Peter Ryan, of Wulf’s Seafood, cutting a side of bluefish into portions, one of which appears above.
Okay, I admit it–I love fishy fish. You can keep catfish, but once that’s off the table, I’ll eat everything else. Bring on the sea urchin roe, mackeral, fresh sardines and all swimming things smoked and pickled. All grand. But if I were Neptune, sitting at my right hand, way above the salt, would be bluefish. This week we’re serving Bluefish Agrodolce, an easy easy easy dish. And when you’ve gotten agrodolce, a quick sweet-sour sauce, well in hand you can serve it with just about any kind of seafood with a bit of gumption. Welcome aboard.
When I was a kid my primary experience with seafood was fish sticks. Cheap, plentiful, and easily accepting of one of the world’s great condiments, tartar sauce, they were perfect for meatless Fridays in rural Michigan. A taste for fish sticks, like a taste for macaroni and cheese, acquired early, gives one’sculinary life direction. A communal soufflé made with canned salmon, fried filets of bass or trout or summer sunfish – we lived in the Midwest, after all – and an annual smelt fest rounded out my seafood experience. As a special treat, when dining out, my brothers and I were allowed to order shrimp in a basket. Later, after clambering several rungs higher on the ladder of prosperity and moving to the East Coast, we sometimes ate salmon. After being introduced to bluefish and mackeral as a student in New England, I asked my parents why we’d never had it at home. “Mackeral is for cats,” my mother replied at once, not even bothering to comment on the bluefish. Fishy fish were all the same.
They’re not, I’ve since learned. Each is delicious in its own way. To my palate, bluefish isn’t the strongest (mackeral and sardines are more potent), but it is the meatiest. It feels the most substantive. It’s also the one I most love to eat cold, and the sweet-sour sharpness of agrodolce is as tasty cold or, really, at room temperature, as it is when warm. My mother, who is no longer with us in spirit, remained steadfast in her dislike of fishy fish. My father, whose memory is not what it once was, will still shake his head at it on a menu, until I remind him that he’s eaten bluefish at our house and and liked it. “Oh yes,” he says, lighting up at the recollection, although I can’t tell if the pleasure is really coming from his recall of the seafood or a grilled potato that accompanied it. “That’s right! I did like it. It’s a fishy fish.” Enjoy. Ken
The red snapper is trying to catch up with the bluefish. Not a chance.
Grilled Bluefish Agrodolce
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cipolline onions or small shallots, about 2½ ounces, peeled and cut into quarters through the root
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ cup sherry vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or hot red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
- 3 tablespoons pitted Nicoise or Gaeta olives, broken in half
- ¼ teaspoon grated orange zest
- Juice of one orange
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 4 pieces bluefish, 5-6 ounces each, skin on
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sumac (see Jody Notes) or 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 3 cups baby mustard greens, arugula or other spicy greens. A mixture is fine as well.
Directions:
- To make the agrodolce heat 1/3 cup of the olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the cipollini or shallots, season with salt and cook 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and cook just a minute, taking care the garlic doesn’t brown. Add the sugar, vinegar, Aleppo pepper or hot red pepper flakes, raisins, capers and olives. Cook for 3 minutes, add the zest and orange juice, simmer 10 minutes and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasonings. Allow to cool. Stir in the oregano.
- Prepare a hot grill.
- Season the bluefish with salt, pepper and sumac. Brush with the reserved 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook the fish, skin side down, until the fish is three-quarters cooked, about 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets and the temperature of the grill. The skin should be charred, and the fish should come off the grill easily.
- Flip the fish and cook on the second side until done, 3 to 4 minutes. Remember to allow for carry-over as the fish will continue to cook off the heat (i.e. if you’re not going to serve the fish immediately, remove it from the grill slightly underdone).
- Arrange the greens on a platter. Spoon some of the agrodolce over the greens. Arrange the fish on top and then spoon the remaining agrodolce over the fish.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
JODY NOTES
I’ve only been fishing twice and the second time I caught a bluefish. They’re incredible fighters, even out of the water and I was glad to have someone with experience get it off the hook for me. Ken and I are lucky enough to have several friends who fish for both bluefish and striped bass and generously share their catch.
