Split and Dried Horse Mackerel (鰺の開き, Aji no Hiraki)

Aji no hiraki is the small, honest fish of the grill drawer. Horse mackerel reaches its 旬 (shun) in late spring and summer, when the flesh is firm and the oil is bright, and a little salt and drying make it taste larger than its price. This isn't a grand performance. It is rice, miso soup, pickles, and a fish that does its work without ceremony.

Hiraki means "opened." The fish is split flat, salted, and dried just enough that the surface tightens while the flesh stays tender. Drying is not there to make the fish old. It concentrates flavor and gives the grill a dry surface to crisp, which is why prepared himono can feel like a small secret in the freezer. Buy good prepared aji no hiraki, or dry fresh aji overnight on a rack in the refrigerator if your market gives you fish worth the trouble.

The one detail that decides it is the order of the heat: skin-side first, then flesh-side. The skin carries salt and oil, and it needs the first heat to crisp and protect the opened flesh from drying out. Turn once, gild the cut face, and stop as soon as the thickest part flakes. Put grated daikon beside it, not a heavy sauce. This is 本物 (honmono) in its plainest form: no sauce doing the fish's job. We let the fish, the salt, and the grill speak plainly.