He says he's making Baek Jong-won style grilled mackerel, but immediately starts pouring oil. Wtf is this??? Chef "Baek I'm Gonna Lose It" literally dumps the cooking oil just to grill one mackerel.
He pours so much oil the subtitles call it a "Half-Body Bath." Isn't this just deep-frying??
By coating the mackerel in batter, he proves this is frying, not grilling. This is the moment everyone remembers the "grilled" fish (read: deep-fried) served in school cafeterias.
Just look at how much oil was used—the battered mackerel is practically submerged halfway.
Here’s the biggest shocker: Baek Jong-won isn't using fresh mackerel. He’s cooking with canned mackerel. If you look closely, you can see the cans lined up in front of him.
Chef Baek Fishcake says that grilling fresh mackerel is difficult because of the smell, smoke, and oil splatter.
Just like all the times he’s failed and been "excavated" (exposed), Chef Baek Blueprint doesn't bother with heat control—he just cranks it to high and fries it all regardless.
The caption says "grilling," but Chef Baek actually says, "It only looks like this because you’re watching me fry it right now."
Chef Baek says that if you don't watch him frying it, you'd be fooled. Fooled into thinking the canned mackerel is fresh. Who is he fooling, and why? Check out Kim Gura's tormented expression while this is happening.
Kim Gura, looking like he's about to explode, asks Baek if he thinks people wouldn't notice.
Baek: Maybe they’ll just play dumb and go along with it? Gu: Just tell the truth, it’s better. Baek: If they don’t ask, I don’t have to tell them~ This conversation really gives you a glimpse into his usual mindset.
Even just looking at this, it's the kind of dish that makes you keep your chopsticks down. Look closely at the bottom photo—the induction range is covered in massive oil splatter.
He claims that cooking fresh fish takes forever because you have to keep grilling it. Really, though?
Meanwhile, tvN decides to throw a little shade at Chef Baek.
When someone mentions that the 1,400 won canned mackerel is totally Baek’s jam, he nods and grins with satisfaction. A huge oil splatter happens mid-conversation and makes Baek jump. If a regular household deep-fried canned mackerel using that much oil, the splatter would be insane...
Wow, what an appetizing result. The more I look, the tastier it seems. A visual I desperately want to eat until I drop.
Happy Baek Senpai. Now let's check out the textbook grilled mackerel shown by Kang Leo.
Kang Leo warns not to use too much oil, saying it will just turn into frying. Granted, Kang Leo uses fresh fish, not canned, so there’s a difference. But before he even adds the oil, while prepping the fish, he stresses that splattering comes from moisture, so you MUST wrap the fillet in a kitchen towel to dry it out. After that, he demonstrates actual grilling with zero smoke or oil splatter. Kang Leo controls the heat, starting high and dropping it to medium-low, and cuts the actual grilling time to under 5 minutes. I watched that exact YouTube video and verified it by cooking it myself. Prep work takes time, but grilling and plating are doable in under 10 minutes.
Wasn't this the grilled mackerel we all know and love?
"Chef Baek proved his dish was just "Mackerel Quick Fry" straight out of a military mess hall or school cafeteria (aka the legendary Gyarados Fry). The community agrees Kang Leo’s careful method is the only way to avoid flooding your kitchen in oil, and that Kim Gura is Baek's only hard counter."
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