The reason that blue fish get a bad wrap is due to the heavy "fishy" taste and the oil that the meat produces. Now not ALL blue fish taste the same. Depending on where they are caught and what they're diet is will effect the taste. Up here, to get rid of that taste, you can soak the fillets in milk or butter milk which draws out the taste and the oil. Also, if you bleed the fish after you catch it also effects the taste and the oiliness . Of course the "snapper" blues taste the best.

 

I eat bues all the time. I always cut them as soon as I catch them. I fillet them and flavor to taste. I had a big party and seved up fish tacos using the blues. EVERYONE ranted how delicious the fish was. Some even ate fillets without all the taco stuff. I like 'em and will continue to like 'em!! Good luck with them.
I am from Maryland originally and I think Old Bay is the key. Dip your fillets in egg, mix Old Bay in your bread crumbs, put the fillets in a bag w/mixed crumbs and shake the fillets. Fry those bad boys up. They will be awsome.

 

they make fine fish cakes too

 

They have to be taken care of...bleed 'em then cut and head (if you want fillets), then put 'em on ice.

 

people who rant about how bad blues taste ar 1s who dont know how to cook them. to me ther is no better fishcake than the 1 made from a blue.

 

blue fish

I've always thrown them back, How do you bleed them out

 

I've always thrown them back, How do you bleed them out

Cut the throughts

 

I get a 5 gal bucket of water, cut the gills straight across ob the bottom most part (carotids), and stick them head 1st into the bucket. They'll swim and pump all the blood out. Gut them, rinse inside and out with sea water, and stick them on ice. Pack the ice inside the abdominal cavity, and keep them from soaking in the water.

 

I Caught a bunch more the other day , i kept 4 of them and they were delicious ..... i tried a recipe i found for baking them with potatoes but pan fried with bread crumbs is the way to go...........

 

I'm with ruddedog, it depends somewhat on their diet. Blues that are eating a lot of menhaden (bunker) can be pretty strong. Blues that are eating mullet or minnows are much milder. Soaking fillets in buttermilk always worked for me. I'm sure bleeding them would also help. Cutting the bloodline out of the fillet might help as well, works for stripers.

 

blue's

I'm coming back down to St. Augustine for the month of March again. Not sure how many I threw back last year but will try one this year. I know here in Maine they throw them back.. So that is what I did last year. I'm game. I'll try one this year..

 

hmm blues... i love 'em.

the small taylors are great for fryin' and i found that the larger ones are great smoked!!

 

They get a bad rap because most people don't really like the taste of fish and prefer something like striper that has very little flavor or use an elaborate recipe to get the fish taste out.

 

i love em. similar to spanish macks in my opinion. good good good! taste better than :spam: for sure!

 

Been catching and throwing them back for 3 years now! I love eating fish and will definitely give them a try. Thanks for sharing the info!

 

We usually make iur into fish cakes. We will combine what we cathc together and make a night out of making the cakes. Its fun.


We have also smoked them and they are might tasty that way too.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned grilled bluefish. Its one of my favorite ways to prepare the. Their oiliness keeps them from drying out. I use a little salt, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, italian seasoning, dijon mustard and lemon juice. Stir until creamy (5 minutes). Let it marinate a few hours before grilling. Grill them bad boys. A vacuum sealer shortens the marinate wait time to twenty minutes. It pulls the marinate into the fillets. Lemon juice cuts the oiliness. On larger fillets I always cut out the bloodline.

Even broiled works fine. Sometimes I just season them with salt, pepper,old bay and lemon juice. Brush with mayo and broil them snapper fillets until golden on top. I'm eating in ten minutes. Yeah buddy.

 

IMHO, most people do not like bluefish because they don't live close enough to the coast to get it absolutely fresh (when it's the best). Blue won't keep as long as other fish, but eaten fresh it is absolutely DELICIOUS!! I ate bluefish 3-5 times a week over the summer and hope to eat even more this summer!!!!! I don't mind them having the bad reputation, people keep giving me the "nasty fish" they don't want. (Same with blowtoads, haha).

 

I love catching blues,,,one of the best fighting fish lb for lb in ocean. Last Oct the bride and I got into a school of "snappers" (5 lb or less)as Ruddedog likes to call them as opposed to chompers( 5lb and bigger) and we had a blast. Got to the point where I just sat down, let the wife fish and drag them in and I would "bleed" them like said above, throw her line back out, sit in my chair and attempted to down a beer.:beer::beer:

But she kept pulling the me in and I was worn out and the beer kept getting warm

Here is a picture of the blues we kept that day.

http://pierandsurf.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/4827/cat/500/ppuser/20254


But anyway, this is how I do it:

1. Have a 5 Gallon bucket ready filled 3/4 with local surf water.

2. Pull em in, and immediately slit their throats and dump them in the bucket, let them bleed out,,,do not cut off the heads or gut them.

