# fresh mackerel!!



## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

fresh out of the ocean either this morning or yesterday :biggrin:

woooooo!!!

here is a picture of the lucky dogs sniffing the lady's cooler









and the stars of this post...



















now i have to package it all up... yay... :S not looking forward to touching the slimy things! haha!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

they are beautiful......that's the one thing i do hate about fish. they are slimy and my smaller dogs get less than yours do, so yuck....

did you get them for free?


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

no, not free but a really good price. the lady sells them for $10/12 fillets but since i didn't want them cleaned she said she would sell me 24 fish (48 fillets really) for $20. i told her that i couldn't give her so little and she said i could give her a tip if i really wanted to so i am going to give her $30. as far as i know mackerel is going commercially (from fisherman to wholesaler maybe?) for about 25 cents a pound so it is quite a mark up but i am happy to pay it! :smile:


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

You mean those gnarly, disgusting things I get in cans start out looking like THAT?? Dang.

Your dogs are soooo cute! And soooo lucky they don't get their mackerel out of a can!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

mindy said:


> no, not free but a really good price. the lady sells them for $10/12 fillets but since i didn't want them cleaned she said she would sell me 24 fish (48 fillets really) for $20. i told her that i couldn't give her so little and she said i could give her a tip if i really wanted to so i am going to give her $30. as far as i know mackerel is going commercially (from fisherman to wholesaler maybe?) for about 25 cents a pound so it is quite a mark up but i am happy to pay it! :smile:


sing that song whilst you're packing the slimy things. that is an excellent price.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

mindy said:


> no, not free but a really good price. the lady sells them for $10/12 fillets but since i didn't want them cleaned she said she would sell me 24 fish (48 fillets really) for $20. i told her that i couldn't give her so little and she said i could give her a tip if i really wanted to so i am going to give her $30. as far as i know mackerel is going commercially (from fisherman to wholesaler maybe?) for about 25 cents a pound so it is quite a mark up but i am happy to pay it! :smile:


Listen, me trout... you're getting good prices on fish there on The Rock! 

If it's fresh why not cook up some for yourself? Fresh mackerel's a treat! :biggrin:


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## bumblegoat (May 12, 2010)

Wow, how lucky! Mackarel is way too expensive here for me to ever consider buying it for my dog. It is a really popular fish here so, a seasonal delicacy sort of. I live near the sea and close to many traditional fishing communites, so one would think fish would be cheap here, but nope. :frown:


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

i am very thankful to be able to get these for the boys :smile:

if i had a boat and knew how to fish for mackerel i could go out and get as much as i want for free. but, unfortunately, i grew up in a city here in newfoundland! haha! we now live in a small (pop. 1200) town and no one here can believe that up until this summer i had never been in a boat. we actually went squid jigging this summer. that was fun! those things can squirt! haha!

well, i am off to package them up now... blah! i will just have to keep reminding myself how good they are for the boys. haha!

oh, i can't cook some up for me because i barely like fish! i heard that mackerel is a very fishy fish and super oily. i barely eat tuna and cod. i don't mind cod too much because i don't find it very fishy but i will leave the mackerel for the doggies.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

mindy said:


> i am very thankful to be able to get these for the boys :smile:
> 
> if i had a boat and knew how to fish for mackerel i could go out and get as much as i want for free. but, unfortunately, i grew up in a city here in newfoundland! haha! we now live in a small (pop. 1200) town and no one here can believe that up until this summer i had never been in a boat. we actually went squid jigging this summer. that was fun! those things can squirt! haha!
> 
> ...


While Pearce's grandson was here this Summer they went out fishing with a friend and brought back lots of fresh spanish mackerel. Most of the time I would agree with you that it can be fishy, but when it is fresh it the flavour is so delicate you wouldn't know it was mackerel.

OTOH, I happen to like tinned mackerel, salmon, & other "strong" tasting fish, so I probably would have been happy either way. :wink:


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

i think i will take a pass on the fish. packaging them up for the dogs was enough experience with them for me! haha! 

i got 12 days worth of fish for the boys. they get fish once a week so that is 12 weeks. that is fantastic!

we are also getting a bunch more moose from a friend of ours.  lucky doggies!


