I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan

On Oct 1, 11:29 am, Dan Logcher wrote:
I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan

What a coincidence! I was just thinking about that very subject a day
or two ago and wondering if Blues would be good as sushi neta.

I've only eaten them cooked until now. I fillet them live, remove the
redline and put the fillets into a baggie and then icewater.

When I get home, I put them into a marinade of milk with a little
lemon juice overnight.

After that, I cook them any way I wish and they're always very tastey.

I only go blue fishing when the big ones are running. The fillets are
about two pounds each on my favorite size.

"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...
I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island
Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned
many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if
you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try
and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and
soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan

Interesting topic. The problem with Bluefish appears to be twofold.
First, the bluefish tends to lose freshness rapidly. This is why you never
see a Bluefish on ice in
a supermarket that doesn't look like it's 3 days old and the flesh turning
an unappetizing "grey" hue.
My local Itamae confirmed to me that his finding was the same, that he had
made sashimi from
fresh caught Bluefish out by Montauk and that it was in his words "quite
good".
And that he found that Bluefish very quickly become non-sashimi material
possibly in as little as a few hours.
One of the problems in this regard is that Bluefish, when they are being
caught are usually caught in
great numbers and few fishermen on partyboats put fish immediately on ice.
The other problem with Bluefish is that starting in August and into the fall
they feed feed very heavily
on Menhaden (aka, Bunker, Mossbunker) whicih is a baitfish so oily that
humans don't eat it.
Because of this diet in the fall, Bluefish in the 10 lb + class are often so
oily that they they aren't worth eating.
If one is lucky enough to get a fresh caught bluefish of a smaller size, as
you were, I'd certainly do sashimi.
My own experience was that it reminded me a bit of Aji, so condiments like
Soysauce (or :Ponzu)
and Ginger would probably work very well, possibly better than wasabi.
So like Mackerel, Bluefish seem to be another fish that unless one goes out
and catches it themselves
(or knows a person who does) it's nearly impossible to taste as sashimi.
Musashi

John Doe wrote:
On Oct 1, 11:29 am, Dan Logcher wrote:

I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan


What a coincidence! I was just thinking about that very subject a day
or two ago and wondering if Blues would be good as sushi neta.

I've only eaten them cooked until now. I fillet them live, remove the
redline and put the fillets into a baggie and then icewater.

When I get home, I put them into a marinade of milk with a little
lemon juice overnight.

After that, I cook them any way I wish and they're always very tastey.

I only go blue fishing when the big ones are running. The fillets are
about two pounds each on my favorite size.

If you remove the redline, its a very light flavor. I don't bother to
marinate in milk. We threw some dry rub on one filet and a garlin lime
on the other and grilled it.

We were hoping for Stripers, but blues where everywhere.

--
Dan

On 2007-10-01 09:10:47 -0700, John Doe said:

On Oct 1, 11:29 am, Dan Logcher wrote:
I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and
cleaned many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to
try and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

What a coincidence! I was just thinking about that very subject a day
or two ago and wondering if Blues would be good as sushi neta.

I've only eaten them cooked until now. I fillet them live, remove the
redline and put the fillets into a baggie and then icewater.

When I get home, I put them into a marinade of milk with a little
lemon juice overnight.

After that, I cook them any way I wish and they're always very tastey.

I only go blue fishing when the big ones are running. The fillets are
about two pounds each on my favorite size.

I haven't thought about Bluefish in 30 years. I use to live in New
Jersey and we'd buy it fresh from time to time and holy moly was that
stuff good.

I haven't seen, heard or though of it since. Exactly what kind of fish
is it really?
--
///---

Musashi wrote:

"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island
Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned
many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if
you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try
and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and
soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan


