Note: This column oiginally appeared in the July 2007 issue of On The Water magazine. The recipe was included in Dave “Pops” Masch’s cookbook, Cooking The Catch.
Bluefish is a delicious, affordable fish that is packed with healthy omega-3s. However, it has a reputation for being too “fishy” tasting and oily. As someone who loves cooking and eating bluefish, I’m here to share my tips and tricks for making this fish taste amazing. With the right prep and cooking methods, you can enjoy bluefish fillets, tacos, ceviche, and more!
Selecting and Preparing Bluefish
The first step is choosing fresh bluefish fillets at the market or preparing your own after a fishing trip. Look for bright, shiny fillets without discoloration. I recommend selecting smaller fillets, around 12-15 inches, as larger fish tend to be more fishy tasting.
Once home pat the fillets dry and trim off any dark fatty sections or bloodlines. Then rinse and pat dry again. To draw out excess blood and oils that lead to fishiness, soak the fillets in milk or buttermilk for 30 minutes up to overnight in the fridge. The milk helps leech out impurities.
You can also soak fillets briefly in acidic citrus juice like lemon, lime, or orange. The acid helps break down fish oils. Just 30 minutes to 2 hours in a citrus marinade brightens flavor.
Grilling and Broiling
One of my favorite cooking methods for bluefish is grilling or broiling. The high heat caramelizes the exterior while keeping the interior moist. Brush fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, herbs like dill, and spices like paprika or cumin. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side.
I like to add slices of lemon, lime, or orange on the grill to infuse citrus aroma Baste the fish with the grilled citrus as it cooks Serve with extra wedges of lemon or a tangy citrus salsa. Grilled bluefish tacos with cabbage slaw are amazing.
Baking and Roasting
Baking or roasting at 400°F is ideal for getting crispy skin on a bluefish fillet. Pat fillets dry, coat with olive or avocado oil, and season all over. Place skin-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Bake 12-15 minutes until opaque and flaky. I love roasted bluefish on a bed of Mediterranean couscous or rice pilaf with diced tomatoes and spinach.
Pan-Searing and Sautéing
For pan-seared bluefish, get your skillet very hot before adding a touch of oil or butter. Season fillets with salt, pepper, chili powder or smoked paprika. Cook skin-side down for 2-3 minutes until browned.
Flip and cook another 2 minutes until just opaque in the center. Pan-searing really concentrates the flavor. Serve with a pan sauce made from the browned bits in the skillet.
For easy sautéed bluefish, cut into bite-size pieces. Coat with flour, cornmeal, or panko breadcrumbs for a crispy crust. Sauté in hot olive oil for 2-3 minutes per side. Squeezing fresh lemon over the top balances richness.
Frying
Fried bluefish is an indulgent, crispy treat! After soaking in buttermilk, coat fillets in flour, spiced breadcrumbs, or cornmeal. For a light crunch, mist the coated fillets with oil then bake at 425°F for 10-12 minutes.
For deep fried fillets, heat 1-2 inches oil to 350°F and fry for 2-3 minutes until golden and cooked through. Fried bluefish pairs perfectly with hushpuppies, coleslaw, and tartar sauce.
Steaming
Steaming is a healthy cooking method that preserves moisture. Place seasoned fillets in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam about 5-6 minutes until flaky. Top steamed bluefish with fresh herbs and lemon butter.
Steamed fish is also great in fish tacos or used in composed salad bowls and grain bowls like quinoa bowls.
Braising and Stewing
Slow braising coaxes out rich flavor and tenderizes firmer fish like bluefish. Sauté aromatics like onion, garlic, and chilies in olive oil. Deglaze with white wine or broth.
Nestle in seasoned fillets, add tomatoes, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. I love Mediterranean flavors like olives, artichokes, and spinach in a braise. Serve bluefish stews over pasta, rice, or polenta.
Smoking
Smoking infuses delicious flavor while melting away oils that lead to fishiness. First brine fillets for 1 hour in saltwater or broth with brown sugar and spices. Pat dry.
Smoke at 225°F for 1-2 hours until flaky. Apple, cherry, and pecan woods pair well with bluefish. Serve smoked bluefish in tacos, on toast points, or folded into a dip with cream cheese.
Poaching
Poaching gently cooks fish in hot, not boiling, liquid. Add aromatics like lemon, onions, parsley, peppercorns, and garlic to salted water or broth. Simmer 10-15 minutes.
Let cool in the poaching liquid. Flake for croquettes, salad, fish cakes, or layer into sandwiches and collard green wraps.
Ceviche
For no-cook ceviche, dice fillets into 1/2-inch cubes. Toss with freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice and refrigerate 4-6 hours, until opaque and “cooked” by the citrus acid.
Drain well and toss with diced tomato, onion, chilies, cilantro, and avocado. The lime juice’s acid also helps minimize fishy flavors. Spoon ceviche over crispy tortilla chips.
Tips for Avoiding Fishiness
- Soak in milk, buttermilk, or citrus juice before cooking
- Remove the dark bloodline section before cooking
- Grill, broil, bake, or pan-sear at high heat
- Fry or roast with a crispy, caramelized exterior
- Balance rich fish with bright acids like lemon, lime, or citrus salsa
- Infuse aromatic flavors from fresh herbs, spices, garlic, chili, etc.
- Smoke or braise in flavorful liquids to impart flavor
All “Blues” Are Not Sad
As summer approaches, so do the fish that come with it. Let’s catch some and cook them right.
