Conference wahoo::fishing

    Bluefish are very good tasting and less oily when grilled.
    
    Bluefish taste best when they are cleaned soon after being caught.
    Fillet them, wash them in SALT water, and ice them down. I'm not
    sure exactly why you're not supposed to rinse them in freshwater,
    but I have been told that they taste better if they never have touched
    fresh water. This rule does not apply to you Boston Harbor anglers. :-)
                           
    the Doctah

    I can't stand the taste of oily fish, but like to catch blues now
    and then. I've tried almost every way to clean and cook them and
    this is how I do it:
    
    Filet asap, skin it and then cut the fatty deposits (brownish red
    area) out. ice it down and cook it on the grill. another good way
    on the grill is wrap it in tin foil with onions, garlic and peppers.
    
    Rick

>>    Filet asap, skin it and then cut the fatty deposits (brownish red
>>    area) out. ice it down and cook it on the grill. another good way
>>    on the grill is wrap it in tin foil with onions, garlic and peppers.
    
THEN... after well cooked, THROW the fish away and eat the onions, garlics 
and peppers!

I had just one experience with eating blues and it was awful!  My wife 
bought it at the market even, but neither of us could get by the first bite 
cuz it was soooo fishy-tasting.  A real shame ... we both enjoy eating fish.

-HSJ-

    Best bluefish banquet I can think of is bringing some good food
    along with you while you catch blues and toss the blues back!!!
    
    Seriosly putting mayonaise on the blues before you cook them is
    supposed to take away some of the oil.
    
    Bruce

    YO,
        NIGHTCRAWLER BLUEFISH~~~~~~
    
    1. cook on charcoal grill over hickory chips.
    
    2. marinade bluefish in durkee hot sauce, wine, pepper, salt, taragon,
       lemon juice, italian dressing, (chopped scallions green peppers
       optional) and hot Picante sauce.
    
    3. after marinating for minimum of 2hrs transfer to aluminum foil
       and turn up the ends to accomodate the marinade juice. 
    
    4. place on grill after adding hickory chips. (be sure to soak them
       in water first for 1/2 hour. They will burn (smoke) longer.
    
    5. Add butter and cook until tender. ~10 min, fillet size dependent.
    
       *cut away dark meat if prefered prior to cooking. Enjoy.   
                                                                NIGHTCRAWLER~~~
    
    

	What you might want to try is 1. Filleting asap. 2. Gitem on
    ice. 3.(at home) Soak fillets in "milk"for about 5 minutes. (this draws
    out a lot of oil and impurities).  4. Make an aluminum foil jon
    boat and lay fillets in foil.  In 1 bowl mix melted butter, half
    cup of good white wine, squeeze on half lemon (save other half),
    a bit o garlic, and few pieces of chopped onion, and a few strips
    of weel done bacon.  If you want to get carried away like I do,
    include hickory chips on top of your coals and get some smoke 
    happenin'.  Cook over pre-heated grill for about 10-12 minutes
    depending on the size of the fillet.  After 3 minutes or so of cooking
    squeeze second half of lemon over fillets.  Note:  Do not poke holes
    in the bottom of foil like some people do.  Keep the juices in. Note
    #2.  If you can not fillet & skin asap, then try to bleed the fish
    right after the gaff get out of his back.
    
    	I am not a big fish eater, but when properly cared and prepared,
    the Bluefish can taste good.  Some people love it, I think it's
    OK.  Good luck & Bon Appetite.
    
    Vinnie
    

    I've heard mention of cleaning them right on the beach and tossing
    the remains to the gulls and crabs.  Never having seen it done,
    is this "acceptable" or does it just cause a mess and get people upset?  
                                                
    Don Mac - who has also heard soaking the fillets in milk helps
                                                
    (who has also only been surf casting a couple times and has never
    caught a fish!)                  
                                     

       I never had any complaints about cleaning fish on the beach.
    Nothing goes to waste, the Gulls (flying rats) or crabs will eat
    the leftovers. You will usually draw a crowd of tourists if its
    busy.
                                                      Denny

I remember the first blue I caught many years ago in Beverly Harbor.  It was 
about 8 lbs.  Someone had told me that after filleting it out, to cut out 
all the red meat down the center as that is the real strong and oily part of 
the fish.  

After carefully filleting out this 8 lber, I then carefully cut out ALL the 
red meat.  I was left with barely a handful of white meat, not even enough 
for one person, so I gave it to the cat.  Even the cat didn't like it!!
Oh well....

    
    Wasabi Powder, Soy sauce and a knife is all you need..
    
    btw, YO, WORM....My family and I are available Sunday after 3. 
    I can't wait to taste your Blue fish .... Sounds terrific
    
    TBDW
    

    I usually throw the fish back, if I can get the hook out. If I don't
    throw it back I immediately gut the fish. Make sure you cut out
    the vein along the back and remove the blood. I then put it on a
    stringer and lower it back into the water. When I get back to the
    car (and if I remembered to bring an ice chest) I will fillet the
    fish and put the fillets on ice.
    