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

I would have trouble giving it all to my pup. Freshly caught mackerel grilled on a BBQ with lemon and black pepper has to be one of the best dinners I can think off!!
Just wish I could get fish that cheap


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

malia and bubba had mackerel for the very first time, along with their lamb tongue ....for dinner tonight....i got so excited looking at your pics..., i finally pulled one out of the freezer....


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

eternalstudent said:


> I would have trouble giving it all to my pup. Freshly caught mackerel grilled on a BBQ with lemon and black pepper has to be one of the best dinners I can think off!!
> Just wish I could get fish that cheap


haha! nope, not for me. 

it is too bad you guys can't get it for as good a price as i did. but, you guys get MUCH better deals on everything else. i can't get pork or beef for less than about $4-5/lb. the absolute cheapest i can get chicken for is $14.95 for 5 kg. this time i was lucky enough to get miscut legs with back attached which means organs! wooo!



magicre said:


> malia and bubba had mackerel for the very first time, along with their lamb tongue ....for dinner tonight....i got so excited looking at your pics..., i finally pulled one out of the freezer....


how did they like it?

iorek and brom are getting mackerel tomorrow night. :smile:


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## Doc (Jan 17, 2009)

"Holy mackerel Kingfish ..." for those who remember radio shows and black and white TV!:biggrin:


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

i know "holy mackerel" but i don't know where it comes from. :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

bubba is a hoover and i doubt if he tastes anything, he eats so fast.

malia....she looked, licked, walked away, ten minutes later, came back and ate it.


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## ghostrunner (Mar 24, 2010)

I would like to point out that mackerel is one species of fish known to contain thiaminase. There are those in the raw feeding community who feel that feeding such fish is harmful and should be avoided. Just something to consider.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

I just feed the thiaminase containing fish on days I don't feed pork as pork contains most of the thiamine Max gets. Be nice to know if whole mackerel is like the whole egg. You know how there is far more biotin in the yolk than the avidin in the white can denature?


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

ghostrunner said:


> I would like to point out that mackerel is one species of fish known to contain thiaminase. There are those in the raw feeding community who feel that feeding such fish is harmful and should be avoided. Just something to consider.


i have never heard of that before. i will have to look into it.

i was always told that mackerel was a very good fish to feed the dogs. 

iorek LOVES mackerel. he aways eats the belly first, i guess that is where all the good stuff is (organs). :smile:

i will get some pictures of the boys enjoying their supper tonight.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Cornell University Department of Animal Science

whilst what ghostrunner says is true, i believe, from what i just read, that as long as it's not part of a daily diet, it's okay to feed.

this article points to carp as the biggest culprit. i'll have to dig deeper for mackerel....but fed once in a while should not be detrimental. just don't make it part of a daily diet....

and, to make up for the splitting of thiamin, feed pork liver.


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

i plan to feed mackerel once a week. that is all they will eat that day, a whole mackerel. is that too much?

i can't get pork liver. :frown:

i am still working on how i can get a hold of that butcher and get 1/2 a pig (cut and wrapped). right now i have a freezer full of mackerel and their other meals and my friend still has 2 milk crates full of moose meat for us.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

mindy said:


> i plan to feed mackerel once a week. that is all they will eat that day, a whole mackerel. is that too much?
> 
> i can't get pork liver. :frown:
> 
> i am still working on how i can get a hold of that butcher and get 1/2 a pig (cut and wrapped). right now i have a freezer full of mackerel and their other meals and my friend still has 2 milk crates full of moose meat for us.


moose has thiamin.


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

ooh!  they get moose nearly every day. well, not the day they get fish and lately (past 2 weeks or so) it has been pork and turkey with the chicken but still, it is mostly moose.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Thanks for the article. 

According to nutritiondata.com pork muscle meat has twice the thiamin as liver though. 

