Eat More Mackerel

Looking for a sustainable, tasty and good-for-you fish? You could do a whole lot worse than choose mackerel. A recent British article extolls the virtues of this little fish, which is very high in omega-3 fatty acids, richly flavorful and is excellent smoked or grilled.

Look for Pacific (a/k/a chub) or Atlantic mackerel in the market; King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel are different fish. If you are at a sushi restaurant, it's called saba.

The key to eating mackerel is getting it perfectly fresh. If the fish has bruised skin, if the eyes are sunken in and overly red (some redness is OK), and if there is any "off" smell at all, don't buy it. A fresh mackerel should look like it just came out of the water.

Oh, and did I mention that mackerel is cheap? Yep. I've seen it for as low at $3 a pound, but even at $6 a pound, it's worth the price.

Photo copyright 2009 Robin Macdougall/Getty Images