# BLUEFISH ...why the bad rap ?



## livin2fish5

*Hey everyone ... last night i went down to the beach in ormond , florida ... i casted out with my 9 fot surf rod .. not far like i used to do up north .. and i got fish ater fish of bluefish , around 20 inches ... now up north stripper fishing id catch them to and EVERYONE told me they are junk , gross oily ..ect... but despite that i figured id keep 2 and give em a try ..... I got some beautiful fillets , off them , and breaded and pan fried them in oilive oil...they came out white flakey ( kinda reminded me off cod ) and to my surprised were AWESOME ... So Next time you get one give it a shot .... *


----------



## RuddeDogg

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.


----------



## NC-Norm-WB

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.


----------



## surfchunker

they make fine fish cakes too


----------



## SmoothLures

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


----------



## earl of DC

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.


----------



## fmchale840

*blue fish*

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


----------



## NC-Norm-WB

fmchale840 said:


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


Cut the throughts


----------



## rsieminski

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.


----------



## livin2fish5

*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........... *


----------



## keezy

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.


----------



## fmchale840

*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..


----------



## Juan_EZ

hmm blues... i love 'em.

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


----------



## Lipyourown

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.


----------



## clinder

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


----------



## Paymaster

clinder said:


> 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!


----------



## rider3

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.


----------



## finfinder

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.


----------



## JeepMike

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).


----------



## Fireline20

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


----------



## Moon

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!!


----------



## fmchale840

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


----------



## gus

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.


----------



## JeepMike

fmchale840 said:


> 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!!


----------



## sprtsracer

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


----------



## RuddeDogg

sprtsracer said:


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


Yep, great for Makos up this way.


----------



## Homer

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.


----------



## DennyR

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.


----------



## Jigmaster

DennyR said:


> 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: *


----------



## jim.eg

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


----------



## MDubious

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.


----------



## Rob S

I like em, not as good as flounder or croaker but they are still good fried IMO. I couldn't tell the difference between the taylor blues and chopper honestly, we would cut out the bloody parts and just cook the grey meat, add house autry and your good.


----------



## mmcauliffe

Forgive me for the noooooob question but I'm a displaced Michigan Walley fisherman trying to learn how to surf fish in FL.

Blues...are we talking Blue Runners (the ones commonly caught while trying to catch Pomps & Permit from shore) or something different?


----------



## drawinout

mmcauliffe said:


> Forgive me for the noooooob question but I'm a displaced Michigan Walley fisherman trying to learn how to surf fish in FL.
> 
> Blues...are we talking Blue Runners (the ones commonly caught while trying to catch Pomps & Permit from shore) or something different?


mmcauliffe, they're talking about Bluefish, not Blue Runners. No such thing as a dumb question, so ask away if you don't know. There are a bunch of good guys here, and if you ask, they'll answer if they know. Definitely helped me out with all my "dumb" questions. And welcome to the site if I haven't welcomed you already!!:fishing:


----------



## mmcauliffe

drawinout said:


> mmcauliffe, they're talking about Bluefish, not Blue Runners. No such thing as a dumb question, so ask away if you don't know. There are a bunch of good guys here, and if you ask, they'll answer if they know. Definitely helped me out with all my "dumb" questions. And welcome to the site if I haven't welcomed you already!!:fishing:


Excellent and thank you for the info.


----------



## release

Man couldn't agree more with the bad rap. My fishing buddies and i have been catching Blues for 30 some years and everyone of us will trade rockfish for bluefish any time. And our wives are delighted to get blues. Trick is to simply ice them down as soon as you catch them. No bleeding, no buckets of water. Just ice them right away. Clean them as soon as you come in and keep the filets cold before cooking. They do not freeze well as stated but boy nothing better from the Bay than fresh bluefish. Leave the skin on and rub a little olive oil on the meat, a touch of caynne pepper and grill until it flakes with a fork. Very short time on the small ones longer on big fillets. Yummm


----------



## GreenFord

We like the "chopper" blues (under 2 lbs) for eating. When they get large they tend to get the oily and fishy taste. We just like to fry them up fresh and chow down. Now the big boys are a blast when you get caught up in a run of them!


