Hi Craig,
Pretty simple. I take the thawed halibut and dry it off with paper towels and set it out to dry a bit (15-30minutes) while warming up the cast iron pan (or other heavy pan). Heat enough oil over high heat. ( I used olive oil) Needs to be enough to cover the bottom of the pan by 1/8" deep. Oil should be shimmering.
Season the fish with S&P. Lower heat to medium high. Carefully place fish into pan presentation side down. Firmly press into pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully flip fish, lower heat to medium-low and cook until fish is done.
If making a finishing sauce, remove fish from pan. De-glaze with white wine, add lemon juice from one lemon and 1-2 tablespoons zest, fresh dill and 1/2 stick butter. Reduce over medium heat. To this I'll sometimes add capers and garlic. Drizzle over fish.
The sauce that I made for this particular cook was a beurre blanc sauce. I wasn't paying attention and left the heat on (should be off the heat when adding the butter) and it broke. Was still tasty but not pretty! Here's the recipe:
Lemon Dill beurre Blanc
- 1 cup dry white wine, chardonnay recommended
- 1/3 cup shallots, minced
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled
- 3 tablespoons dill, chopped fresh
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- kosher salt, to taste
- In a small saucepan, heat wine, and shallots over medium-high heat, until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 12-15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Gradually add each cube of butter into the reduction, whisking each piece to create a thicker emulsified sauce.
- Add the chopped dill, lemon zest and lemon juice into the sauce, whisking to combine. Taste the sauce and season with salt as needed. Set sauce aside.
