Are blue fish good eating? I was thinking they were probably boney and hardly worth filleting. If good eating, what size is a keeper?
My mother in law is from New Jersey. It is her favorite fish to eat. Never had it myself. I understand it is similar to mackerel. I don’t think I would bother trying to clean one under about 20 inches.
Karma is 360 degrees
I have eaten them in the past. Not too bad. I bled them out after catching them. The meat looks similar to a mackeral. If you deep fry any fish it will taste good.
ive actually found that the smaller fish are tastier. agree with the frying suggestion… best way to go
i love how some people turn their noses at fish such as blues, macks, and AJ’s and such. nothing wrong with those fish. might not be filet but then again ground beef isn’t filet and i sure love a burger 
fish is gooooooooooooood
Very oily from what I know. Big and common in NY, NJ, DE, MD. Baked, Fried, and breaded. The smaller the better.
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I’m from CT and Blues are very common here during the summer.
Not all people like to eat them. I do but a several Bluefish meals a year are enough.
They do not freeze well so don’t bother.
The secret to a good tasting Blue is to take care of the catch and use the smaller fish (app. 20").
The larger Blues have an even stronger gamey taste than the smaller fish so they are let loose to fight another day.
Bleed the fish when caught and put on ice immediately. They will cook on deck if not put on ice.
The best way to prepare them is either smoke it; they taste great! Or…
Filet and then cut out, and discard, the red lateral lines.
Poach filets for several minutes in water, white wine. lemon juice, and garlic and onion powder.
I then put the poached filets on a sheet of aluminum foil and place under broiler just to firm up the meat a bit and brown the top.
I will then sprinkle on top of the filets a lite shake of McCormicks Seafood Seasoning. Eat the fish with lemon. You will not know its Bluefish! Bon Apetite’!
I will have to try this recipe with Jacks.
Wilton, CT: New Smyrna Beach, FL
Agree with the comments about the smaller blues being better eating - the smaller the better. The big ones are very oily, but can be good if smoked correctly.
Broiled bluefish is pretty good. I’ve just used lemon pepper and butter, but most any fairly simple broiling recipe will result in a pretty tasty meal.
shellfish and mattie said it- smoked is GREAT! anything worth filleting to you is big enough. smaller ones broiled, fried or poached too.
there was a recipe in the south carolina sportsman last year for broiling the fillets while they rested on a bed of celery stalks- said that the bulk of the oil drained out of the fish that way.
i made some heavily-smoked fish dip with them last may- worcestershire, garlic, chives, cream cheese, lemon, etc… let sit in the fridge for a day or two before a party, i guarantee it’ll be a hit.
I’ve caught small at the reefs but never kept em. The Army stationed my brother in Va. so he learned to fish Chesapeeke Bay. They would catch em up to 20 lbs. He made some type of bluefish salad that was supposed to be killer. I know he bled em good and seems like boiled or poach with some vinegar in the water before making salad.
You can’t catch fish on a dry line
I used to get smoked bluefish from a little market on the Chesapeake Bay. It was incredible.
“Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em!” …
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Take the small ones, fillet and skin. Dredge with house autry seafood breader and deep fry. There is no better eating fried fish. We never freeze them but eat them fresh. Great eating, but then again we eat skate and shark also.
Carolina Skiff Doug
1980DLX Carolina Skiff
For the larger ones, filet and leave the skin on. Coat with olive oil, salt, paper, garlic powder. Place lime slices on fish and broil or grill, don’t turn. Good Eating.
Carolina Skiff Doug
1980DLX Carolina Skiff
My wife, Girldawg, who posts on CF, filets them and then I fry them. We never bother to bleed them, but she does cut out the bloodline/dark areas. Pretty tasty!
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…Proverbs 1:7
welcome dudedawg- i enjoy your wife’s posts.
lotta blues around now, from the 4" to the 12lb!
friend of mine said the best bait for big blues is medium size blues… they hate 'em!
saw this show where they coated the bluefish fillet with cracker crumbs then fried and finished in the oven… looked pretty good i must say
i want to fish with the dawg clan sometime… seem like really nice peoples
small blues are great bait for bigger blues.
barbawang,
where are they thick right now? Ive been bashed on this forum before for wanting to catch blues, but everyone knows they are fun to catch, espoecially on light tackle!
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i know folks on the piers are seeing and catching the medium to big uns… or were up until a week ago.
we found a 3 pounder trolling spoons (see drone spoon topic!) between the jetties only about 20yds off the north rocks two weeks ago. seems like any front beach area with structure is a good place to start.
if from shore, i’d start with stinky bait and heavy mono or light wire near rock piles and rips like north folly… i certainly won’t bash you for trying it!
quote:
Originally posted by happyappysaw this show where they coated the bluefish fillet with cracker crumbs then fried and finished in the oven… looked pretty good i must say
i want to fish with the dawg clan sometime… seem like really nice peoples
You are welcome to be a dawg for a day! You could teach us all your tricks!
awesome. maybe ill make it up to the dirty myrtle one weekend. would like to see how that spanish jigging tree works. fishing up in wrightsville beach next weekend. might be able to stop by myrtle on the way back
that is a super nice offer by the way