Interesting topic. The problem with Bluefish appears to be twofold.
First, the bluefish tends to lose freshness rapidly. This is why you never
see a Bluefish on ice in
a supermarket that doesn't look like it's 3 days old and the flesh turning
an unappetizing "grey" hue.
My local Itamae confirmed to me that his finding was the same, that he had
made sashimi from
fresh caught Bluefish out by Montauk and that it was in his words "quite
good".
And that he found that Bluefish very quickly become non-sashimi material
possibly in as little as a few hours.
One of the problems in this regard is that Bluefish, when they are being
caught are usually caught in
great numbers and few fishermen on partyboats put fish immediately on ice.
The other problem with Bluefish is that starting in August and into the fall
they feed feed very heavily
on Menhaden (aka, Bunker, Mossbunker) whicih is a baitfish so oily that
humans don't eat it.
Because of this diet in the fall, Bluefish in the 10 lb + class are often so
oily that they they aren't worth eating.
If one is lucky enough to get a fresh caught bluefish of a smaller size, as
you were, I'd certainly do sashimi.
My own experience was that it reminded me a bit of Aji, so condiments like
Soysauce (or :Ponzu)
and Ginger would probably work very well, possibly better than wasabi.
So like Mackerel, Bluefish seem to be another fish that unless one goes out
and catches it themselves
(or knows a person who does) it's nearly impossible to taste as sashimi.

Yes, I was thinking it reminded me of aji.. I knew I should have brought
some ponzu sauce on the trip. These choppers were full of peanut bunker,
ralphed up several in the wet-well on the boat.

I've always found that removing the red parts of the flesh from any size
blue keeps it from tasting oily at all. The only problem I have with it
is its very flakey, so I have to bake or grill on tinfoil.

Next time I will definately serve up a plate of sashimi.. we just took
one bit as an experiement.

--
Dan

Gerry wrote:

On 2007-10-01 09:10:47 -0700, John Doe said:

On Oct 1, 11:29 am, Dan Logcher wrote:

I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long
Island Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and
cleaned many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the
flesh if you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to
try and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi
and soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.


What a coincidence! I was just thinking about that very subject a day
or two ago and wondering if Blues would be good as sushi neta.

I've only eaten them cooked until now. I fillet them live, remove the
redline and put the fillets into a baggie and then icewater.

When I get home, I put them into a marinade of milk with a little
lemon juice overnight.

After that, I cook them any way I wish and they're always very tastey.

I only go blue fishing when the big ones are running. The fillets are
about two pounds each on my favorite size.


I haven't thought about Bluefish in 30 years. I use to live in New
Jersey and we'd buy it fresh from time to time and holy moly was that
stuff good.

I haven't seen, heard or though of it since. Exactly what kind of fish
is it really?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefish

They put up a great fight, especially the larger ones. I was using my light
tackle with 10# test and having a good time with it.. no leaders so I lost a
couple of my lead-head shad lures. Oh well.


--
Dan

Musashi wrote on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:16:48 GMT:

M My local Itamae confirmed to me that his finding was the
same,
M that he had made sashimi fromfresh caught Bluefish out by
M Montauk and that it was in his words "quite good".

"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
?? I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in
?? Connecticut (Long Island Sound) and we hauled in a couple

?? ?? of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned many
?? in the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily
?? parts of the flesh if you want a mild tasting fish. So,
?? while I was fileting it we decided to try and bite
?? straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab
?? of wasabi and soy or maybe a ponzu sauce.

I've only once had very fresh bluefish. Interestingly, it was at
Montauk and the fisherman brought it to the house on his way
home. It was very good broiled. I've generally found that much
older bluefish is not to my taste unless it has been smoked when
it can be delicious. Smoked bluefish might work as nigiri but
I've never tried it.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Oct 1, 12:47 pm, "James Silverton"
wrote:

I've only once had very fresh bluefish. Interestingly, it was at
Montauk and the fisherman brought it to the house on his way
home. It was very good broiled. I've generally found that much
older bluefish is not to my taste unless it has been smoked when
it can be delicious. Smoked bluefish might work as nigiri but
I've never tried it.

That's interesting, James. I tried Blues smoked once and it turned out
mushy. The same for Red Bass. Both my Brother and I took a bite of the
smoked Blue at the same time and both of us looked directly at each
other wondering if that awful taste and texture was the same for them.
We both ended up spitting out the one bite and trashing the remainder.

What method of smoking did you use on yours?

John wrote on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:13:48 -0700:

?? I've only once had very fresh bluefish. Interestingly, it
?? was at Montauk and the fisherman brought it to the house
?? on his way home. It was very good broiled. I've generally
?? found that much older bluefish is not to my taste unless
?? it has been smoked when it can be delicious. Smoked
?? bluefish might work as nigiri but I've never tried it.

