Bring 'em on!
For me, the cook on halibut can be tricky so I always like to do it in a pan:
1.) with just butter and garlic, served with a great homemade tarter sauce.
2.) like above, but set carefully on rows of hollandaise covered asparagus.
3.) in a white wine, lemon butter sauce with garlic and shallots.
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My hands down favorite with thick halibut fillets is Ina Garten’s mustard-roasted method. I follow the recipe exactly except I rarely have (or want to invest in) creme fraiche so I use a Greek yogurt/mayo subsitute at 5:3. Also scallions are an OK substitute if I’m out of shallots but I much prefer it with shallots. Finally it works fine at 400 if that’s better for something else you have in the oven.
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I was initially planning on roasting fennel and pan-searing the filet, but I’m still deciding on the final treatment 
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First let me say i have a LOT of halibut in my freezer. I go fishing in Sitka, Alaska every summer, and usually bring home a lotta fish. I live in Hawaii, and a lot of my cooking is asian influenced. Halibut is a wonderful fish. Firm, flaky, and deserves to be prepared with care. I really like 2 preparations that dont overwhelm the fish. The first is steamed “chinese style”, which in Hawaii is usually done with a whole fish… but in this preparation, i just use halibut fillets . Once gently steamed, the fish is overlayed with a veritable salad of sliced green onions, ,cilantro, and some minced ginger. From there soy sauce is poured over the fish/veggies, then peanut oil with a little bit of sesame oil that has been heated VERY hot, is poured over the fish and greens…it sizzles. The only variant I use of this preparation is that I cook the fish sous vide at 130, which makes for a perfectly flaky moist fish.
The second preparation I like is to cook it Japanese “Nitsuke” style, which is gently braised in a soy/mirin/sake/sugar/ginger broth. When the fish is done, the braising liquid is reduced, and poured over the fish.
Both of these dishes are served with rice…
These are my go to halibut recipes that I make over and over with the fish we have in our freezer.
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I’ve made that first prep many times, often with salmon. I actually steam the filet over a thick bed of scallions (I love how they turn into a veg side) in the MW. I use oyster sauce (prolly wouldn’t with halibut as to not overwhelm its mild flavor), soy sauce, mirin and sriracha. Love finishing it with the sizzling hot oil!
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Atlantic halibut is fattier. It is classified as an oily fish. Is Pacific halibut firmer? It sure is much, much bigger so maybe it can take some treatments that are not suitable for the delicate Atlantic relative.
I have tried it many ways, but as it’s so delicate and falls apart very easily I usually keep it very simple. When it comes to flatfish my favourite preps are:
- Fried, with Speck bits and North Sea shrimp (Finkenweder Art).
- "Im Speckmantel" (wrapped in strips of Speck).
- Smaller ones I also like to shallow fry them. Dipping sauce I use is Vietnamese nuoc cham (fish sauce, raw garlic, lime juice, chillies, pinch of sugar).
I know you are not going to do it but it’s so good smoked (yes, I have done that also). In Germany’s north one can buy thick smoked halibut steaks from fish stalls/delis/supermarkets.
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Love smoked halibut, but that’s not happening today
This is Atlantic halibut, just about 3/4 of a pound. I may just go super-simple, season with lemon pepper & maybe make a beurre blanc, serve with green asparagus & hollandaise.
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If filet, always steamed. Like always.
If collar, then pan fry or air fry. Or sometimes use for stews.
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My favorite halibut recipe is Alice Waters Halibut Baked in Fig Leaves. The fig leaves add a lovely flavor.
Unfortunately, unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere you’ll have to wait until next summer to get fresh fig leaves.
(https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/halibut-baked-on-a-fig-leaf-232120/amp)
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Darn! From the rhyming title, I was expecting an epic poem.
I’m unimaginative compared to you folks, but then I don’t have halibut very often. Just pan cooked with butter, salt, bit of garlic and lemon.
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That’s about as much rhyming as I had in me this AM 
I’m ever-so-lightly hungover, so simple will win tonight.
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Awwright, but once you recover we want an Epic Poem!
LoL. Like i’d be able to deliver ANY poem.
But still.
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About 15 years ago I did a couple of days at a fishing camp in Kodiak, AK and came back with 40 lbs of halibut filets. There was a lot of halibut experimentation that year, and I came down to my favorite two preparations: wrapped in prosciutto and pan-seared, and poached in rosemary-infused olive oil. Halibut isn’t a very fatty fish and it will dry out quick, so you have to be careful with it.
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I still have some on my tree in Nor Cal, for a price! Perhaps the price of some halibut! I consider it expensive here, but so worth it if it’s cooked right.
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I just seasoned the filet with lemon pepper, and gave it a hard sear. The filet was fairly thick, so it was cooked perfectly: crispy skin & juicy meat.
The prosciutto treatment is def something I’d try for guests
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I cook halibut frequently when Whole Foods has it fresh. My latest favorite recipe is Parmesan Crusted Halibut with Lemon Butter Cream Sauce. I found the recipe on fishalaskamagazine.com. It’s a recipe from the 49th State Brewing Company in Anchorage. It’s delicious! The recipe takes some modifying for 1lb of halibut. I use 1/2 cup of Parmesan,1/2 cup of Asiago/Romano or Parmesan,1/2 cup Panko and 1egg with water. As written, the recipe has too much cheese panko mix. Otherwise it’s a great way to make halibut
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Thanks for the link, looks to have some solid recipes.
