requesting halibut recipes....

Every now and then students bring me food or, um, other agricultural products. One young woman just gave me a dozen beautiful wild caught halibut fillets. They're resting peacefully in the freezer now. I like to make fish tacos with halibut, and simple battered and fried fish-and-chips, but with such an embarrassment of excellent halibut on hand I was wondering whether anyone else has a favorite recipe they'd like to share?

Here's my simple fish taco recipe:

Halibut fillets, cut into finger-like strips
Thick batter made with beer and all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of Mexican oregano
Cabbage threads
Corn tortillas

A selection of salsas, including salsa fresca (absolute must), a hot tomatilla-chipotle salsa, and guacamole.
Queso fresca, crumbled.
Lime wedges.

Dust the halibut pieces with flour then dip into batter. Fry in hot oil until the coating is crispy and the fish is cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, warm the tortillas on a hot griddle until softened. Add a clump of cabbage threads to each taco, top with a piece of crispy halibut, then serve with the salsas and cheese. Squeeze some lime on top.

is best broiled or grilled, salt and pepper, and a squirt of lemon at the table.

Here in the desert, I dredge it in whatever seasoning appeals to me at the time and sear both sides, finishing under cover. Such seasonings vary from the simple chipotle rub through the fancier hoisin/peanut based Chinese barbecue sauce. Fish is a good deal "fishier" by the time I get it and needs to have a stronger flavor to disguise it.

The less you do to something that was swimming yesterday, the better.

lobster--steamed or poached with drawn butter. The flavor was vaguely reminiscent of lobster but I think it was the texture as much as anything. Of course that much butter in one place can make a trailer hitch taste good. I do remember it being very tasty in a mild not-quite-fish/not-quite-shellfish sort of way.

It's pretty to present it in paper packages. Here's a quick recipe from google search:

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1572823

It will give you the basic technique. I usually use whatever I have on hand but I like spicy so I tend to go towards adding chilis or cayenne pepper.

Since Halibut has a delicate flavor it accepts flavored steaming quite well. I sometimes steam it in lemon/wine with thyme and black pepper. It's one of the few foods that really show off the steaming liquid.

Just like with catfish.

I use this for fish tacos:

1 mango
1 avocado
2 tomatoes
1/4 cup minced red onions
1/4 cup minced red bell peppers
3 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp minced jalapeno
1 tsp minced garlic

I got a new cookbook last week ("The Sober Kitchen") and she had a recipe in there I tried tonight

in a covered microwave safe pan place two salmon (but halibut will work just fine tot) fillets (4-6 ounce)

salt and pepper to taste, pour 1/4 cup of Italian Dressing over and microwave with cover, 7 minutes

remove fillets, add 1TBSP butter and stir into juice until melted, pour over fish and serve immediately

Rather than cook the fish in the sauce, grill or broil it and top with the sauce.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_19519,00.html

Halibut's good grilled or broiled and served with a lemon wedge for that matter.

I started making Halibut this way at home when my son was little, just to get him to eat fish without complaining.

I make a quick seafood sauce by bringing to a boil about a tablespoon of Lobster base and a cup of water, and then finishing it with a little bit of heavy cream.

Cover just the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with the seafood cream. Lay the fillets on top of the sauce, season the fish with salt, pepper, lemon and a bit of Old Bay.

Mix together 2cups of Panko with one stick of melted butter and a bit of granulated garlic.

Spread the bread crumbs over the fish and bake at 350degrees for about 30-40 minutes.

Keeps the fish nice and moist, and makes a nice crispy layer on top.

-chef-

:::::::ducking:::::::::

Sorry. I'm a clown. I can't resist corny puns.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/106152



Serve this with plain rice, but spoon a little of the sauce over top of it.

Pair with a well-chilled Chilean or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

he lives in the best wine county in the US

:rofl:

For me, it's imported too...

Brown-Bagged Halibut with Papaya Salsa Recipe courtesy Bob Blumer
Show: The Surreal Gourmet
Episode: Teaching an Old Bag New Tricks

Brown-Bagged Sea Bass:
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 standard issue lunch-size brown paper bags
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

Papaya Salsa:
2 ripe papayas, skinned, seeded, then diced into 1/4-inch cubes. If papayas are unavailable, replace with a mango.
4 scallions, trimmed then diced
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tablespoons red bell pepper or red cabbage (for color), finely chopped
2 jalapeno chilies, seeds and membranes removed, minced


Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the outside of each bag and rub it with your hand until all surfaces of the bag have absorbed the oil.

Rinse fillets, then pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, lime juice, and ginger.

Set bags on their broad side and place one fillet flat inside each bag. Then, using a tablespoon, reach into the bag and spoon one quarter of the soy-lime-ginger mixture over each of the fillets. Force excess air from the bags, roll up the open ends and tightly crimp to seal shut.

Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Combine all salsa ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork.

To serve, tear a small slit in the bags, peel back the paper just enough to expose the fish, then spoon Papaya Salsa overtop of bag. Serve immediately.

I just did some thin catfish filets by lining a cookie sheet with foil, spray with Pam or brush with butter, place filets cut side up, salt and pepper to taste (I used Lowery's Season Salt and lemon pepper) dot with butter, sprinkle with seasoned bread crumbs and broiled (about 3-4 inches below flame) at about 425 for 4-5 minutes, moving it around so it browned evenly. It was brown and sizzling, the fish was giving up liquid and white all the way through

easy and fast