Summer bluefish are arriving, just as we would expect for this time of year, as the waters of the Sounds are warming. Did I hear you groan? It's true that some people are a little less enthusiastic when you mention bluefish—and it usually has to do not so much with the fishing as the eating.
So here's your remedy.
It begins on the boat or jetty. The first step to tasty bluefish is making sure you treat them properly as soon as you land them. Kevin Blinkoff of On The Water magazine recommends bleeding them (slash the gills and upend them into a bucket of water), and then getting them on ice, as quickly as possible.
The filets will contain a line of dark flesh against the skin. This has a very strong flavor. You'll want to cut that out and discard it.
Now the recipe. The late fish-eating expert Dave "Pops" Masch advocated for a bed of sliced potatoes in a casserole dish, doused with olive oil and salt and pepper. This gets pre-baked, then the filet goes on to finish. The result is a potato bed that has crispy edges and marries deliciously with the bluefish juices. Not for nothing did Pops (who ate a lot of fish in a lot of different ways) call this the "World's Best Bluefish Recipe."
There's a complete rundown of this week's fishing action in the audio below (big stripers moving through the Canal and into Cape Cod Bay). Give it a listen.
