Daddy's Alaskan Halibut

My dad and brothers just recently went to Alaska on a fishing trip. They LOVED it, but so did the rest of us, because as they journeyed home to the land of little fish, they brought with them 370 lbs of fish. It even warranted a large new freezer to hold all of it! Beautiful Salmon, and my new favorite- halibut. Probably one of the uglier fish I've seen, but just like you can't judge a book by its cover, you likewise can't judge the taste of a fish based on it's overgrown, flat faced, mucky brown, crazy-eyed exterior. 

It's eyes unfortunately migrate to the same side of it's head so the poor guys look like crazies..  tasty right?

Not only was this fishy fun for my pa and brothers to catch (they caught a 70 some odd pounder and he put up a fight!) but this fish is a culinary treat, as it can be cooked in a million different ways. I first tried it when my daddy made a parmesan crusted halibut. So when he sent me home with some halibut fillets, I decided to get creative. How often do you have fresh straight from alaska halibut goodness just sitting in your freezer? Not so often. So first I made a lemon seared halibut crusted in breadcrumb and butter. Divine. But tonight, Nate and I are certain was truly...a feat. 


Halibut Tacos


Ingredients: Puree

1 bunch cilantro
juice from 5 limes
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 2 Tablespoons for cooking
1 small white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika

Fish:

salt
pepper
2 pounds halibut
1/2 cup white wine

To Serve:

corn tortillas
salsa
avocado
sour cream
limes
cilantro

I found this recipe while browsing ways I could creatively cook our halibut, and it is truly SUBLIME. Here's how it went...

Let's Get STARTED!!

First, organize your ingredients nicely so they look pretty in a picture.

Then, blend together all the ingredients listed in the puree in a blender

Cilantro makes for some excellent photography moments..

Blend your saucey!

Meanwhile, Nate and I made cilantro rice in our rice cooker. Just plain old water, rice, and a little cilantro for flavor.

Take your gorgeous halibut fillet.... and CHOP IT!

Start to brown the fish in olive oil, then add the white cooking wine (the very little alcohol always cooks out...we're not trying to make anyone tipsy)

Let the fish get nice and white!

Once the fish is cooked, add the puree and let it sit and simmer in its goodness!

Nate and Carter were on the edge of their seats!

Then Carter got hungry so I put Nathan to work :)

We like to use the small flour tortilla shells you have to heat on the stove, for added authenticity!

SO. Combine fish goodness with cilantro rice on a shell and top it with whatever you like!

We used tomato, avocado, and lettuce. We didn't feel like it even needed cheese or anything else!

I did add a little sour cream on mine to top it off, but Nate was certain that would ruin them.

This is Nate's "I can't even believe how seriously amazing this is" face. Really. He does it all the time. But  this time, it was more intense..

Note the filled cheeks and sauce on the chin. That face of contentment right there- screams success.

We even took a couple up to Dan and Anna for another good review :) (we really wanted to show off our skills..) but they didn't answer.

So we ate theirs too!

Snooze ya lose, ya know.

Thank you daddy for going to Alaska, and being the provider of this deeeeeelicious dinner! We won't complain next time when you want to go again :) Muah!!