INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

"Hippo of the sea" is the translation of the Latin hippoglossus. "Holy
flatfish" is the English derivation Ã.Ã. hali for holy, but for flat.
It was a special fish for holy days in Medieval England.  Halibut is a
member of the flounder family; specifically the right-eye  flounder,
signifying which side of the flat body the eyes are on.  Related to
soles, sand dabs and other flatfish, the halibut far  outweighs them
all, reaching as high as 500 pounds. Like other  flatfish, the halibut
has skin that is mottled brown on the top side  to blend into the ocean
floor. The bottom, seldom seen by predators,  is snowy white.  Pacific
halibut is vastly more plentiful than Atlantic halibut, which  is
caught in very small numbers and is not commercially significant.
Nearly all of the Pacific halibut are caught in the North Pacific,
although they venture as far south as Northern California. California
has its own halibut called, simply enough, California halibut. It
looks much like the Pacific halibut but is much smaller.  Halibut flesh
should be translucent, shiny white. When halibut are  frozen, they are
generally frozen whole, which maintains the flesh at  a peak of
quality. Carefully frozen halibut, when thawed and  portioned, should
have the same translucent look that fresh does.  Flesh with a milky,
opaque white color, blotches or yellowish tinges  indicates poor
freezing or handling.  Halibut is sold in the form of steaks or fillet
pieces. Steaks,  crosscut sections of the fish, vary widely in size
since the fish is  broad in the middle and tapered at the ends. Halibut
fillets are  always boneless. Steaks generally have bones, but end
pieces do not.  In 1993, about 30,000 tons of Pacific halibut was
caught in Alaska,  British Columbia, and down the West Coast. Over 90
percent of the  Pacific catch comes from the Gulf of Alaska.  With
halibut now being caught from the spring to the fall, fresh  halibut is
more commonly available. Frozen halibut will still be  available and is
a very good alternative. Spring, early summer and  early fall should be
the most abundant seasons, so prices should be  most reasonable then.
For a lean fish, halibut has a pleasantly distinctive flavor.  However,
it is still mild enough to adapt well to a wide variety of  flavor
combinations. Like many other fish, halibut is very versatile  in the
kitchen. It has the added characteristic of firm flesh that  holds
together well, so it is even more adaptable than delicate white  fish.
Try marinating it before cooking to enhance its lean, mild  flavor.
Halibut is a lean fish with good nutritional balance. Each 3½ ounce
serving contains 110 calories, 2.3 g total fat, .3 g saturated fat,  32
mg cholesterol, 54 mg sodium and 21 g protein.  Simply Seafood Winter
1995 Posted by Michael Prothro KOOK-NET  :þ Mike's Resort BBS,
Fayetteville,AR,(501)521-8920þ  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster
collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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