Mash the cooked smoked mackerel with a fork for a coarse pâté, or blend it for a smoother texture. Use chilled fish within its use-by and storage instructions; mixing it into pâté does not restart its storage time. If cooking your own fish, start with our hot smoked mackerel recipe if you are smoking your own.
What you'll need
Gather everything first, then the cooking feels calmer.
Cook along
Take it step by step; seafood rewards a calm hand.
- 1
Flake the mackerel into a bowl, checking for bones as you go.
- 2
Fold through the crème fraîche, horseradish, lemon juice and zest, and a generous grind of pepper. A fork keeps it pleasingly coarse; a blender makes it smooth and spreadable.
- 3
Taste and adjust - more lemon if it feels rich, more horseradish if it is being shy.
- 4
Chill for 30 minutes to firm up, scatter with chives, and serve on hot toast. Keep remaining pâté refrigerated. For home-cooked fish, use within 48 hours of cooking; for purchased fish, follow its use-by and after-opening instructions. Follow any shorter dairy storage limit too.
No smoker yet? The hot vs cold smoking kit guide explains the equipment differences before you choose a setup.
Serve it with
Serve with buttered new potatoes, a sharp salad, roasted tomatoes or a spoonful of horseradish creme fraiche.
Cooking and storage guidance
The cooking and leftover-storage checks on this page follow the Food Standards Agency's cooking guidance. Follow your smoker's instructions and ingredient packaging too. This is a home-cooking recipe, not a validated shelf-life or preservation process.
