Smoked Halibut???

[Ash]

Has anyone tried to smoke halibut?

I saw one recipe from Bradley that is more of a "smoke roasted" fish.
It only calls for one hour of cooking time @ high temp.

I'd be greatful for any ideas. I've got lots of frozen halibut to use.

Thanks.

-Ash

[Kummok]

If you manage to conjur up a smoking recipe/method for halibut, you will be a forum hero, Ash! I haven't taken the time to experiment with halibut yet and intend to in the future, but I've neither heard nor know of anyone that has successfully smoked halibut. I've asked some of the best smokers I know around Alaska and  most agree that "it can't be done", "too dry", "cottonmouth stuff, have lots of water (porter!) nearby", etc. I'm not buying that yet, but still haven't started to experiment.

I know that when grilling halibut, there is a VERY narrow window between "moist/flaky" and "okay but dry". My wife really likes the way I grill it (about 1.5-2 minutes each side MAX for the 1/2-3/4" steaks I cut), but it is too dry for me about 95% of the time. On the other hand, whenever it is baked, as in a casserole, it is moist and flaky 75% of the time, so I know that there has to be a method for getting it smoked and still turn out more moist?!?!?!?

Good on ya for trying and be certain to let us know if/when you achieve smoked halibut nirvana!

[shearwater]

Ash, below is a cut from the following thread Help with Halibut This method will really produce a nice flakey filet with good smoke flavor.
Just keep an eye on things and do not over cook

I have done a lot of expermenting with smoking halibut and if done as detailed below you should end up with a great dinner treat.

First the brine
Seven to one water to salt mix
Use pickling or kosher salt (no iodine)

Use 1 ¾ cup of water and ¼ cup of salt
Soak filets for 2 hours no more than 4 hours

I typically add
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbl spoons of onion power
2 tbl spoons of garlic power
¼ cup brown suagr

Rinse well with cold water after soaking and pat dry
Soaking in the brine mix will really plump up the filets and replace water lost from freezing and thawing. Really makes a difference, I now brine frozen halibut for any type of cooking.

Smoke with mild wood such as alder or apple for 2 hours between 200 and 225 degrees
Trick is not to overcook and let the filets dry out otherwise you will end up with a brick.

If by chance the filets end up dry I toss then in a food processer and mix with mayo (as in tuna fish san) make a great treat.

Good luck
 

[Owlie]

We got back from Alaska earlier this month with 35 lbs of halibut, so looked for recipes on line. Thanks for the suggestions on smoking. Here is what I did. Brine: Melted butter, bit of lemon juice, bit of water, soy sauce, sea salt to taste. Soaked filets in this for an hour. Prepared smoker, used cherry chips. Made little "boats" out of foil for each filet. Placed in smoker which was at 250F. Made a basting sauce of melted butter, lemon, dill, garlic -- brushed this on 3 or 4 times. Kept fish in smoker for approx. an hr. Served. Delicious, moist, perfect!

[Salmonsmoker]

Kummoc, I lived in Soldotna from '82-90 and occasionally did some long lining for Halibut out of my 20' boat. I sold my Halibut to a lady that had a fish smoking business out on the Homer Spit. It was excellent. She also smoked Salmon. The business probably doesn't exist anymore or you would know of it. At any rate, Halibut can be smoked.

Jim

[JZ]

I tried "Shearwaters" Halibut recipe today and I was verrrrryyy happy with the result.

I brined as suggested for 2 hours then onto the smoker. The outside temps were about 35f and I preheated the smoker but after adding the fish, the smoker only reached 200F after one hour. I checked the fish at that time and it was done to perfection. Nice and flakey, just opaque and not dry at all. It was tender and juicy, I was truly impressed.

I only smoked about one pound of Hali that was left over from a filet that I cooked 2 nights ago and maybe that wasn't enough fish for the amount of brine I mixed up, as the fish was too salty for my taste. I will cut the salt in 1/2 next time or maybe try more fish, now that I know the recipe is works well.

Thanks for a great recipe Shearwater - I now have a great way to eat Hali that isn't deep fried (Doc says no to that).

[Caneyscud]

JZ, for a simpler way, just  season  the piece of halibut.  Then smoke until just flakey.  Its been a few years but did that a number of times.  Came out great.  And if you happen to over cook it, then just make a smoked halibut dip - it kicks!

[JZ]

Thanks I'll give it a try ---- but first I have to smoke a whole lot of salmon from this summers catch.

[weedenb]

Just for kicks I tried some with Kummoks recipe and it turned out very good except for being too salty. From what I've read about lean white fish vs. red rich fish and salt concentration this was to be expected but other than that it was very moist and had a great texture and taste. I haven't got around to it yet but I'm thinking that cutting the salt back by 1/3 to 1/2 should produce a very nice product. Kummoks recipe seems to produce a very good sealing glaze which I think keeps the fish from drying out too much. Not sure when I'll get around to it but its definitely on my list of things to try as I generally have more butt than I know what to do with.

Robert.....

[Kummok]

Good "brine mod" info...and nice group of flatties, Robert. I can relate to the "too much 'but". Many would think that there's no such thing, especially since the price per pound in stores is normally higher than King salmon  ??? ??? go figger?!?!!?  But when we live in the middle of these things, they become kinda like the "hot dogs" of fish....the last few years, it's rare for me that halibut is the target species, rather than the bycatch....not a bad fish, just abundant.