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Recipes · Bluefish Sensato

Captain Matt's bluefish sensato.

Bluefish runs thick off Block Island, and nobody cooks it better than the captain. Matt spent years in the kitchen before the wheelhouse, and this is the grilled bluefish he serves at home: a mustard-and-dill glaze, skin-side down, no flipping.

A captain who can cook

Bluefish has a reputation for being strong and oily, which is exactly why most people cook it badly. The trick is to keep the skin between the flame and the fillet so it bastes itself instead of drying out, and to brighten the rich meat with mustard, dill, and fresh lemon.

That is the whole idea behind the sensato glaze. You build it in one bowl, lay the fillets skin-side down, close the lid, and never flip them. The skin chars onto the grill bars and acts as a barrier, so the fish lifts off in clean, flaky pieces. It is the kind of recipe that turns a fish people skip into the best thing on the table.

Fresh bluefish caught aboard the Hula Dog off Block Island, the catch behind Captain Matt King's grilled bluefish sensatoBluefish Sensato · grilled on Block Island

Bluefish Sensato

By Captain Matt King, Hula Charters
Serves
4
Prep
10 min
Grill
6-8 min
Heat
400°F

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
  • 1/2 cup whole-grain mustard
  • 1/3 cup fresh dill
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh-squeezed is best)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • 4 medium bluefish fillets, skin on

Method

  1. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high (about 400°F).
  2. Combine all the wet and dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk thoroughly into a sensato mayo mixture.
  3. Leaving the skin side down, cover the top of each fillet with the sensato mixture.
  4. Place the fillets skin side down on the grill bars.
  5. Cook with the grill closed for approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
  6. When the fish flakes at the touch of a fork, use a spatula to lift the fillet off the grill, leaving the skin on the bars.
Captain's noteThis method does not require flipping the fillet. The skin side stays closest to the flame the whole time and works as a cooking barrier, keeping the meat moist while the glaze sets on top.

Serve hot with corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, and sliced tomato.

Catch your own off Block Island.

Bluefish season runs hot through the summer. Book a charter with Captain Matt, then take the freshest fillets you will ever cook straight home.

Book a Charter →Call Captain Matt