Grilling fish is less of challenge than people imagine. The same rules apply whether using a grill pan (as we did here) or an outdoor grill. In either case, the grill needs to be clean, hot, and brushed with a bit of oil. The fish should also be brushed with oil, although if the grill is clean that’s not absolutely necessary. Ninety percent of the problem with fish sticking is caused by bringing the fish into contact with the grill before it’s hot enough to cause a sharp, immediate sear. If you wait until the grill is quite hot, the surface of the skin will sear. As the fish cooks, the skin will tighten up where it makes contact with the grill, and ultimately release from the metal surface. I like to use tongs to life a corner, then a spatula to carefully lift the rest. Brushing the top surface with a little oil before you flip the pieces will make it easier to remove the pieces when they’re completely cooked.
Sumac is tart Middle Eastern spice made from the ground dried fruit of the sumac tree. Most people immediately recognize the flavor as a major part of the Middle Eastern za’atar spice mix. I like it lot on fish, chicken and lamb. These days you can find sumac in Whole Foods these days, in a Middle Eastern grocery or online. Or you can just substitute za’atar or a little grated lemon zest.
The Garum Factory 
Reblogged this on freespiritfood.
Another huge fan of bluefish here, and it is indeed great on the grill. It’s a fish with a lovely personality, and I’ll take this any day over tilapia or flounder. The sauce sounds lovely!
Flounder can be tasty, as long as you recognize that it’s fairly delicate; tilapia, well, tilapia-lovers are welcome to my share. Give me something with a big flavor and I’m happiest. Thanks for the comment. Ken
This looks incredible!!
Thank you, Antonia. Tastes good too. Ken
This may make me a convert….
This may make me a convert….willing to try it!
The fish sounds lovely, but I’m so intrigued with the agrodolce! Love the raisins!!! It would be good on tuna and salmon, don’t you think?
Yes. And lamb and pork, which is how they use it in Italy, keeping in mind that Italian pork is a much more assertive flavor than non-heritage American pork. Good luck.
Upon first glance this dish appears to be very difficult to prepare. I read the post and NO, not at all! I can do this too! :) It’s a beautiful recipe. I’m not sure if bluefish is available over here in the Pacific Northwest, but I am certainly going to look for it at the fish market. I love that your father described it as a “fishy fish”. Thank you for another lovely post Ken and Jody.
I am in awe. I have never had bluefish but, this looks divine. Jody, you are so right about the griddle for fish. clean, hot and oiled and one has few problems. This presentation is, as ever, world class. Keep at it.
Best,
Conor
Thanks for the kind words, Conor. Interesting about not having bluefish–I assumed as an Atlantic species that you folks would have them too. I think I did read that they were present in the Baltic Sea (which, if my recent experience in Istanbul holds, then it means they’d be ungodly expensive). Should you ever end up in Boston give me a shout ahead of time and we’ll grill some together. Ken
That sounds like as near a plan as one could make.
That looks very flavorful I can almost smell it. :)
I wasn’t really sure if we had this fish in Japan and it seems that we do but it’s apparently rare and expensive. This shop sells fresh bluefish caught in Niigata on the Japan Sea side and if you scroll down you will see it prepared as sashimi (as well as for cooking) which looks very good.
http://takasagomaru.sakura.ne.jp/nihonkai/index.html/ara.html
Wow! That looks delicious. The next time I’m in Oishi I’m going to ask one of the Japanese sushi chefs about bluefish. Thanks! Ken
Gorgeous pictures and more than appetizing fish plate.
Thanks! It was fun to find leftovers in the fridge the day after cooking and shooting. Ken
raised in IOWA we only got “CREEK” (pronounced crick) fish. I do love a good old fried catfish. Not a lover of fish EXCEPT the BLUES! Thanks Ken, cuz you have reassured me I am doing it right….Never tried raisins or Orange but I willing will change it up! When I had the beach house in HULL (CASA DEMENTIA)
I would trounce from the shower and pass the kitchen often times in just a towel (now there’s a vision). One of my fishing neighbors would be at the sink cleaning the “just out of the water” blues. I know many people go “UCK”. They call it “BLACK and OILY” NOT SO….I do dust my BLUE with a little Wondra Flour when it is panned seared. Thanks and hope you get lots of believers….
Thank you, Sharyn. Glad you enjoyed the post. The flour dusting is great for pan frying. Next time someone drops off some bluefish on the Cape I’ll be sure to greet them at the door wearing only a towel. Ken