Grilled Bluefish | A Guy and His Blues

À GUY AND HIS BLUES

By Mike Franco

Fired Up and Foil-Wrapped: Mike Franco has his trusty Weber at the ready, with bluefish fillets, sweet peppers, onions, and grape tomatoes headed for a delicious date with the grill.

So here’s the thing.

Don’t pay attention to that Midwestern brother-in-law of yours whose summer visits to your Cape Cod getaway all too often are compounded by his constant commentary touting the superiority of brook trout over our local saltwater gems.

Or perhaps it is your whiny neighbor — constantly bragging about the “mild” fish flavor and

texture of the farm-raised salmon so symbolic of her native Great Northwest.

And all too frequently, they, and their equally misguided partners in crime, particularly focus their errant arrows at a local seafood that is, for me, among our most treasured — yet often maligned— delicacies, the noble, if at times, misunderstood, bluefish!

Maybe it goes all the back to the Fall River of my youth when my fishing-obsessed older brother would announce that “the blues were running” — and then disappear for long stretches, only to return with a blue-hued seafood bounty that often utilized our only bathroom tub as its temporary home pending final dispersal.

You likely have heard some iteration of that tired accusation — bluefish is oily, smells too strong, does not “ cook up” well. Au contraire, mes amis. Way back when — those glimmering, bathtub-bound seafood delights strewn about after being caught only a few hours earlier, truly smelled of the sea, that unforgettable burst of briny gusto.

My Irish mom, never known for her culinary magic, nonetheless was astute enough not to mess with a good thing — usually a simple bluefish bake allowing these critters to showcase their truly special flavor. Yes indeed, I greatly enjoy the tasty treat of a wonderful halibut or cod filet as much as the next ichthyophile, but certainly at this time of year, the complex, sophisticated flavor of fresh bluefish is tough to top.

Fortunately, I no longer have to forestall a bath or shower while a still ice-chilled bluefish catch temporarily occupies my bathtub, as I did in my youth; I have the wonderful Chatham

Harvesters Cooperative to thank! If you are reading this item, you must be a co-op member;

therefore you need no sales pitch. Each Sunday, I (and probably many of you) eagerly await

that special Harvesters weekly email listing their seafood treats available to members that week. Occasional short feature stories about one of the special co-op fishers whose efforts make this possible — as well as a growing list of recipes provided both by co-op fishers and members alike — only add further to this weekly delight.

Since bluefish found its annual way onto the Cooperative’s weekly offerings awhile ago, the

world has become a better place! (And don’t even get me going about the incredible SMOKED bluefish prepared by Doug Feeney, a delicacy that for me is BY FAR the best I have ever tasted!)

The bluefish sitting in my refrigerator awaiting me was harvested in Cape Cod Bay by Tom

Smith — fortunately they avoided the meteorite that splashed into that water on May 30.

Sometime soon, if not already, he is likely to follow the fish to areas closer to home here along the South Coast and around Nantucket, where they spend the bulk of the summer.

Yes, it is okay to sniff a piece of fish. The Harvesters’ blues have that very same bracing “ocean smell” that I so coveted in the bathtub batches of my youth. A painful reality here — much of the bluefish sold in our various area stores and markets often flat out flunk that “freshness” sniff test. Trust me on this.

The three story tenement buildings of my Fall River childhood were not the place for gas, charcoal or ANY kind of grill, so my mom’s BAKED bluefish ruled the seafood roost in this young’un’s mind. Yet now, a “few” years from those times, times do change and I now use a new approach— à bluefish/ veggie dish wrapped in foil and prepared on my Chatham backyard grill!

Of course, the Harvesters’ Cooperative has done all of the hard work — supplying me weekly

with beautiful one pound packages of Tom Smith’s blue bounty — just the right amount for a

simple but wonderful dinner for my wife and me.

I don’t consider myself any great shakes in the kitchen but, over the years, have found myself

tinkering with an occasional new recipe that I find interesting, or perhaps tweaking something we usually do — and often this has involved seafood. In this particular instance, my goals were simple — avoiding the need for a hot baking oven during one of Cape Cod’s occasional muggy, drippy summer days. Enter Mr. Weber!

My approach is so simple that I have never even written it down. Therefore, various ingredient “amounts” that I mention may be a bit too iffy for those of you schooled in the finer culinary arts. My escape clause though, is that I have found this dish to be virtually foolproof — for instance, its olive oil-based veggie mix essentially eliminates any chance that the fish will be dry.

Ironically, I am not a big pepper fan, yet their colorful mix and subtly different flavor zests add greatly to the dish. Again, allow me some wiggle room in the following — grab the largest red, orange, green and yellow peppers (one each) you can find, and slice into halves. Clean out their innards (seeds, stems, etc.) and then start slicing one half of each color. I find that relatively small strips (maybe two inches long and one sinch wide) work well for this dish. Dump that cut-up pepper pile into a medium-sized bowl and now move onto an onion (the largest one you can find, naturally). Slice that bad boy in half, chop up one of the half chunks (pick a chopping size to your liking) and add that to the pepper mixture. We are getting there.

