response. Your recipe looks wonderful. I look forward to trying it this weekend. I believe it will go extremely well until we get the conversions. I'll let you know. Thank you again.
I have made crumbles in the past. Your blog post brought back the memory, so I made one today for dessert. I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and pineapple. My husband’s reply was “you’ve made this before, haven’t you?” Between the two of us, we decided it’s been around 20 to 25 years since the last time we had a crumble. Thank you for bringing back good memories. I have a question not related to food. How did the name Carnarvon come about?
I am so glad - I think crumbles are comforting and remind me of lunches with my family growing up.I have just topped an tailed a huge pot of gooseberries ( it took me all of a James Bond film last night !!) so I thought I might make that next in a crumble. The name Carnarvon was used by a distant ancestor in circa 1640 - I suspect with a Welsh connection
I made this summer fruit crumble for my husband and tested it on some of our Floridian neighbors. It was unanimous, the best crumble ever. I mixed the crumble by hand and spent an hour rubbing the flour and butter. it was worth it and reminded my husband and I of our mother's crumbles of yesteryear. The crowd are eagerly awaiting the tomato upside down tart. Thank you for a lovely curated set of recipes.
How lovely - good luck with the tart
The crumble is in the oven as I write this comment and I know it's going to be super, I have to go for some ice cream, can't wait.
This is for Lady Carnarvon: Could you substitute almond slivers for the ground almonds??
Absoluteley
Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for sharing this luscious recipe idea with us! Living in the U.S. I am not totally familiar with the measurements of the ingredients but will figure it out.
All the best from Vermont, U.S.A.
Patricia
I love watching clouds form and working out what the sky will decide to do, I often get it wrong but keeping my head occupied is always good.
Coming from Cornwall mackerel is a favorite fish of mine and I remember buying fish from the boats when they arrived back to harbor. My aunt often just fried the fish and I can still taste the fish in my mind.
We used to make star gazy pie sometimes as well and that is still a traditional meal although many don't like looking at the fish heads !
Going to try your recipe it sounds very tasty and fresh for a light lunch.
Enjoy your sky watching we don't get mackerel sky's in Florida very much so I will enjoy your observation skills while we watch storm clouds roll in!
Lovely the mackerel picture and did you and lord Carnarvon have a wonderful weekend and lam fan of Downton Abbey and lovely highcelere castle
My Mother grew up in High Wycombe and moved to Ontario, Canada with my Father and raised a family of 5 girls. I loved my Mother very much. When the sky was full of certain cloud formations she would look up and say it's going to rain in two days and she was always right. Miss my English Mom so much.
Mum's have so much to pass on to us !
My dearest Lady Fiona,
Bonjour from Brazil.
Madame est très romantique
Merci .Bonne semaine. Au revoir.
Villa Alemã
Rio Claro- SP
Brazil.
One of the weather sayings when I was growing up was, "Mackerel skies and mares' tails/Make tall ships carry short sails." Mares' tails are those wispy, comma-shaped clouds that I tend to associate with fair weather. Whether the combination of the two means a storm, or at least high winds, I don't really know. I'll have to keep more of an eye on the sky.
Thank you for all the posts on the natural world surrounding Highclere. Observing a plot of land, however large or small, over a long stretch of time can be a fascinating experience. Just this morning, as I went to put up the flag for Memorial Day (we have a flagpole with pulley system), I realized the beech tree near it had spread its branches enough that one was covering the upper part of the flagpole. No more flag raising until I figure out how to cut back the branch. This will have the unfortunate effect of making me take a look at all the other trees that might need trimming, and no doubt spiral from there. How you cope with a property several hundred times the size of our one acre I can't imagine.
Love the recipe as enjoy mackerel
Thank you for the interesting blog always lovely to receive on Mondays
I look forward to your blog each week and I’m never disappointed!!!! Still love remembering my sister’s and my visit toHighclere 3 years ago! Magical!
Thank you
Thank you for this lovely blog and the recipe which I shall certainly try. It sounds wonderfully healthy.
Your comments reminded me of a holiday we took in Cornwall a few years ago. Whilst there I bought a painting from a lovely artist called Gina in Polperro. Her advice was not to forget to look up at the sky to see a different picture every time. I’ve often thought of that when observing clouds throughout the year. Your photos are beautiful as always.
Thank you
Please don't get me started on fishing quotas. It breaks my heart that most of our fish goes overseas because we don't eat it, so thank you for that lovely recipe which I shall be trying.
With very best wishes.