JD That's interesting, James. I tried Blues smoked once and it
JD turned out mushy. The same for Red Bass. Both my Brother
JD and I took a bite of the smoked Blue at the same time and
JD both of us looked directly at each other wondering if that
JD awful taste and texture was the same for them. We both
JD ended up spitting out the one bite and trashing the
JD remainder.

I didn't do the smoking; an enthusiastic fisherman friend did
using a fairly inexpensive smoker. I suspect you want to be
careful about the smoking temperature and, given my friend, the
bluefish was fresh when smoked.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:16:48 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...
I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island
Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned
many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if
you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try
and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and
soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan

Interesting topic. The problem with Bluefish appears to be twofold.
First, the bluefish tends to lose freshness rapidly. This is why you never
see a Bluefish on ice in
a supermarket that doesn't look like it's 3 days old and the flesh turning
an unappetizing "grey" hue.
My local Itamae confirmed to me that his finding was the same, that he had
made sashimi from
fresh caught Bluefish out by Montauk and that it was in his words "quite
good".
And that he found that Bluefish very quickly become non-sashimi material
possibly in as little as a few hours.
One of the problems in this regard is that Bluefish, when they are being
caught are usually caught in
great numbers and few fishermen on partyboats put fish immediately on ice.
The other problem with Bluefish is that starting in August and into the fall
they feed feed very heavily
on Menhaden (aka, Bunker, Mossbunker) whicih is a baitfish so oily that
humans don't eat it.
Because of this diet in the fall, Bluefish in the 10 lb + class are often so
oily that they they aren't worth eating.
If one is lucky enough to get a fresh caught bluefish of a smaller size, as
you were, I'd certainly do sashimi.
My own experience was that it reminded me a bit of Aji, so condiments like
Soysauce (or :Ponzu)
and Ginger would probably work very well, possibly better than wasabi.
So like Mackerel, Bluefish seem to be another fish that unless one goes out
and catches it themselves
(or knows a person who does) it's nearly impossible to taste as sashimi.
Musashi


about 15 years ago i had fresh mackerel - at the insistence of the
itamae. as i was still fairly new to sushi at the time, it didn't
occur to me to ask how he got it.

--------
"any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

Dan Logcher wrote:
Gerry wrote:

On 2007-10-01 09:10:47 -0700, John Doe said:

On Oct 1, 11:29 am, Dan Logcher wrote:

I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long
Island Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and
cleaned many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the
flesh if you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to
try and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi
and soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.


What a coincidence! I was just thinking about that very subject a day
or two ago and wondering if Blues would be good as sushi neta.

I've only eaten them cooked until now. I fillet them live, remove the
redline and put the fillets into a baggie and then icewater.

When I get home, I put them into a marinade of milk with a little
lemon juice overnight.

After that, I cook them any way I wish and they're always very tastey.

I only go blue fishing when the big ones are running. The fillets are
about two pounds each on my favorite size.


I haven't thought about Bluefish in 30 years. I use to live in New
Jersey and we'd buy it fresh from time to time and holy moly was that
stuff good.

I haven't seen, heard or though of it since. Exactly what kind of
fish is it really?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefish

They put up a great fight, especially the larger ones. I was using my
light
tackle with 10# test and having a good time with it.. no leaders so I
lost a
couple of my lead-head shad lures. Oh well.


I'm jealous, I haven't been bluefishing in a while, and I'm also on the
coast of LI Sound in CT. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid,
but just don't have the time now. And the last time I went, about 3-44
years ago, we did more 'hanging out' than fishing. But you've inspired
me to go look for my rod now. And try out some bluefish sashimi....

--
HTTP://www.sushifaq.com/ The Sushi FAQ
HTTP://www.sushifaq.com/sushiotaku/ The Sushi Otaku Blog
HTTP://www.sushifaq.com/sushiyapedia/ Sushi-Ya-Pedia Restaurant Finder
HTTP://www.theteafaq.com/ The Tea FAQ
HTTP://www.jerkyfaq.com/ The Jerky FAQ
HTTP://www.omega3faq.com/ The Omega 3 Fatty Acids FAQ

Musashi wrote:
"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...
I was out fishing with a friend this weekend in Connecticut (Long Island
Sound)
and we hauled in a couple of small sized blues. I've caught and cleaned
many in
the past, and I know you have to remove the red oily parts of the flesh if
you
want a mild tasting fish. So, while I was fileting it we decided to try
and bite
straight up raw. It was very good, could have used a dab of wasabi and
soy or
maybe a ponzu sauce.