3. After about 30 mins or 3-4 in the bucket, change the water, take the heads off and gut them.

4. Put em on ice and keep them on ice.

5. Take em home, scale them and eat then or freeze each fish in a qt freezer bag for latter.

Now I don't fillet them, I like to scale then pack the body cavity with butter, lemon slices, salt, pepper and garlic and wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them for about 30-45 mins at 375

 

One of my favorite fish and I won't eat a strong fishy tasting fish. Blues between 1 and 2 pounds put on ice and eaten fresh are very mild. They don't freeze well, so eat them fresh. Make sure to remove the small amount of red meat and get the oil about 375 degrees and you will have some great fish! I am only referring to blues caught in NC waters. They also put up a great fight!!

 

I can't wait until March... I caught a lot of them last year , about 1-3 pounds... I'm going to grill the first one I get... Thanks

 

Do it and you will not regret it!! We catch them on the pier all the time last year, fillet them out,, slap a little old bay, roll up in foil and toss on the grill right there,, 5 minutes later you got a treat!!

 

because we are spoiled and most any other fish tastes better here. they also MUST be fresh and do not freeze well. they fight like hell though and cannot be topped in the smoker.

 

I LOVE Blues!!! They make GREAT shark bait!!!

 

Yep, great for Makos up this way.

 

I agree w/ everyone who says they absolutely gotta be fresh! They do not keep well; and I only eat the ones i catch myself.

That being said, we eat them every way possible; smoked, grilled, fried, and yes, even sashimi style! (even the 10 lbers)

Bleed them right away, Clean out all the red, some sea salt, soy and wasabi! It'll surprise you how mild the flavor is when they're not even a day old out of the ocean.

 

Try marinating in a mix of 1 part olive oil and 3 parts lemon juice for 20 minutes or so. Sprinkle just a bit of oregano and maybe a bit of paprika on the filets and broil. Fresh does count. Blues don't seem to keep for me more than a couple of weeks in the freezer, and really are not as good as fresh-never frozen filets.

 

Naaa They have pretty good natural Flavor

Here is the trick use a Cast Iron Skillet to fry them in med med /high Heat!!! Fillet /Scale them. Salt and pepper both sides i sprinkle of dill if you have it.Cook skin side down 1st oil the pan with canola or peanut oil just before you throw the blue on put a pat of butter in the skillet as soon as it spreads and turns bubbly brown throw the Fillet on. 2 min per side remove from the pan. Squeeze a little lemon.

If you want the Ultimate Breaded Fried remove the Skin.

Use 50/50 mix of (Old Bay Dip n Crisp) and (Old bay better Batter) < It's hard to find in this part of the country i have been buying it in Bulk online.

OK back to breading recipe combine 1/2 cup each (Old Bay Dip n Crisp) and (Old bay better Batter).1/2 tsp. brown sugar 1/4 tsp. Cajun seasoning.

Use 1-2 eggs 1/4 to 1/3 Hot water mix and dip Fillets in egg mixture so Batter stays on you can roll fiffets on the crumbs on a flate or shake in a Bag if im doing a Fish fry i shake in bag method for smaller portion i use the plate.

Again Cast Iron Skillet pref. Canola Oil 2 min per side if they are thicker Fillets 3/4 to 1 in thick. go 2 1/2 per side

If your Fillets curl up turn the Heat down. EXcelent FLOUNDER Recipe!!!

I use the same formula for any Breaded Fish except for Redfish i will ad 1tsp. of Cajun Seasoning Chef Paul's is a good one.:fishing:

Oh yeah Dont forget the Ice cold ones as you are Cooking.:beer:

 

Bluefish spoil much faster than other fish, even various species of mackerel. In addition they freeze poorly. Hence the only way to go is with very fresh properly kept fish. In addition the large ones (over 20-24") often are greaseballs (the small ones are not) and sometimes have unappetizing grey flesh.
For the large ones: Bleeding is ok. If filleting cut out the dark line. They go well with strong seasoning, smoke well and grill well(leave bones in) and bake well. Frying is not so good since they are already oily.
Small ones: they are easy - cook as other fish

 

This is funny, my father in law and I were just having this discussion today on the beach talking about how they get a bad rap even though they fight great and most people don't know how to cook'em.