Preparing a BLUE

[Notaro]

Hey guys,
How do I prepare a bluefish? My mom and my aunt don't know how to prepare a bluefish. So I need some tips and advices on keeping them fresh, extracting their oily fats out, and coking them in different methods. So what are your methods?

[JohnR]

This was from an old thread but is a classic:

The best recipe i have found for bluefish may be a little complicated.. dig a hole on the beach appx. 1-2 feet deep and build a fire, charcoal can be used. let it burn down to embers. next take your bluefish fillet, season with whatever spices that will float your boat, tightly wrap up in aluminum foil and lay it down on top of the hot coals, then cover with some rock weed and cover with the sand. after appx 45 minutes dig up the bluefish and unwrap.. discard the bluefish and eat the foil..

Seriously - the best thing to do with a bluefish is to bleed it immediately and some say to fillet it an put the filets in milk or mayonaise.

I am not a fan of bluefish and don't keep it to eat...

[Notaro]

funny, johnr. okay, so, i should bleed it and gut it immediately. eeww, mayo and milk? thats nasty, man. i am an asian and we dont torlerate high lactose products... *farts*

[fishweewee]

Joseph-

Later in the season, bluefish that have been feeding exclusively on pogies (menhaden) will be very oily and not as appetizing as some of the earlier season blues that have been migrating and are lean.

How you take care of the fish is extremely important.

When you catch a bluefish, kill it (in a humane manner) swiftly. Then, bleed it by cutting a 1/3 inch deep gash behind the gillplates. Don't allow the fish to sit in the sun. Gut the fish as soon as possible after bleeding. If you are filleting the fish, cut out the dark meat.

In every case, get the bluefish on ice as soon as possible.

If you find you have a very oily fish (due to the menhaden diet)...try this trick I learned from a mate.

Get two buckets and fill them with clean seawater.

Dunk your filets in the first bucket and allow them to soak for a minute.

Pull them out, and repeat in the second bucket.

This should cut down on the oilness.

-WW

[STEVE IN MASS]

Notaro - the joking from the guys that don't like bluefish aside.....

I am a big fan of bluefish, and eat it all the time. In fact, some people will say that if you MUST eat bluefish, that it is only palatable if it is fresh caught and cooked the same day.......HOGWASH ....oops, sorry, you may not know that American euphinism, HOGWASH means Bull****, or in otherwords, Baloney, or.....(um, this isn't going well ....), straight to the pont...WRONG.....at least for my taste. Guys that say that, just don't freeze them correctly.....I have been eating bluefish that I caught last fall all winter long, and still have some fillets in the freezer. While, granted, not quite as good as fresh caught and cooked immediately, they are still pretty tasty if stored and prepared correctly.

After catching, you should bleed them as soon as possible, and also gut them if you can. when you get home, fillet them up. If you need to freeze them, out a serving size into a Ziplock bag. Fill you sink with water. Slowly submerge the bag into the water with just the corner open. The water will force out all the air. When you get up to the corner, CAREFULLY submerge the rest of the bag, so as not to let any water inside, and then sel the bag. It is almost as good as vacuum packing. Dry the outside of the bag, and freeze the fillets.

Bluefish is good a number of ways. Some like to drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, top with sliced onion and maybe toamtoes cover with foil, and bake them.

What I do:

Few tablespoons of Dijon mustard
A dash of soy sauce
A dash of Worstershire sauce
A few crushed garlic cloves
Some garlic Powder
Some Old Bay seasoning
A splash of white wine
About 3 tablespoons mayonaise
Fresh ground black pepper
A bit of dried tarragon
Whatever else I might feel like adding that night....curry powder, chili powder, oregeno.....etc.


Mix all together to make a dressing or marinade.

Take your fillets, and cut a few diagonal slits thru the skin side about 1/8" into the flesh. Place them skin side up in a pyrex baking dish, and put on 1/2 the marinade. Turn them over, pierce tham all over with a fork, and pour on the rest of the marinade.

