First Try at Bluefish - With QView

[downstatesmoker]

Hi All,

Did my first Bluefish today with lots of help from the forums and especially from Flash. They came out great, though I should have had them at a lower heat so they could take a bit more smoke. Well next time....

First I started with the blue fish fillets, skin on 1 side. I had a total of four which my butcher (who goes fishing every day) saved for me from his catch. 2 of the fillets I brined in the same brine I use for my trout, recipe is:

1 Quart H20
1/2 C Kosher Salt
1/2 C Dark Brown Sugar
2 TB Fresh Lemon Juice
1 TB Garlic Powder
1 TB Onion Powder

Bring to a boil then let cool to room temp before brining the fillets.

I brined the 2 fillets for roughly 6 hours in the fridge.

They looked like this (Brined on the left, naked on the right):


Next I applied some Terryaki sauce to the naked ones (on right):


Then the rub (Aromatica's Organic Cajun Spice and Blackening Rub)

Let them sit on the counter, out of direct sunlight for an hour then on the grill (roughly 220 with oak and maple chunks)


Here is after 1 hour:



After 2 hours:



After roughly 2.5 hours (done by fork tested flaking)




Came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I would go with the cajun spice rub again. Works well with bagels and cream cheese. Next will be the ritz and gourmayo :)

Hope you all enjoyed today's show. Please come back and see me some time again.

-Chris

 

[doctor phreak]

great job....i think my personal fav would be the one with the rub..they look really good...is blue fish a salt water fish and how thick were those cuts????

 

[abelman]

As soon as I saw those fillets, I knew you were in the NE. Man, I miss catching and eating those fish. Smoking one would be a bonus.

Looks good and I can imagine how they taste.

 

[downstatesmoker]

Those are salt water. The fillets were roughly 1 1/2"-2" thick. We've been fishing for blues off the coast of Long Island (New York) for years. They are very oily and sometimes fishy but I found that smoking them got rid of that issue.

 

[pitbull]

Looks good...
I have tried lots of different fish because of living in Florida.
Never Blue fish though..(not available in west Florida)
King Mackrel is awsome!

I can tell ya that smoked Grouper sucks....

 

[kajun]

looks great! especailly the ones with the rub on....next time try cutting them into smaller chunks since they so thick..they will get more smoke and will dry out alil quicker...learned that one from the last time i did king mackeral...also try making a dip..smoked bluefish dip is awesome...thanks for the Q-view

 

[downstatesmoker]

Last time I was fishing in Key West (FLA) I learned that blue's and king mackeral were very similar fish. Very good on the first day. Tend to be a bit oily and get a fishy flavor when they are not fresh, so I am not surprised to hear that King Mackeral are good on the smoke. We don't get much around here but if I get out to the Keys again I will be sure to freeze some and bring it home for a try.

Thank you for the encouraging words!

 

[seboke]

Good God Man!! I recently did my first salmon, turned out great and got me wanting to do more fish. Then you do this to me with your Q-view!!

Slingin some points your way!

 

[flash]

good job downstatesmoker

I could never do them nekkid though, gotta have those spices......and you MUST have plenty of Black Pepper. Its the main spice.

And for us forum members, remember to size you pics 800 x 600 or less, this way we do not need to scroll right to see all the photo and read all the text. In the photobucket upload area, look for the BLUE options link.
See if you can get the smoker in the 180 to 200 region next time. Your fillets are much thicker than the ones we get here in Florida. Even then, I go around 3 1/2 hours for the smoke.

 

[smoke_chef]

Looks awesome!

 

[flash]

HUH??

You're wrong my man. You are in the middle of some great Bluefishing. West coast of Florida has plenty of them. I am in Cedar Key, north of you and we get them twice a year. I also use to fish Bonita Beach and Pine Island, south of you and caught some of my biggest there. Keep an eye out for diving birds and toss some grubs or spoons into the fray. You can also troll for them with Clarke Spoons, they mix in with Spanish Macks quite a bit.