Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
Atlantic horse mackerel
The sprinter of the schools, with silver-striped flanks.
- Grilled whole
- Baked in the oven with lemon
- Escabeche or marinated
- In French
- Chinchard
- Scientific name
- Trachurus trachurus
- In the water
- A coastal pelagic fish of the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean, from 0 to 1050 m, often between 100 and 200 m.
- Season & buying
- Caught almost year-round; schools often move closer to the coast in winter.
- Common length
- ~22 cm
- How to identify it
- Streamlined and compressed body
Blue-green back, silvery flanks
Typical black spot on the gill cover
On the plate
Fatty, firm and tasty flesh, close to mackerel but milder.
Avoid: Cooking it too much: the fatty flesh turns mealy and loses its character.
Horse mackerel is a close relative of mackerel; it forms large schools that can stir the surface waters.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
