For the halibut
Learning to cook fish isn’t just Seafood offers strong benefits to your regular diet
If you love seafood so much, why don't you eat more?
If you're like me, it's because you're scared to cook it at home.
Time to change all that.
Yes, I'm turning 50 later this year and my good friend Dr. Joe Jamison would love to see me become a pescatarian, but that's only part of the story.
I started cooking roughly 40 years ago, and can count the number of times I've successfully prepared fish for dinner a couple of dozen times — usually shrimp.
Shrimp is great, but you know what they say about how many fish are in the sea. If one is going to do as the USDA recommends and eat seafood at least a couple of time a week, it can't be done
on shrimp alone.
The National Seafood Partnership formed in 2015 to promote the idea of making seafood a permanent part of our weekly diet. The program backed by health care agencies and the National Fisheries institute points to studies that indicate eating seafood two to three times per week reduces the risk of death from any health-related cause.
While we don’t have any oceans lapping up to Oklahoma, local fish markets receive fresh fish three days a week. If you want fish any fresher, you’ll have to cast a line in a local lake or stream. (See Ed Godfrey’s columns for details.)
Despite any fear of cooking fish you may have, most seafood meals can be prepared in 15 minutes or less.
And then there’s the preponderance of Omega 3 found in fish. Omega
3 is an essential fatty acid with many health benefits. We’ll talk about it more next month when we demonstrate Omega 3-rich salmon.
One of the advantages of this job is access to experts in the culinary fields.
When it comes to fish in this market, there is no better consultant than DeLancey Miller of US Foods.
Miller has spent his professional life in the company of fish. He said he studied and observed under fishmongers for a full year before putting a knife to scales himself.
A couple of decades since that first occasion, Miller has worked across the country as a fishmonger. In that time he’s gained wisdom in not only how to choose and handle fish, but what fish is best according to the seasons.
Today marks the first in a series of stories to come from my lessons with Miller.
Breaking down
For lesson one, Miller chose halibut based on his memory of some halibut we prepared for “Open Flame” at American Propane back in 2011.
We returned to American Propane, 7401 N Broadway Ext., where Miller broke down an entire halibut then grilled and smoked it.
While halibut can be found in local markets already cut into filets, if you ever want to show off you can order a whole fish and break it down yourself. Miller shows you how to break down a halibut in the video we shot for this story.
He said the key to breaking down fish is a sharp, flexible knife. Fish fillet knives are long and curved. Good ones are flexible enough to conform to the contours of the fish as the blade slides beneath the skin or between small bones.
Halibut, Miller explained, is in season starting in March and runs through the end of October, sometimes bleeding over into early November depending on weather conditions.
“Every grocery store in our market gets fresh fish Tuesday, Thursday and/ or Saturday,” Miller said. “So that’s a good guide to tell you fresh fish is easy to find.”
Places like Gulfport Seafood and Super Cao Nguyen Market specialize in fresh fish. Whole Foods Market and Uptown Grocery Co. often carry a broad selection of seafood while every grocery store in town has shrimp, salmon and cod year-round.
To find halibut, call your favorite market for availability and ordering.
Miller said even if you’re not going to break down your own halibut, be sure to ask the market if they have any of the bones available as they make a great fish stock.
“Just put halibut bones in water with some carrots, celery and herbs,” Miller said.
Then you’ll want to bring that pot up to a boil, reduce to a low simmer about 20 minutes, remove from heat and let set for another 10 minutes then strain the stock through a finemesh sieve. The stock can be stored for three days in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.
To choose the freshest halibut, look for clarity in the eyes and little discernible odor. When cooking it, Miller implores you to leave the skin on.
“It’s easier, you don’t have to eat it, but if you do you’ll find it’s pretty delicious.”
If you haven’t broken down your own fish, it’s essential to thoroughly rinse it. The “fishy” flavor you fear most often can be rinsed away under cold water.
To the grill
Halibut is excellent cooked in a pan or the oven, but for this exercise we chose a grill and smoker.
Miller said when the fish goes from iridescent to white and flaky it is done. How long it takes to arrive at that point it a matter of temperature, which varies based on the cooking device.
“When in doubt, set the oven at 350 F, put some light seasoning on the fish and bake about 5 minutes per side.”
We did just that. The seasoning was a Tuscan rub and the oven we used has a ceramic shell and sits on the back patio.
After grilling our fillets 5 minutes on each side over open flame, we moved it to the other side of the grill to take on some cherry wood smoke. No more than 15 minutes before the halibut went on the grill, it was ready to come off and rest.
That gave Miller time to slice some lovely heirloom tomatoes in half and dish some jasmine rice onto a plate.
“Any vegetables fresh out of the garden would work with this dish,” Miller said. “You can also use lemon pepper for a seasoning — whatever flavors you like.”
Miller said a spritz of lemon or lime juice is a nice finishing touch, leaving tartar sauce to the fried fish. And because you’ve chosen fresh fish for dinner, feel free to add a little butter to that jasmine rice.