Susan Hancock
Eat seasonally, eat locally
We have the same problem in Canada, Susan. Overfishing by deep sea nets and trawlers has left us locals with limited fish to feed ourselves. The price of our own fish in stores is astronomical.
25 years ago herring were plentiful and large. Now they’re scarce and tiny. Mackerel are so much smaller.
Yup, don’t get me started.
Lady Carnarvon,
My husband and I enjoy watching clouds and their many, many shapes and colors from dawn to dusk. He takes pictures to think about the many ways to paint them! We had not heard of “Mackerel skies” but now will know when we see them, thanks to another lovely lesson from you!
Martha G.
They would be lovely to paint
You have inspired him!
Martha
Lady Carnarvon,
I will have to start looking for those Mackerel skies here in Southern California.
(Such a lovely presentation of the mackerel recipe!)
As we commemorate Memorial Day in the US, I want to thank you for all the work you do to support the military.
Thank you and I really hope some of you will join us this September - there are going to be some very special moments
Thank you Lady Carnarvon! We will try your recipe tonight! We also love watching clouds! Last summer we visited Highclere, just don't have a chance to meet you! We will be visiting again this summer hopefully we can see you this time!
Stephen
We have too many days in sunny Arizona that we have "not a cloud in the sky". The days we do have clouds, I love to find animals in the formations and smile. Of course, with no clouds, we have no rain, sometimes for months at a time. Drizzle and foggy are not much used terms here or fresh fish.
Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for this informative blog on mackerel and mackerel skies. I have heard of mackerel skies but didn't know the description until now. For the past 7 years I have ATTEMPTED to paint with a plein air group with our local museum and it is, indeed, fascinating to watch how the sky changes so quickly. Especially so when we are painting a marsh view on the Georgia coast. By the time you get one cloud how it looked when you started painting it has completely changed within minutes. I've always enjoyed looking at the ever changing sky but painting them has made me more observant of them. Thinking of our British allies on this Memorial Day in the states and during your observance of VE day a few weeks ago
I so look forward to your email each week. We visited Highclere several years ago, and it remains one of my very favorite trips to Europe and the UK. Although I'm an American, my grandmother was English, and I am an Anglophile. I absolutely love the recipe that you have included, and I truly hope that you will continue to do so.
Sheryl from WA State
Lady Carnarvon,
I grew up in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and, years ago, it was possible to find mackerel, and pike, in the river. Not so much now, I would think, and, seeing how dirty the River Deben is I'm not sure I'd want to eat any fish caught from there. My spouse, Pennsylvania born, loves mackerel, and used to love to fish as well. (It's good for breakfast with scrambled eggs, though he wouldn't agree. The Catholic reference is also a good one, since as a life long Catholic I still try to stick to fish on Fridays. (That was a stipulation from the days when meat, faboulously expensive) could be substituted for fish, which was considered cheap, and especially eel I would have thought.
The cloud description I hadn't come across but is an apt desciption. Here's hoping you had a pleasant
Bank Holiday Monday and that June sunshine will come soon. Have a good week.
We have had some welcome rain today .. but then it looks better once more
Lady Carnarvon,
I love the beautiful cloud photos and descriptions! As a child growing up in rural Wisconsin, I remember laying in the grass on a warm summer day checking out the cloud formations. Thanks for bringing that memory to mind!
When we see "mackerel sky" in Italy, we say "Cielo a pecorelle, acqua a catinelle", that is, when the clouds have the shape of a flock of sheep, the rain is sure!
Love from Rome
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What a great, easy recipe - I actually love to use oats in my crumble topping too! Although I'm really excited to try your recipe with strawberries which I've never done before! We don't have ground almonds available here in the U.S.A. - guess I'll grind some & ask my mother-in-law to bring a package over next time.... Thank you, Lady Carnarvon your cooking video's are fun and your very natural on camera too.
You are kind - you could probably crunch up some almonds with a pestle and mortar... but otherwise mother-in-laws sounds an excellent choice!
The crumble sounds delicious......will give it a try! Enjoyed hearing your lovely accent. This is “Thanksgiving “ week here in the states. A good time to serve the crumble....probably with apples.
Crumbles are delicious and good with apples and blueberries or pears, or this summery version. The biggest tip is how useful it is to have some crumble topping on stand by in the fridge..
I have found ground almonds many places in the US. Trader Joe for one. And most natural food stores. Delicious in crumbles and gluten free cakes.
You will be able to find it by searching for almond flour.