There’s not a lot of ways to write column after column without getting repetitive and boring for the reader. It’s already boring for me, so why should you care?
Anyway, I know a fish that is always fun to catch or eat, and that fish is the much-maligned bluefish. Everyone knows it’s a great fighter, but it’s dangerous to handle. If you do it right, it’s delicious to eat. The bluefish is disliked by many for being oily or “fishy-tasting” and even repellent when cooked. These negative reactions are always about fish that were poorly handled when caught. When blue whales are feeding on the surface, fishermen often catch a lot of fish quickly. In the excitement of the moment, the fish are thrown to the deck or put in boxes and forgotten until the blitz is over, the tangled lines are straightened out, and the gear is checked over. Then the fishermen have to talk about what happened before they can finally get to the dead fish that are cooking in the boxes or just sitting in the sun. Some people don’t pay attention to this fish until they get to the dock. There, they unload the spoiled fish and give it to their friends and neighbors, who quickly grow to dislike the good fish.
Every summer I write to exhort my readers to bleed each bluefish as it comes aboard. Making a cut just behind where the gill covers meet on the bottom of the fish is an easy and dangerous way to do this. Bluefish have sharp teeth, strong jaws, and are very mean. Be careful, because they will quickly eat the flesh off of your finger or thumb! I know this from personal experience. Before you make the cut that will bleed, you should hit big blues over 6 pounds hard on the top of the head with a “priest” or some other kind of club. (The name “priest” for the chosen bludgeon is apt, for it applies the “last rites” to the fish. After cutting the fish’s throat, I put it in a bucket that’s half full of water to keep most of the blood off the boat. When the blood is gone, I put the fish on ice or, if there is no ice, in a wet burlap bag. Evaporation from the wet sack will keep the fish cool for as long as the sack remains damp. I then gut the fish as soon as possible, usually while still at sea.
If you do what I say, you’ll have a nice gift for your friends and neighbors. They won’t have to hide when they see you coming with “fresh” fish. They will actually welcome you with open arms and thank you very much, especially if you can persuade them to cook the food you gave them in this way, which I call the “world’s best bluefish recipe.”
The book More Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, which came out in 1978 and is not my own, has this recipe in it. In the eight years I’ve been writing about this recipe, I’ve done so almost every year. I think it’s important for the bluefish’s reputation as a tasty food and for yours as a tasty food treasure to your family and friends. It is also easily prepared. What more could you ask for in a recipe?.
Baked Bluefish with Potatoes, Genoese Style (for “The World’s Best Bluefish Recipe”
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel and slice the potatoes thinly (about ⅛-inch thick). In an enameled cast iron (16×10-inch) casserole dish, mix the potatoes with half of the garlic, half of the parsley, half of the olive oil, and a lot of salt and pepper. Put the dish in the upper third of a hot oven and bake for 15 minutes. The potatoes should be spread out evenly on the bottom and sides of the dish. Remove the dish and place the fillets, skin side down, on the potatoes. Mix the remaining olive oil, garlic and parsley and pour over the fillets. Salt and pepper liberally and return the casserole to the oven for 10 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven and use a spoon to coat the fish and potatoes that are already brown with some of the oil in the dish. Take the browned potatoes off the sides of the dish and put in the potatoes that haven’t browned from the bottom of the dish. Bake 5 minutes more.
Serve piping hot directly from the casserole dish, scraping up browned potatoes stuck to the pan. You should save these tasty bits for yourself or someone you like almost as much, Marcella says. ”.
To make more of these “delectable bits,” I sometimes use two baking dishes, twice as many potatoes, and the same amount of fish. ” My family has almost come to blows over these browned potatoes. Does it really matter whether the potatoes or the fish taste better? Why not? Go for it! Home cooks don’t get enough praise or fame.
This simple recipe is not only outstanding, but versatile; you can cook any firm-fleshed fish in this way. If you don’t dry it out, it goes well with swordfish, salmon, mackerel, and striped bass. You really can’t go wrong with it. The only things that could go wrong are not pre-cooking the potatoes long enough or, even worse, cooking the seafood for too long. You can eat it with shrimp, scallops, or both; squid, octopus that has already been cooked; or a mix of all of these. You will not be sorry and your renown will grow. I promise!.
Best Bluefish Recipe Ever, NO FISHY FLAVOR (Catch and Cook)
How to cook Bluefish fillets?
Learn how to cook bluefish fillets in few easy steps. Delicious oven baked bluefish with tomatoes and lemon, so juicy and flavorful. Try it today! Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray baking dish with olive oil spray. Rinse bluefish under the cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels.
How do you cook Bluefish in the oven?
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut a piece of foil large enough to enclose the bluefish fillet. (You can double layer the foil if you are working with thin foil). Place the foil in a roasting pan. Rinse the bluefish fillet and place it in the center of the foil, skin side down. Sprinkle the fillet with salt and pepper.
How do you cook Bluefish in a broiler?
In a deep dish, arrange the bluefish and pour the vinaigrette over the fillet. Let it marinate for no longer than 30 minutes. Set your broiler to high and place the marinated bluefish on a baking sheet with tin foil. Arrange the fillets on the baking pan and broil on the second-to-top rack for 10 minutes, letting it caramelize.
What is the simplest Bluefish recipe?
Broiled bluefish and baked bluefish are the two simplest bluefish recipes. I like broiled bluefish a little better than baked bluefish because broiling browns the sauce on top of the fish, giving it a slightly more pronounced flavor.