Seared red mullet with farfalle, courgette and cucumber, diced tomato, light lobster cappuccino - Morgan Meunier

In Nathan Outlaw’s definitive cookbook, British Seafood, the chef outlines his own favourite way of cooking the fish: ‘the finest way to experience red mullet is grilled whole until the skin crisps up and becomes almost like fish crackling.’ If you are just using the fillets, make sure that you do not throw away the livers as these are a real delicacy and can be fried off with a few garlic cloves – a real ‘cheffy’ option. You can roast whole by sprinkling with herbs and dousing in oil before cooking for a few minutes in a hot oven, or how about cooking en papillote (in a bag) on the barbecue. Pan-fried red mullet on courgette tagliatelle with seared Scottish scallops, purple basil pesto and smoked garlic - Robert Thompsonĭeep-frying the fish whole is one technique often enacted on the continent but – and while it pains me to advise against deep-frying anything - it does seem a shame to encase the fish’s effervescent flesh in oil.Ĭooking whole, though, should most definitely be practised on this smallish fish, as the bones impart a wonderful amount of flavour. Also, avoid eating before they reach maturity – around two years. It is best to eat the freshest red mullet you can find, as they don’t keep very well. Both varieties are unrelated to grey mullet. Red mullet is a term that relates to two related species of fish: there are common red mullet with a pinkish flesh, and striped red mullet with – you guessed it – racing stripes, Mikael Jonsson of Hedone, London, wrote in his Gastroville blog that he considers striped red mullet to have a superior taste. Red mullet and squid with oven-dried tomatoes, wild fennel and pickled mushrooms - Nathan Outlaw Yet, thanks to climate change and warmer sea temperatures around Britain, red mullet can now be fished sustainability on British shorelines all year round - which is why we should pay greater attention to this fish. On the continent, however, red mullet is adored, probably because that’s where it has traditionally been found – the fish are long-time residents of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic. Ok, so I’m sure that is not a commonly made mistake but it is true to say that red mullet is not really a well-known fish in Britain very rarely will you hear someone say that they’re popping down the local chippie for a red mullet and chips, or that they got up extra early to pick up some red mullet from the local fishmongers. Contrary to popular belief, red mullet does not refer to David Bowie’s haircut during his fling with Ziggy Stardust, no in fact it is a fish and a very tasty one.

Mullet racing stripes