Heavenly Halibut, a broiled halibut fillet recipe. (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep halibut moist when cooking? ›

When searing halibut in cast iron, use plenty of oil or butter (or both, like in the recipe above) to prevent your fish from drying out. Trying halibut recipes that call for moist heat, like poaching or braising, are also a great way to go.

Bake until the fish is just opaque in the center (an instant-read thermometer should read 135 to 140 degrees F), 10 to 20 minutes.

Before cooking it, some cooks prefer to season halibut with their favorite herbs and spices, like salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, or parsley, regardless of the cooking method. Others like using a marinade to add some flavor to halibut, which is generally mild in taste to start with.

Chop 1/2 cup of parsley and add to leeks. Meanwhile, place the halibut in a pan with enough skim milk to just cover. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, cover pan, and gently simmer for 4 minutes.

For halibut, an internal temperature between 120-140 degrees is suitable for a medium to well-done outcome, and cod is best served at 140 degrees. Grab your food-grade thermometer and insert at the thickest part of the fish to get the most accurate reading.

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.

However, if you're not a fan of the skin, you can buy halibut without skin or remove it yourself by running a knife under the skin. Do you rinse halibut before cooking? Absolutely! Before cooking, I like to wash halibut under cold water and then, pat dry with a paper towel.

Know the Right Internal Temperature for Halibut

Identify your ideal internal temperature, then do your best to get as close to it as possible. For a firm-but-flaky fish, shoot for a perfect medium (130 to 135°F). The center will be opaque, but not glossy or pink.

The fillets may ooze water and are mushy when cooked. While the cause of the condition is unknown, it is thought to be the result of nutritional deficiencies. Microscopically, there is muscle fiber atrophy and sometimes infiltration by inflammatory cells, fibrosis, and calcification of atrophied fibers.

Halibut is notoriously difficult to grill due to its low fat content. The brining process helps solve that problem, but there are a few more tricks as well. First, don't overcook it. Halibut is best when cooked to a low internal temperature.

Should halibut be at room temperature before cooking? ›

Make sure to let the fish rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

It sits on a pedestal for fish eaters and is sustainably harvested from pristine, glacial-fed waters. However, compared to other types of white fish like haddock, wall eye, blue gill, farmed tilapia, cod, or others, Alaskan halibut can be relatively expensive due to its high quality and small-boat fisherman sourcing.

Brush both sides of the halibut with the oil and let marinate for 15 minutes. Heat the grill to high. Season the halibut with salt and pepper, to taste, on both sides and grill until slightly charred and just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the grill to a platter.

Season each fillet with parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Place the halibut on the hot oil skin side up, and cook without touching until golden. Carefully flip the halibut and continue cooking until you reach your desired doneness.

The proteins in the fish also begin to tighten, which can make the fish tough and rubbery. In addition, overcooked fish can have a severe lack of flavor, as the heat causes the natural oils in the fish to evaporate.

A good rule of thumb is to cook the halibut until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, but not so long that it becomes tough and dry. One way to avoid overcooking the halibut is to use a cooking thermometer. A halibut steak is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Its low-fat content gives it a reputation for drying out easily and becoming overcooked. That low oil content can also create problematic interactions with your cooking surface: sticking can cause the delicate flaky muscle to fall apart, rendering a costly fillet nearly unrecognizable.

The fillets may ooze water and are mushy when cooked. While the cause of the condition is unknown, it is thought to be the result of nutritional deficiencies. Microscopically, there is muscle fiber atrophy and sometimes infiltration by inflammatory cells, fibrosis, and calcification of atrophied fibers.