It had a bit of flavor but not very heavy at all.

--
Dan

Interesting topic. The problem with Bluefish appears to be twofold.
First, the bluefish tends to lose freshness rapidly. This is why you never
see a Bluefish on ice in
a supermarket that doesn't look like it's 3 days old and the flesh turning
an unappetizing "grey" hue.
My local Itamae confirmed to me that his finding was the same, that he had
made sashimi from
fresh caught Bluefish out by Montauk and that it was in his words "quite
good".
And that he found that Bluefish very quickly become non-sashimi material
possibly in as little as a few hours.
One of the problems in this regard is that Bluefish, when they are being
caught are usually caught in
great numbers and few fishermen on partyboats put fish immediately on ice.
The other problem with Bluefish is that starting in August and into the fall
they feed feed very heavily
on Menhaden (aka, Bunker, Mossbunker) whicih is a baitfish so oily that
humans don't eat it.
Because of this diet in the fall, Bluefish in the 10 lb + class are often so
oily that they they aren't worth eating.
If one is lucky enough to get a fresh caught bluefish of a smaller size, as
you were, I'd certainly do sashimi.
My own experience was that it reminded me a bit of Aji, so condiments like
Soysauce (or :Ponzu)
and Ginger would probably work very well, possibly better than wasabi.
So like Mackerel, Bluefish seem to be another fish that unless one goes out
and catches it themselves
(or knows a person who does) it's nearly impossible to taste as sashimi.
Musashi


Musashi... Would you mind sharing the Japanese word for bluefish with me?

--
HTTP://www.sushifaq.com/ The Sushi FAQ
HTTP://www.sushifaq.com/sushiotaku/ The Sushi Otaku Blog
HTTP://www.sushifaq.com/sushiyapedia/ Sushi-Ya-Pedia Restaurant Finder
HTTP://www.theteafaq.com/ The Tea FAQ
HTTP://www.jerkyfaq.com/ The Jerky FAQ
HTTP://www.omega3faq.com/ The Omega 3 Fatty Acids FAQ

War wrote:
I'm jealous, I haven't been bluefishing in a while, and I'm also on the
coast of LI Sound in CT. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid,
but just don't have the time now. And the last time I went, about 3-44
years ago, we did more 'hanging out' than fishing. But you've inspired
me to go look for my rod now. And try out some bluefish sashimi....

I stayed at a friend's beach house not more than a stones throw from
the water where his boat was tied in Saybrook. We were out in the sound
within 15 minutes, nice and fast.

I'd love to do that every weekend if I could.. But it takes me almost
2 hours to get to Saybrook from Boston. Now I'm dying to get my own
boat.

--
Dan

"John Doe" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 1, 12:47 pm, "James Silverton"
wrote:

I've only once had very fresh bluefish. Interestingly, it was at
Montauk and the fisherman brought it to the house on his way
home. It was very good broiled. I've generally found that much
older bluefish is not to my taste unless it has been smoked when
it can be delicious. Smoked bluefish might work as nigiri but
I've never tried it.

That's interesting, James. I tried Blues smoked once and it turned out
mushy. The same for Red Bass. Both my Brother and I took a bite of the
smoked Blue at the same time and both of us looked directly at each
other wondering if that awful taste and texture was the same for them.
We both ended up spitting out the one bite and trashing the remainder.

What method of smoking did you use on yours?


I know exactly what you are talking about. Last year I brought home
a small bluefish (accidentally caught while fluke fishing!) and I
mistakingly
used wet brining. That's how they brine Aji in Japan for dried fish.
The result after coming out of the smoker was a very mushy fish.
Clearly I had miscalculated the high water content of the fish itself.
I made a metal note to myself that next time I would dry brine the fish then
air dry first before putting in the smoker. I still remember the mental
note, I just
haven't gone fishing this summer.
M