we’ve got the blues, and that’s good!
one of the wonderful things about being in the fish business is that something new is always at its best or coming into season. soft crabs are just ending. the massachusetts (commercial) striped bass season just finished. now, rich new england swordfish are fattening up for their winter migration and will be at their freshest (because they are closer to shore and the fishing trips are shorter), richest and most delicious of the year. another one of our all-time favorites, the bluefish, is peaking, and we’re going to be celebrating them all through the month of september.
these rich, flavorful beauties are caught off the new england coast now and, like the swordfish, are pretty much in the midst of a fall feeding frenzy. we’re getting them in whole and so fresh, it looks like we caught them right here in ann arbor!
bluefish have a reputation of being a “strong” or “fishy-tasting” fish, but in our opinion, the flavor of a fresh bluefish has a lot of character and depth. it’s not super delicate like a flounder or cod, and certainly handling and perishability is a big issue with bluefish and has contributed to the perception that bluefish is “fishy.” once a bluefish is filleted, it loses its freshness pretty quickly (one of he reasons we have them shipped in whole). since there is a lot of marginal quality bluefish out there, there’s a good chance that a lot of folks have had a poor experience with bluefish. we never buy pre-filleted blues. we buy them whole and fillet them as we need them throughout the day—retaining all the moisture, color, goodness and preserving their wonderful flavor.
this fish, i think, is one of the tastiest. it’s a fish that is great simply broiled but is also great for the grill—firm and moist. we also love to roast them whole and have smaller 3-4 lb fish so you can give it a try. we posted a recipe and a video for a whole bluefish roasted in kosher salt just a few months ago. bluefish also holds up to lots of great sauces, rubs and salsa. it goes well with acidic tomato or caper-based sauces, mustard sauces, sweet sauces like teriyaki or sweet & sour & spicy…like today’s featured recipe, blackened bluefish with kiwi citrus glaze. we’ll be featuring bluefish recipes all month. come on in and try some of the season’s finest.
