Fully described as King Oscar Royal Fillets Mackerel in Olive Oil with Lemon. The quest for great lemon flavor in a can of tinned fish is realized. Only to be disappointed by the lackluster presentation.
Initial impression upon opening the can: Are you kidding me?
Just look at it. This is not what I've come to expect from King Oscar mackerel, or any King Oscar for that matter. An amorphous mass of fish debris. No planks of mackerel fillet, just clumps and shreds of pieces parts.
Visually, it's no more appealing than a can of cheap supermarket tuna in oil. I mean, come on, it says "Royal Fillets" right there on the can. Some might say, "Well, the lemon juice did that." While the acidity may have denatured proteins in the meat, it certainly didn't stir it up into mush.
The upside? The lemon flavor is actually quite good. The ingredients say spirit vinegar, concentrated lemon juice and natural lemon flavoring, along with some salt, are responsible for the flavor. It works. Not as great as squeezing your own fresh lemon juice, though. More like that from one of those plastic lemon-shaped squeeze-bulbs of reconstituted lemon juice. But compared to what many others call "with lemon" or "lemon flavor" that fall woefully short, this KO is actually superior in conveying a more-or-less realistic lemon juice flavor.
Only one can was available for me to try, so I may have to risk buying another to confirm if this messy fish presentation is just a fluke. At under $3 a can, I'm willing to give KO the benefit of the doubt.
Brand: King Oscar
Description: Mackerel in Olive Oil with Lemon
Species: North Atlantic mackerel
Country of Origin: Poland
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.05 oz.
Price Range: $2-3