I love tangy grape tomatoes and probably overdo it here, but usually use at least eight ounces of them (more if I have more), slice each of those little gems in half and — surprise — add those to the pepper/ onion party in the medium sized bowl.

More often than not, I use little or no added spices. Pepper seems superfluous, no? — and I

am a lifelong enemy of added salt, but this is an area where you can go wild and adjust things to your particular predilection. Other, more sophisticated spices and herbs may add a kick to things but, for me, I am most focused on preserving/ enhancing that special bluefish flavor above all else.

So now I have a fairly large collection of peppers, onions and tomatoes that need help. I

splurge on the amount of olive oil added to the veggie mix. Not especially sophisticated when it comes to differences in olive oil, I usually pour a good belt of EVOO into the veggie bowl and mix away. This item, in my mind, is a key to the recipe.

I rub a bit of oil onto the two large aluminum sheets, place the fish pieces on each and also rub a slight amount of oil onto the top of the fish. Now I divide the veggie mix into two equal parts and scoop it onto the fish. There is far more veggie mix than needed to cover the fish so I build it up around the sides of the fish, again showing why it is important for the aluminum to be considerably bigger than needed only for the fish.

Once done with that task, ideally you can wrap the foil around the sides and top of the fish,

while specifically able to open the top very slightly at some point to check on its cooking status. Meanwhile, I have started the grill, set for medium heat (350-400 degrees or so); when there, pop those fishy treats onto the grille, close the cover and away we go!

Any gas grill owner knows their device’s potential idiosyncrasies — hot/ cold spots

…inaccurate readings … irregular temp fluctuations … and one of my faves — a grill

trying its best to maintain constancy while struggling to run “on empty.” This is where

your own judgment is key. The relative protection of the foil wrap guards the fish from

sudden flareups but ideally, try your best to have the grill maintain a fairly steady temp

and adjust as needed if your grill heats up too quickly in the first 10 minutes or so. I will

turn the grill down a bit at times and even have been known to open the cover for a very

short bit to bring things back under control. You will know what to do.

Assuming all is proceeding according to plan, I begin to focus more as the cook time begins to approach the 15 minute mark. Specifically, I listen for the initial, telltale sizzle sound which

indicates to me that all is proceeding as planned. On rare occasions, especially if I am

preparing this for guests, I may “cheat” a bit, SLIGHTLY open the wrapped aluminum top and gently see if the veggies seem to be doing well. Best, though, not to do so — bad things can happen if you have to struggle to rewrap the foil at this juncture!

At this point, your fish probably needs another 10-15 minutes on the grille. At 25 minutes or so, I use a long handled fork to gently open the foil top and test the fish by slightly piercing it. It likely will be just about done, or only need a few more minutes. Again, in using this method I have never overcooked the fish so the risk of doing so is quite low — leave it on a few more minutes if you feel the need.

Once back inside, I use two sets of tongs to lift each wrap onto a dinner plate and, with

spatulas/ spoons, very carefully remove the fish/ veggies and liquid from the aluminum onto the plate. There will be lots of hot liquid in doing this so be very careful. Add a starch (rice/ quinoa) to the plate and there you go! While this dish does have lots of veggies, we usually add a side salad to the meal as well.

Voila. Enjoy.

Chatham Harvesters Grilled Cape Cod Bluefish in Foil with Summer Vegetables

Serves: 2–4

Prep Time: 20 minutes. Cook Time: 25–30 minutes

Ingredients

KNOW YOUR FISHERMAN: Mike Franco readies one pound of bluefish fillets, caught by Capt. Tom Smith in Cape Cod Bay—fresh, local, and fully traceable from boat to grill.

• 1 pound Chatham Harvesters fresh bluefish fillet

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced

• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

• 1 orange bell pepper, sliced

• ½ large sweet onion, chopped

• 8 ounces grape tomatoes, halved

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (optional)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Lemon wedges for serving

Directions

Prepare the Grill

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat (approximately 375°F).

Make the Vegetable Mixture

In a large bowl, combine:

• Bell peppers

• Onion

• Grape tomatoes

• Olive oil

• Lemon juice

• Thyme (if using)

• Parsley

Season lightly with black pepper and toss until all vegetables are evenly coated.

Assemble the Foil Packet

Lay a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the counter.

Lightly brush the center with olive oil and place the Chatham Harvesters bluefish fillet in the middle.

Spoon the vegetable mixture over and around the fish, allowing the vegetables to completely surround it.

Fold the foil tightly to create a sealed packet.

Grill

Place the packet on the grill.

Cook for 25–30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

The bluefish is done when it flakes easily with a fork and reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

Serve

Carefully open the packet—the steam will be hot.

Transfer the fish, vegetables, and all of the flavorful juices onto serving plates.

Serve with rice, quinoa, or roasted potatoes to soak up every drop of the delicious broth.

Finish with an extra squeeze of fresh lemon.

COOK THIS CATCH

About Mike Franco

Mike Franco is a retired senior executive, consultant, and freelance writer in the areas of higher education, arts and climate conservation, who is now actively involved with numerous Cape Cod nonprofits both as board member and philanthropic advisor when not experimenting with various Harvesters Cooperative seafood treats on his trusty Chatham backyard grill.