    Only had inedible bluefish once, and that was on a hot day without
    an ice chest...
    
    	Marty

    Try smoking them.   I DON'T like fish, but smoked blue fish was
    good.
    
    Bassin Bob who got .60/lbs this weekend for 350lbs of blues!!
    
    

    
    Another way to cook them is to bake them with onion, pepper, stewed
    tomatos and tomato juice. Season to taste.
    
                      Bartender    

          p.s. you could add some beer to that.

    Bassen Bob.
    Where did you make your fortune, Catch the fish, Sell them?
    
    What type of bait did you use? Did you chum or troll.
    
    I'm headed out on Fri/Sat. Did you note the water temp?
    
                                     Walt
    

    YO I FORGOT!
                    Do not forget to "eat the cheeks". The best part
    right TBDW?! Sorry Sunday is out. I'll be fishing out of Newburyport
    for the day. The fishing report says 50lb plus cod/haddock/halibut
    are being taken!! YAHOOOOOO hope for the same this weekend!
    
                                                    NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~~~~

    re: .12
    Are'nt they hard to light?

    This is somewhat off the subject of bluefish prep., but when Iwas
    in Newfoundland a month ago, cod CHEEKS and TONGUES were always
    on restaurant menus. I had the tongues, which were deep fried. They
    have a jelly-like consistency, but otherwise tasted ok. I wouldn't
    rush to order them again though.   
    
    I've never seen cod cheeks or tongues on American restaurant menus.
    Either Americans aren't ready for it yet or are smart enough not
    to touch them!

    
    RE:16 
    you must dry them out, you just can't catch'em and smoke'em
    
    good thing's come in due time. Do you drink wine the same
    
    day the cork was slammed into the bottle. sa 

    re .16
             A good size Blue can be a real crowd pleaser!
                                                            NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~

    After catching those blues friday I decided to give bluefish eating
    one more try. We were real careful to bleed the fish as we caught
    them and iced them down and then filleted them shortly after.
    
    I ended up cooking a fillet on the gas grill basting (sp?) it
    with scampi butter (butter, garlic, parsely) and it was
    great! Cook the fish dark side down. I guess I will keep one
    for the table from now one.
    
    Bruce

    
    
    Welcome to Bluefish Mania.
    
    Just think if someone could find a way to cook bluefish and make
    it taste eatable that recipe could be worth some money. 
    
    Just send mail and a check for $19.95 to the above adress and I'll
    send you Grandma Sullivan's ye ole Irish Bluefish recipe. I will
    admit after she cooked it even I asked for seconds.
    
    Bassmaster,
    
    Dave Sullivan
    

    My method;
    -fillet fish
    -have a beer
    -cut out dark meat
    -have a beer
    -skin fish
    -have a beer
    -soak in salt brine for 2 hrs
    -have several beers while waiting
    -fire up the grill
    -have a beer waiting for grill to get hot
    -throw away the blue fish
    -cook a porterhouse steak
    -have another beer
                             

    RE .22
            YO, Did you go to the same culinary school as Holeshot?
    Ha Ha.
            I just remembered the ULTIMATE in Bluefish eating. You can
         order it at Legal Seafoods. It is called Bluefish Pate'. It
         is incredible. 
                                     NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~~~~
    

	Several of those receipes look similar to ones I've tried with "some"
success (my daughter and I ate it, my wife didn't.)  

WORM -  One thing,  I don't think it does any good to add chips of any kind 
for the smoke flavor when you have the fish wrapped in aluminum foil.

	Another thing I've found that helps is, after you have cooked the 
blue fish in the foil with the various marinades, herbs, and spices, open 
the foil up and let the meat cook dry a little.  If it's still intact, which 
it ususally isn't, take it out of the foil and grill the outside of the 
fillets.  All the good flavors are inside, the meat is has a better consistency
for eating and you can then add the flavor of the smoke, too.

	All in all, I'd say blues are best caught and released.


Texican

    YO Texican,
                  You place the fish in foil shaped like a bowl so as
    to leave it in the marinade/juices. It is NOT covered. Use of a
    WEBER kettle grill is highly suggested. (Corningware will work
    too) The object is to keep and to cook in those beauty juices while
    smoking and cooking....
                               NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~~~ bluefish cook
                                                      extraordinair'!

    Catch bluefish while drinking beer.
    Clean bluefish while drinking beer.
    Take leftover beer and go to NIGHTCRAWLER's~~~~~~~~~~ place and
    give him some beers to cook your bluefish for you.
    

    The title of this note is hereby changed to "Beer Blast '88!!" 

    re .26/.27
               YO, Yes, I believe BEER BATTER would work as well......
           Steamed in BEER....the possibilities are staggering! KOOOSHHHHH*
           Ahhhhh the sound of another pop top...
                                                   NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~