----------



## vaheelsfan

Living 4 hours from the beach means I only get truly fresh blues when I catch them and bring them home. Caught some taylors at avon pier last summer and didn't do the whole bleeding thing but they were still good. Just cleaned them soon after catching and kept them on ice and in the fridge until I ate them a couple days later. Just brushed them with a little olive oil, put some salt and pepper on and grilled them for around 5 minutes a side and squeezed some lemon juice on them when they came off. Some of the best fish I've ever had!


----------



## scavengerj

Samller size/bleeding/and cleaning right away are the tickets to decent tasting bluefish.
I've learned that if don't clean them right away, the stomach acid(s) are soo strong that they can and will influence the way the fish finally taste. The other thing I have learned is that it best to ice them down, and preferrably right away, but do not let them come into contact with the melt water (freshwater). This too can have a big influence on the final taste of the fish.

DMS #525
AMSA #1102
OBPA


----------



## readyrock

*Fantastic smoked !*


----------



## surfsidesativa

I'll throw one on the smoker but that's about it. Too many other fine eating fish here to worry about eating a bluefish. They do smoke up nicely but then again, so do cobb mullet so that's not really saying much.


----------



## Brook

Coming in on this a little late, but here goes.

There are several factors involved with the bad rap. One is, odd as it sounds, geographic location. In Massachusetts, for instance, they love blues. In Maine, right next door, they won't touch 'em. 

That aside, there's a matter of size. Large blues are very oily (that's one of the reasons they don't freeze real well), which brings a strong, fishy taste to the table. Americans, as a group. do not care for fishy tasting fish---we prefer the white-fleshed, mild-tasting ones. So for somebody like that, one experience with a large blue is two to many.

On the other hand, small blues, snappers and choppers, are very good on the table. They bring a more robust flavor to the plate, it's true. But nothing objectionable. 

This size thing applies to other oily fish as well. Compare, for instance, the taste of a small Spanish with really big one. Even more dramatic, compare a small Spanish with a King.


----------



## wolfgang

I asked this same question a couple of years ago. I had always been told that blues were horrible and not fit to eat. But fortunately I decided to try one for myself. I think that they must only have a bad rap with folks who have never actually eaten one. Some folks have simply been told all their life that blues suck and so they don't know any better, won't even try them and so the "blues aren't good to eat" myth gets carried on. I love them, but I do agree that the smaller ones (snappers) are the ticket. And the only ones I've ever eaten are from the NC/SC coast. No need to bleed them IMO. Just keep 'em on ice until ready to eat and be sure to cut out all the red/dark meat. Bread with House Autry and deep fry.


----------



## eric

i dont prefer large blues. anything over chopper size 20"+, like gators taste horrible any way you cook em.

i love snapper sizes. like 10"-14"

when i catch them. i kill and bleed on site. a knife thru the center bone and theyll stop flapping.. real quick.

then a cut thru the gills, done.

i bake em, fry em, grill em, souped them. its all good.
sometimes i fillet em , sometimes i dont. if the fish has been eating alot, i cut all the dark meat off.


----------



## hamlet

a tony restaurant here in Chapel Hill was just serving baked bluefish as their special... $18.95 a plate.

Guess no one told their chef and their patrons that blues are not fit to eat


Where I pier fish there is this strange groupthink that blues are nasty and not to be kept. I have decided it is lies created by the king fishermen so they will have a ready supply of live bait.

When I am cleaning my catch at the end of the day I will always have one or two people stop, look, wrinkle their noses up, and ask "how do you cook those things to make then taste ok??"

Groupthink. Patton said if everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking.


----------

