What's the Best Way To Tell If Halibut is Properly Done???

bigmeal

Member
So my wife prepares a nice meal for me to sit down to after I got home from a long day of work and I take a good bite into the Halibut, aaahhh dry. Yep, I had to open my yapper and tell her that I thought it tasted like it was overdone. She used a pyrex dish, put halibut in with some kind of cream sauce on top and waited till the centre of it hit 145 degrees. The fish tasted dry even though it had moisture in the meat (I hope u guys know what I mean). I pan fried some fresh Hali in some oil a while back and it tasted great with lots of moisture. So can someone tell me the best way to keep from over cooking hali, so we can enjoy this great fish with out having to have an aukward discussion about whether it's over done or not??
 
Oh ovens are tough, especially under sauces like that. You gotta pick at the centre to find the flake from my experience in that situation. Probably someone else knows a better way but thats what I'd be doing.
 
yah Osama, that's what I usually do as well. Agreed the oven is a tough way to cook Hali as it's hard not to overcook with all that heat. Thanks


Thanks Peetz, I will try that and see how it goes next time. I tried to make sure the fillets were not too thick, but I think part of the problem was that she didn't have time to fully thaw out the hali and it might have been a little frozen in the centre. I think she had it in the oven for like 30 minutes, but she was basing off of a cheap thermometer though.

Thanks guys
 
Osama is right. The oven thing with fish is tough and you have to keep testing it.

As for over cooking, I know how you feel. My wife's a great cook, or at least she was until she took Food-Safe. Now she cooks the crap out of everything "to protect us". Funny, her cooking was amazing before and we never died. I think the reason was something called our immune systems. Don't get me wrong, she still cooks amazing compared to others, I just got spoiled.

But my kid is also a chef and over cooking food is probably the biggest reason for ruined meals, at home and in restaurants.
 
I like my Hali for fish and chips, but sometimes I bake it you just have to keep a close eye on it usually 20 to 25 mins works with a 30 lb thickness of a fillet. Lately Im turning to Ling Cod more I love it fried in the pan dipped in a egg wash floured and spices. I love it done like this its almost as good as pickeral, which also I love... Ling just always seems nice and moist compared to Hali.
 
I bake at 350 for hali and salmon for 10 minutes then check it. When it looks like it is almost done, take it out. It continues to cook for a minute or 2 after.
Most people over cook seafood, that is why they say they dont like fish..until they have it NOT overcooked.
 
Thanks guys for all the advice! I can't wait to put all this info to work as I have been informed that I am cooking the next Hali meal.
Bassblaster, it sounds like your wife is similar to mine, always afraid of undercooking! My wife is in the health field and knows way too much sometimes. She's a great cook as well and I'm lucky to have such great food every night, but I'm still on the hook for the next Hali meal. I will let u guys know how it goes.
 
I cheat for presentation as it all goes down the same hole! First I always sear it on the frying pan for a minute, then flip over and bake 400 - 5 minutes for thin piece, up to about 8-10 minutes for a thicker piece. The difference for me, anything over 30 lbs, I will cut the meat in 1/2 and go with that. Then for checking, you have a longer piece than normal then when you go to check it, just cut it right down the middle and you can check easy if its done (no longer glassy/opaque looking and just pure white). Easier to check from the middle and then your serving piece is just 'smaller' than you started.

I think you are crazy if you try to cook halibut full thickness with a 50+ butt....mine is perfectly cooked 95% of the time.
 
Thanks Deewar, my wife cooked it again the other day and it was great. She cooked them for 9 minutes and it tasted great! I like the idea of pan frying for a minute to seal in the flavour (as suggested by yourself and Homes) and yes I will be cutting my Hali up a bit more so the fillets are of even proportions.
 
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id reccomend grilling/pan searing the hali and doing the sauce separately, you really should give it a quick sear b4 the oven, it will help lock in the juices, foodsafe is overkill, common sense is what i go by, even tho i have foodsafe as required for my profession, to be honest a restaurant cant possibly do everything by the book as required or u would be cooking 2 meals an hour,lol, just make the sauce on the side in a pot then grill or pan sear the hali, i bet the casserole deal was so it was a one dish meal? or time saver?, lot quicker the way i mentioned and uses less energy as well, just a suggestion, cause thats how i would do it in the restaurant, bon appetit...holmes*

Yes, have to agree with holmes. Fish and sauce in seperate pans - combine on the plate.

Halibut is dry by nature and is easily over cooked. Done it many times myself :(

Keep in mind however that you can eat Halibut RAW - right off the cleaning table and be perfectly safe. Better to be a little underdone than overdone.

If you are looking for moist, it's pretty hard to beat fresh Lingcod.

For any type of white fish, try the standard flour/egg wash/bread crumbs/pan fry method. Fry in Canola and hit it with a bit of butter just before it's ready. Serve with tartar sauce.

If you have a deepfryer, look up my Beer Batter Fish & Chips and Tarter Sauce recipe - it's on here somewhere.
 
Halibut with egg wash, flour and s&p, panko breading. bake or fry to desired flake. MMMMM.
 
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