#Bluefish recipes how to#
#Bluefish recipes skin#
#Bluefish recipes plus#

If it got too cool, I’d open the bottom vent a bit. If it went over 200☏, I’d close the bottom vent a bit. Then I’d check the heat every 15 or 20 minutes. I watched the temperature creep slowly back up to around 200☏.

#Bluefish recipes skin#

Then I sprinkled black pepper over the fish and put it on the other side of the grate away from the coals for indirect heat, skin side down, and closed the lid. I inserted a thermometer through the top vent to keep track of the temperature, and when it was 225°-230☏, I added 6 or 7 more coals, and a handful of wet wood chips over the top. I replaced the grate, adjusted the bottom vent so it was halfway closed, and replaced the lid, making sure the top vent was fully open. I filled my chimney starter less than halfway up, lit them, let them ash over for 20 minutes, then spread the ashy coals on one side of the grill. For a charcoal grill, you need to get your coals started at least an hour ahead of time, maybe two, in order to give them time to cool to the right temperature. Smoke the fish at 200☏ for the first hour, then 150☏ for the next 2-3 hours until done. The point is, you don’t want to smoke a wet piece of fish or it won’t turn out as smoky as you want. I’ve read that you know your fish is dry enough when the surface feels slightly tacky, but mine never felt more than just dry and it came out fine. That’s what they call the shiny, dark, lacquer-like surface of properly smoked fish. This step enables the smoke to adhere to the outside of the fish forming a flavorful pellicle. Pat the fish dry and let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours so the surface dries out further. The brine adds flavor and keeps the fish moist during the smoking process, not to mention helping with preservation. Refrigerate 4-48 hours until ready to smoke. Rinse the fish well and submerge it in the brine. In a large baking dish or gallon-size resealable storage bag, stir together all the brine ingredients until the salt dissolves.

For wood chips, my source recommended alder, but I couldn’t find it so I used hickory instead.Ĥ cups wood chips (like alder, hickory, or apple), soaked in water This works for salmon, trout, or whatever other fish you feel like smoking. I hope he will forgive me-I don’t think we ever exchanged names, but I owe him a bottle of vodka.

#Bluefish recipes how to#

It was great smoky fun for an afternoon (and evening, as I found myself outside in the dark at 9 pm with a headlamp unsure of how to tell when the fish was done).Ī hearty thank you to the man on the beach. The resulting fish came out so well, I couldn’t even believe it. The technique is for a regular old charcoal grill.

#Bluefish recipes plus#

It’s not an exact replica of that old family recipe, but a close accounting of what I remember from the conversation, plus some smoking tips from the Internet (specifically Dave’s Cupboard, Barefoot Kitchen Witch, and Hunter Angler Gardner Cook), and my own personal additions. A bunch of clues to work with, some mysterious unknowns, and the vague promise of dinner.īack home with my charcoal grill, I got right down to business. This is exactly the kind of puzzle I like to solve. I had no note-taking apparatus apart from my feeble brain, but I wrote down as much as I could remember once we got back to our cottage rental. Forget salmon, my head was swimming with notions of smoked bluefish. You can imagine how excited I was by this point in the conversation. Then he proceeded to outline his entire smoking process in great detail. He’d brought his family to that campground every year for the past 20 years, and they liked to smoke trout, salmon, bluefish, whatever they could get their hooks or hands on from the nearby waters. When we reconvened on the beach, an older man noticed the fishing poles and started talking to us. Husband’s brother was in town from Colorado, and the men were fishing while the boys and I swam. Earlier this summer, we were hanging out at Nickerson State Park by one of the kettle ponds.