Filleted Blue Fish skin and scales on, the amount is up to you. 2-4 medium sized filets would be a good way to start. Striped Bass, Black Fish, Whole Porgies also are great too just put 3 slits in each side
Bag of sugar
Kosher salt
2 bay leaves
Tea spoon of Oregano
2 table spoons of molasses
1 medium sliced onion
Wood chips for smoking, cherry is good on Blue Fish or ant other fruit wood, Hickory is ok too

If you can freeze the filets first for at least a day but not longer than a month unless you freeze them in a solution of lightly salted water. Yes it sounds strange, but it makes a better product.
Cut the defrosted filets in about 5” pieces, chunks. Blackfish & Porgy leave uncut

Make the brine, this is the most important part: depending on the amount of fish you will use, put water in a pot that will hold the fillets easily. Put only the amount you will need to cover the fish, its always much less than you think. Now you will put sugar in, keep stirring and keep tasting the solution until it is a light sweet flavor. Add salt keep stirring and also keep tasting until it tastes good to you, but not too salty. Put the rest of the ingredients except for the wood of course.

Put the cut fillets in the brine and put in the fridge overnight.
In the morning take the filets out and put on your smoker’s grates skin down, not touching one another, but out of the smoker. You want to have a fan blowing on the fillets to dry them for at least an hour, this is key!

Then start your smoker up follow its directions and start checking the fillets after the first hour until they start to look on the inside like any other cooked fish. Every smoker will take different times and it will depend on the thickness of the filets and the amount you put in at one time. Keep checking until you learn your times on your unit. Keep the fish moist, don’t over do it.
When you feel they are done, take out the grates, but leave the fillets on the grate for 20 min to cool and firm up.
Then put on a plate or platter and put in the fridge uncovered for at least 3 hours, after that you can bag them or wrap them.

Don’t forget to bring Capt Sloan a taste of your work.

Great with fillet of small Bluefish, Striped Bass, Porgy, Blackfish.
2 cups of white or semolina flour
2 eggs
1 12oz beer, good beer, but better not a dark beer.
Frying oil, stay healthy with Corn or like oil.

Cut fish in finger size pieces or 4” by 2” pieces. No thicker than ½”

Mix flour and eggs well and start adding beer slowly, you will add about 3/4 of the beer but keep mixing and adding until the consistency is about like mayonnaise.

Have your pan and oil hot. Drench the fillets one by one let a little excess drip off only for 1-2 seconds and put directly into hot oil. It should sizzle up, if not, your oil is not hot enough. Now work fast to get them in as fast as possible. Turn them as soon as they start to brown(only about a minute or so, about the same time on reverse side check one to see it is done and take them out, put on paper towel to dry off oil.

Ready to eat, good with tartar sauce and lemon
Capt’s favorite is spring Blue Fish cocktail size

2 lbs fillet of a white meat fish, Blackfish, Fluke, Porgy ect.
1 medium onion
8 large lemons(better the Costa Rican lemons, but I can’t find them in the US)
1 Orange or Ginger Ale
Bunch of Cilantro
Salt

Cut fish into 3/8” cubes or thinly slice into smaller than bite size slivers.
Finely chop onion.
Wash well and chop 1 ½ table spoons of cilantro
Squeeze lemons into separate bowl and remove all pits, all!
Then mix together in a bowl, non metallic.
Set in fridge for minimum 3 hours.
Take out and squeeze orange into separate bowl, no pits! A chug of ginger ale will replace the orange if you like. Then add to fish mix and add salt to taste. It will need some salt.

This is a great summer delight and will last in the fridge for 3-5 days. A great diet food, and yummy!

I thing Black Fish racks make the best soup, sweet not strong but rich with flavor. Many of our anglers love the Striped Bass head soup too.
Its easy!
Clean the rack (what’s left over after a fish is filleted) of its gills and guts. Ask the mate he can do this for you. Once home wash off the rack with cold water. Put it into a pot and just cover with water. Medium high heat and once boiling cook for 30 min.
Pour contents thru a strainer and catch all the stock(liquid) in another pot. This liquid is your fish stock. You can also pick thru the meat now in the strainer, but watch out for all the bones.
Add the following ingredients to your stock and cook 20 minutes more, those * are optional any or all! If it’s a special occasion put them all!

2-3 sautéed medium onions
1 lb chopped carrots
2 sticks chopped celery
pinch of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste less salt if you use clams or oysters
* 2 strips of well done bacon chopped to ¼”
* 1” chunks of fish put in at the very end. white meat only
* chopped fresh clams put in at end
* 1 lb peeled shrimp put in at end
* 1-2 doz shucked whole oysters with liquor(oyster juice) put in at end

This is great in the fall to warm up.
To make it into a chowder you must make a rue to thicken it and add cream or half and half, but no need as its great with out the thickening.

Any of our great fish will come out great, just don’t over cook.

Fillet of Bass, Bluefish, Fluke, Blackfish or Porgy
Very lightly olive oil a baking pan with a paper towel.
Put fillets with the dark side down(the side that used to have the skin)
Lightly sprinkle Italian seasoned bread crumbs over the top.
Very lightly Dribble Kikoman Soy Sauce on top no more than 1 drop per inch of fish
Do the same with olive oil or a few small dabs of butter.

Broil on high until done, you must keep checking not to over cook it. It will keep cooking even after you take it out of the oven. Use a fork and when it almost has no raw look to it deep inside, its done! About 5 min for small blues, fluke, small blacks. Bass needs more time, you can butterfly the bass fillets before you start to make them better.

This is easy and it tastes like crab salad!

Steam your filleted blackfish in a sauté pan with a little oil or water, however much fish you want.
Don’t over cook it, just check with a fork. 5 minutes covered should do it.
Chill in fridge until cold. Overnight is best. It will congeal, just mix it all in.
Mix diced onion and celery into it, add mayo and salt. It will need some salt.
Eat with crackers, on a bed of lettuce, on a sandwich or just with a fork while standing with the fridge door open.
Put some chopped tomato in too if you like.