Just for the Halibut

I am a huge fan of Alaskan Halibut for a variety of reasons. Reason one: they can become really large, sometimes really, really, large. Reason two relates to reason one: their huge size makes them a remarkably challenging big game catch. I have caught many halibut over a hundred pounds, as well as a 150, and a 200. It can be intimidating when you catch a fish almost as big as you are. The big ones can be extremely dangerous brought aboard a boat. They can break legs, bite off fingers, throw around hooks the size of tuna cans, five pound lead weights flying around, just generally create a lot of havoc. The big ones are shot in the head with a shotgun before being brought on the boat. The third reason I am a fan of Alaskan halibut is that they taste delicious. The flesh is very firm, very mild flavor, and is quite healthy for you.

The halibut we have on the Pacific coast of California is a different fish from its Alaskan cousin. It is quite a bit smaller, although it looks the same. A thirty or forty pounder in San Diego is a real trophy catch and quite a rarity. I have been on Halibut charters in Alaska where we were throwing back thirty pounders to hold open our limit of two for the big boys. One trip our average fish was eighty-five pounds, with a number of hundreds. The San Diego version of this flat fish is better pan sauteed with a nice beurre blanc. The meatier fleshed Alaskan fish are best as beer battered fish and chips or on the grill with a little wood smoke adding some complexity to the flavors.

Tonight Alaskan halibut was on the menu. We had a lot going on so things needed to come together fast. What to do? A very quick treatment that has its inspiration in a little Sicilian dish called pepperonata. We had this halibut dish with boiled baby red potatoes, and grilled asparagus.

Halibut with pepperonata

4 halibut fillets, about 4 ounces each

1 finely chopped shallot

4 cloves garlic, pressed

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

4 oz jarred sun dried tomatoes in oil (Trader Joe's brand is excellent)

4 slices cooked bacon

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp pine nuts

Cook bacon, set aside, chop when cool. Drain off bacon grease. Add olive oil to pan, saute shallot, garlic, then add chopped bell peppers.

De-glaze pan with the white wine. Add pine nuts. Cook until peppers are tender, but still have body. Add chopped bacon and sun dried tomatoes.

Grill halibut on the barbeque until just done, DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Add butter to pepper mixture, stir in, spoon over the halibut.

Enjoy