Guess this is why variety over time is so important! A certain nutritionist I respect alludes to her knowledge of these interactions being critical to developing a sound diet. I suspect not relying on only one protein source and feeding a goodly number of bits from each protein source helps avoid problems. Since I know about this particular issue I will simply not feed pork at the same time I feed mackerel or sardines.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

sassymaxmom said:


> Thanks for the article.
> 
> According to nutritiondata.com pork muscle meat has twice the thiamin as liver though.
> 
> Guess this is why variety over time is so important! A certain nutritionist I respect alludes to her knowledge of these interactions being critical to developing a sound diet. I suspect not relying on only one protein source and feeding a goodly number of bits from each protein source helps avoid problems. Since I know about this particular issue I will simply not feed pork at the same time I feed mackerel or sardines.


this was a nice eye opener for us....although we do feed a lot of variety....mackerel was one i thought safe, since we can't feed salmon....and they just got pork ribs today...

thanks for the information.....every little bit helps....

why....in ten years, i might even be knowledgeable instead of a guppy LOL


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## Doc (Jan 17, 2009)

I would try to explain who Kingfish was but I am sure someone would read it the wrong way and be offended. It comes from an old radio show that was later made into a TV program when black and white first came out.


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## ghostrunner (Mar 24, 2010)

magicre said:


> whilst what ghostrunner says is true, i believe, from what i just read, that as long as it's not part of a daily diet, it's okay to feed.


Sorry for posting that so rapidly and not offering more background. Yes, there is a concern that feeding raw fish high in thiaminase (which can render natural thiamine unusable) may lead to an eventual thiamine deficiency. I don't know how the gauge the seriousness of this risk, and can't give any advice on that front.

What I can say is that, physiologically, it would seem to require high levels of thiaminase to get to that level. I'm lucky in that the fish I have access to are thiaminase-free. Another option, as some have pointed out, is to offer foods that are naturally higher in thiamine, such as pork. I don't know the extent to which that mitigates the risk, however.

For a list of fish containing thiaminase, see:

Nutrient Requirements of Mink and Foxes, Second Revised Edition, 1982


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

ghostrunner, don't be sorry...i don't know what i don't know LOL

ok. you can be sorry that you didn't post the link. 

edit: wow. i eat many of those fishes, cooked and uncooked.....


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

well, i don't really know what to do about it. i don't have access to any other fish (besides smelt and that is on the list too) and i feel that the benefits of the fish outweighs the detriments. i would rather feed a whole prey (e.g. mackerel) instead of salmon oil and vit. e supplements.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

from what i'm reading, even avid sushi/sashimi eaters would have to eat a whole lot of raw fish (much of which is on that list) to get beri beri, which is the vitamin b1 deficiency.

feed moose and pork. you should balance out fine.

i feed sardines. smelt, and now mackerel because i can't feed salmon where i live....so they do get salmon oil gel caps. come to think of it, so do i LOL

you're only feeding it once a week, right?


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

yes, i only feed it once a week. they are getting around 1 lb 4 oz to 1 lb 8 oz of mackerel a week.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i don't know the name of the dog equivalent to beri beri and karsakov's, but if you're feeding them 1/7 of their diet with a fish that breaks down their B1 vitamin...and the other 6/7 of the time, you're feeding them moose and pork, which gives them B1....then you should be fine.

humans have to go quite a while without b1 -- that's why most foods for humans is fortified with b vitamins.

for dogs, it is probably a non issue, unless they were eating fish with thiaminase over a long period of time and nothing else.


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## mindy (Sep 16, 2010)

thank you


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## ghostrunner (Mar 24, 2010)

magicre said:


> edit: wow. i eat many of those fishes, cooked and uncooked.....


I should have also added that thiaminase, as an enzyme, is degraded upon contact with sustained heat. It poses no "threat" to humans at all. 

Further, for the sushi eaters, thiamine deficiency in humans is rare. I've seen cases of it, but only in severe alcoholics.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

ghostrunner said:


> I should have also added that thiaminase, as an enzyme, is degraded upon contact with sustained heat. It poses no "threat" to humans at all.
> 
> Further, for the sushi eaters, thiamine deficiency in humans is rare. I've seen cases of it, but only in severe alcoholics.


i read that....i'm not worried.....i don't eat enough sushi to worry about it...and i don't drink much, either.


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