Bluefish are like sweet corn: when the harvest comes you usually have all you can handle.
Recently, a buddy of mine, Bill Morris, got into the big blues near Cape Lookout. Success breeds charity, and I found myself with six nice fillets of a couple of pounds each. What to do?
As luck would have it, Morris wrote a fish smoking story for Carolina Outdoors last December, so I asked him for a Reader's Digest version, and here's what he said.
First, brine the fish. Take a gallon of water and mix 1/2 cup of salt, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and pickling spice. (I had no pickling spices, so I used dill spice and minced garlic).
Brine the fish in a cooler for a few hours, then let dry. A light glaze should develop on the flesh.
I used a Weber Smokey Mountain bullet smoker. The trick is to keep the temperature between 170 and 200 degrees. A cheap Brinkman smoker ($40) will work fine and may be cause to buy one.
A half-filled Weber chimney of charcoal spread amongst 15 or so unlit briquettes filled the bill. I left the water pan in and half filled it with water. (Morris uses an ancient Brinkman with no water pan).
Put the fish on skin side down and let it ride for 3 to 5 hours. I soaked apple wood chips for my smoke (figured hickory would be too strong) and made sure to throw some in every hour or so.
After I woke up on the couch, I went outside to find my coals dead and my fish done. Serve on Triscuits with cream cheese and cold...beverages.
