The $3.49 Trader Joe's Find That I Never Buy Anywhere Else

Peek into my pantry and you'll find a colorful melamine tray that I keep loaded with a rotating selection of tinned fish. I’m always on the hunt for delicious, relatively affordable, interesting tins to keep stocked, and one of the best spots to find inexpensive tins is the inimitable Trader Joe’s.

My love for tinned fish is well-documented, but even I can admit that sometimes the price of tins seems unreasonably high. That’s not the case at Trader Joe's, though, where all the tins cost less than $5 but are still high-quality catches.

When I saw Boneless Grilled Mackerel Fillets on the shelf for only $3.49, you know I had to toss a few in my basket!

Trader Joe’s packs its mackerel fillets in olive oil, not water—a nice flavor-filled bonus that I use to add extra depth to recipes. The first thing I noticed when I opened the six-ounce tin was the grill marks on the mackerel.

There’s no ambiguity here: These fillets spent time on a hot grill, imparting a subtle hint of smokiness to their rich flavor. The fillets are big and meaty, with some skin and bones. As tinned mackerel goes, this isn’t the most luscious, fatty fillet out there—it’s more on the light and flaky side.

How to Use Tinned Mackerel

The grilled mackerel is ready to go, straight from the tin, or it can be a jumping-off point for other recipes. It’s an easy, light, lovable fish to flake onto buttered saltines and squeeze with fresh lemon for a protein-filled snack. It feels luxurious, even though it’s so simple.

That’s probably my favorite way to use this grilled mackerel, but I also find that mackerel works well pretty much anywhere you’d use canned tuna.

It makes a great mackerel salad, with mayonnaise, lemon, celery, capers, and dill. It’s an excellent choice for a super quick lunch, served over rice and topped with chili crisp, scallions, and a splash of soy sauce. There’s also a Scandinavian approach of adding the mackerel to toasted, buttered Danish bread that I love as an afternoon snack or even with breakfast with a sliced boiled egg on top.

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