When they are done, we remove the filets from the grill and set them aside to cool. They should have a good smoky crust, but still remain moist on the inside. After roughly three hours on the smoker at 175º to 200º, the filets should take on a deep honey brown color.When the smoker is around 200✯, we add the presoaked wood chips to the coals, and put the filets skin-side down on the grill grates. Once the pellicule has formed, we sprinkle them with a bit of paprika for color, and fire up the smoker. Average sized filets are usually ready in about three hours. Smoke doesn’t stick well to wet surfaces, so you want the surface of the fish to dry out and form a sort of skin, called a “pellicule.” Dry filets in the refrigerator. When the three hours are up, we remove the filets, rinse them, and set them on a wire rack over a baking sheet to dry. We usually put our filets in a gallon sized zip-lock bag and place them in the ‘fridge for about three hours, but you can let them go for longer if you like. You can tailor the brine to your individual taste, adding soy sauce, a dash or two of hot sauce, or a bay leaf, for example.Brine filets in a solution of 1/2 cup salt and a 1/2 cup brown sugar dissolved in a quart of cold water.Sometimes, I brush on barbecue sauce or maple syrup along with red pepper flakes. You can apply additional seasonings to your fillets at this time.Your homemade gourmet fish brine adds flavor to your fillets as well as prevents them from drying out during the smoking process.In a large glass bowl or mixing bowl, add 1 quart of water, 3/4 cup salt, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, a touch of lemon zest, and a little ground black pepper.Place the bowl of wood chips over the hot side or over the coals, close the grill lid, and allow to smoke for 3 hours.The temperature should not be very high, and around 150 degrees. After bluefish fillets dry for 3 hours, place them in your smoker or on the cold end of your grill skin side up.Place coals on one side of the grill, and fillets on the other end for indirect heating. If you don’t have a smoker, you can use your grill instead. Prior to the completion of the drying step, heat up your grill or smoker.While you’re waiting for the fillets to dry, soak a bowl of wood chips you’ll use for the next step.The added salt will pull moisture from the fillets and leave them with a slight coating which gives the smoke a better surface to adhere to.This can be done at room temperature or refrigerated if you like. Sprinkle salt on fillets and let stand for 3 hours.Remove fillets from brine, pat dry, and place on a cooling rack, skin side down.Add fish to bowl, cover with plastic, and refrigerate.Stir brine ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed.You can find slight variations to this recipe, but in general, you will need kosher salt, Old Bay seasoning (optional), brown sugar, lemon zest, black pepper, and soy sauce (optional). What ingredients do I need to smoke bluefish? ![]() In just a bit, I will go into detail for each step listed above.
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