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This is an excerpt from an article called "Smoked Blues" at Jellypress.com Lou gives me a call.  It goes something like this.  “Laura.  I’ve got the smoker going and a lot of bluefish.  You want a piece?” Now, you’ve got to know how I love bluefish.  So what am I gonna do...say no?  A few hours later, I arrive to find Lou standing in his garage with the smoker going, and huge plumes of smoke blowing down the driveway.  “They’ve been on since 8 this morning,” he explains.  Typical.  Lou, as many of you know, is a great cook and friend, who busts me mercilessly and offers comic relief to my overly serious self.  I say “Lou, Can I take your picture at your smoker?” He replies by singing a snippet from a Louie Prima song, Se ti piglia lu pisciaolo Tssu vai, issu viene Sempre lu pesce a manu tiene Which is basically about a guy who is always holding fish in his hand.  (Get it?) It’s a great song in dialect from the wonderful region of Naples, same as Lou. Anyway here is Lou at the smoker.  (Sorry Lou for the less than flattering shot with your eyes closed!) And here are his bluefish inside the smoker.  Now I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking how can I get a smoker like that?  Well, you can’t.  This is a custom job, built for Lou by a couple of friends, and I don’t remember the whole story either, except that it’s a workhorse.  He’s had whole pigs on the spit in there.  And what you also need to know is that if you get into this ancient form of preservation, the smoke alone wont do the full job to preserve food safely.  You’ve either got to dry it in addition or salt it.  That’s why Lou first fillets these fish then puts them in a salty brine before smoking.  The result is stong, salty, smokey, and absolutely delicious. And here’s a better picture.  Can you guess what Lou’s saying?  “Calda!” Which is not dialect for “Hurry up and take the picture--the fish is hot!” Lou often catches the fish he smokes, but in this case, a friend brought them by.  For Lou’s smoking services, the fee is simple.  He keeps half.  That’s right.  “I get ten to smoke.  I keep five,” he explains.  Seems fair enough when you consider all the work and time. Maybe we’ll come back next month to visit Lou’s back yard when it is the scene of much tomato preserving.  But before you go, click here to brighten up your day with this completely fun Louie Prima song that will have you dancing and wishing you were from Naples, too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg3C0nvenro&feature=related Here's the link: http://jellypress.com/article/smoked_bluefish/