Hook Em and Cook Em April Submissions

[William Novotny]

Being blessed with an abundance of quality rockfish this season, I've had my fill of tacos. Time to think outside the box and get a little creative.

First the on the water shot.......

this is from a few months back but it will come into play today as well.......

My recipe is an Apple smoked rockfish bisque.

Let's start this recipe off chronologically with the stock. This was made by boiling down the remains along with some vegetables, after a delicious lobster dinner.

Ok, freeze that stock in a freezer bag and jump to today. Actually last night. The first step to a good smoked fish is a good brine. For mine I used a quart of apple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup seasalt, pressed garlic, Black pepper, crush red pepper, paprika and a dash of worchestershire sauce.


Mix all ingredients in a Tupper ware and completely submerge your filet over night. About 12 hours tops. Remove from brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Hang filets on smoking racks and let dry at room temp for 1 hour till tacky to the touch.

I like smoking fish with applewood. I like a more mild sweeter flavor but feel free to use whatever flavor fuel you prefer. For this recipe I soaked my applewood for a half hour in apple juice.


I use an electric smoker and like to preheat and get the smoke going about a half hour before adding the fish.

fast forward 2 hours......Delicious, smokey goodness.

Now for the bisque. This is a basic recipe I've been using that is very easy to make and remember.

Ingredients:
NT1/4 cup butter
(1/2 stick)
1 cups thinly sliced leeks
1/2 chopped yellow onion
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 quart lobster stock
1 pound smoked rockfish
2 cups stewed tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
Pinch black pepper
Pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (optional)
Salt to taste


melt butter in medium stock pot on medium heat then add your leaks, onion and mushrooms. Simmer till onions turn clear.

Add tomatoes, herbs, fish, lobster stock and seasonings. Reduce heat and simmer on low to evenly heat all ingredients.


In a separate bowl mix your flour, milk and cream.

Wisk until evenly mixed. Add flour mixture to stock pot.

Simmer for another 5 minutes then kill the heat. A good immersion blender is handy to puree your bisque but I used the good old stand up blender.

Return the bisque to the stock pot on low heat to keep warm while prepping your bowl and garnish.


Dress it up with a few crumbles of smoked rockfish, a sprig of dill, some black pepper and voilÃX! Your favorite chardonnay and you're good to go.

sorry for the long winded post. Hope you enjoyed it!


Note: if you want some texture and are into more of a chowder, you can reserve a portion of it before blending then add it back in, or skip the blending all together.