Let them sit in the fridge for an hour or up to two hours. Then, cook them on the grill about 10 minutes, turning and basting with the marinade frequently. I use a "fish basket" on the grill to make turning them easier.


If you don't have a grill, then leave them in the baking dish, scoop out excess marinade, top them with crushed crackers and drizzle with olive oil, and cook in a 400 oven for about 20 minutes.

[STEVE IN MASS]

Oh, and WeeWee....you can send me your late season "oily" bluefish and the dark meat you discard.....yum, the BEST part, tastewise and health wise.....no I don't want the PCB lecture.... any time you want......

Gotta love those essential Omega 3 fatty acids.....

[fishweewee]

Steve-

Actually, I like bluefish better than striper.

The early season blues that we hunt down in Long Island in May are delicious.

-WW

[MAC]

For a different taste try marinating a filet in orange juice overnite then grilling it the next day.

[breakfast fish]

smoking the blue is totally awesome man.... have it like gravlox, add some cream cheese, scallions, salt and pepper, and some red diced onions. spread this over some bread or crackers, if u add a squeeze of lemon or lime u can get away of calling it chicken salad. i had people thinking it was chicken, but i had to let the cat out of the bag after the had a few helping. oh, by the way the local fish market charge $6 and change for these oily tasting fish. people need to learn how to improvise. "give a man fish, he becomes a cook:: teach him how to fish, he becomes a master chef..... hey, joey........ i'm asian too i bet your mom can make a great dish out of any fish u bring back from the sea. yes even skates, dogfish, yes dogfish, yellow eel, and even our favorite searobin. it's what u do with them. " DO U SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'"

[Jimbo]

I'm with Steve, I like bluefish, too. Well let's just say I don't mind a fishy tasting fish as some refer to bluefish. Mostly grilled after marinading in one of the Lowrey's marinades (I think it's lemon dijon) for a few hours, then roll it in seasoned bread crumbs and I then add on more butter and a lot of lemon while it's grilling.
There's also a bluefish dip out on the internet somewhere (might also called a pate`, but we're supposed to be boycotting the French, so call it American bluefish dip). I also tried bluefish on my smoker after reading an article in On The Water a while back. Came out pretty good. I think red wine was the primary marinade for that.
Just a comment on John's earlier reference to mayo. If I'm grilling swordfish, shark or tuna steaks, the only thing I use is a fairly thick layer of mayo on the whole thing. Helps keep it moist and by the time it's done the mayo has pretty much cooked off.

[Big Vern]

Did you just say Sea Robin?

[fishweewee]

Sea robin sashimi is actually pretty good. You need to bag a few of 'em to make a meal, though.

[STEVE IN MASS]

Smoked bluefish.....YUMMY!!!!.....(note to self....buy yourself a smoker this year!)

And searobin....yep, tried it once or twice....just okay once, not so good the other time, but that's cause I don't have the prep down yet, I think......the fillets sort of remind me of blowfish....."The Chicken of the Sea"....yum.....

[breakfast fish]

r u italian? funny many of my poisanos couldn't get enough of them, cut off the head, eat the tail. have u had monk fish ? if u see what they look like, i would baaf too. it's what u do to the fish, in generally people don't spend the time to learn how to prepare the fish we just fatally wounded, "tell me how do u feel after u've been hauled around with at least half and inch of metal in your mouth or gullet": all we want is a number nine combination or just pop it in the microwave for 8 minutes and bam!! dinner.

[JohnR]

Smoked Bluefish Chips are the only way I've enjoyed bluefish before. I am no cook though...

Monkfish is excellent, Sea Robin is OK to. Give me a cod or Mahi Mahi over all of them though...

[Young Salt]

Woah, you mean you can actually kill bluefish?

[Jenn]

old bay and grill it!

mmm...and no seafood is complete without butter and lemon!