Halibut

[Lemmonie]

Why so expensive?! I was in morrisons earlier and the had one halibut steak usual price £6.50 reduced to 0.69p. Obviously I brought it, cooked simply pan fried in oil, butter and finished with parsley and a little lemon. It was ok but nothing special. Had no obvious "taste".

Did I cook it wrong?

[LooneyTunes]

Lemmonie said:

Why so expensive?!

Because it can be good enough for Jehovah.

[zygalski]

Halibut is dull. It needs jazzing up with a nice sauce and/or herb crust. Like any fish it's much better off slightly under cooked than slightly over.

When I was in the trade it was a stalwart for conference catering because the fish are enormous & you can get many thick, uniform portions from a single fish. Halibut sounds far more sophisticated than cod - or at least it did back in the 1990's! It's just about the least offensive fish in the sea in terms of flavour (or lack thereof) and you can pair it with many other flavour combinations.

Try plaice instead. A massively under-rated & still fairly cheap fish imo. Just make sure it's reasonably fresh.

[captainzep]

I think it's a texture thing with Halibut, plus the flesh should be slightly sweet. It's a bit like the fillet steak of the sea, although many people justifiably complain that fillet can be a bit dull. Treated gently with a buerre blanc it can be dreamy, although I wouldn't want it every day.

[Shaolin]

I had halibut in Greenland, it was possibly the best fish I've ever had, wonderful texture and delicate flavour. Maybe it doesn't travel or keep that well.

[Lemmonie]

Do t get me wrong it wasn't awful at all. I cooked it well, in fact perfectly timed. But it just wasn't special. Certainly not worth £6.50 for one steak. That was a total piss take. 0.69p was a bargain and worth it but I'm glad I didn't shell out full whack.

[Fishtigua]

Have a look where it was caught.

Halibut can get huge in the North Atlantic and Pacific, taken as a sport fish by some. Can be a bit woolie and tasteless.

Turbot is the king in British waters.

[captainzep]

Lemmonie said:

Do t get me wrong it wasn't awful at all. I cooked it well, in fact perfectly timed. But it just wasn't special. Certainly not worth £6.50 for one steak. That was a total piss take. 0.69p was a bargain and worth it but I'm glad I didn't shell out full whack.

There's no return now Lemmonie, you've insulted the Halibut and, by association, all of it's flatfish friends. Additionally, this man who married one:



I wouldn't swim in the sea again if I was you.


Actually I hardly ever buy it either, too expensive for what it is really. Turbot's nice and a bit cheaper.

[IanA2]

Fishtigua said:

Have a look where it was caught.

Halibut can get huge in the North Atlantic and Pacific, taken as a sport fish by some. Can be a bit woolie and tasteless.

Turbot is the king in British waters.

His cousin Brill is v tasty too...

[Bill]

captainzep said:

I think it's a texture thing with Halibut, plus the flesh should be slightly sweet. It's a bit like the fillet steak of the sea, although many people justifiably complain that fillet can be a bit dull. Treated gently with a buerre blanc it can be dreamy, although I wouldn't want it every day.

But leaving on the fish counter for a week before eating it won't help...

[IainRS]

I'm a fish merchant and Halibut is one of my absolute favourite fish. £6.50 is a lot for 1 steak though but depends on the weight obviously. Also it may have been a farmed Halibut, I sometimes sell those when the wild ones are unavailable but they just don't have the same taste.