Smoked Halibut

[AlasKen]

I had a first for me last night.  Had dinner with my son and daughter in law to eat some of the halibut they caught over the weekend.  While not an exact recipe I will relate the process.  It was different and very tasty. 

He fired up the smoker with some cherry wood.  When he had a nice smoke going took some small halibut filets from one of the chickens that was marinated it in teriyaki sauce and placed it on the smoker for about 45 minutes to an hour.  They were about an inch thick give or take with the skin on.    It looked dry on the outside and a medium brown.  Took it and finished it in the oven at 350 until it was just flaky, maybe 10 minutes or so.  It was flaky but still moist, just cooked.  No need for any extra dipping sauce such as tarter.  A nice smoky flavor and the smoking actually changed the texture from a typical baked fish.   I can't explain it other than it was different.  Since halibut has little oil I think it might be to dry if you smoked it completely but not sure.  We will probably try that next time.  It is definitely something I will fix again.  Ken

[Dominick]

Thanks for the eating report after your fishing report.  That's putting a cap on the report.  One of these days I am going to get a smoker.  Dominick

[jigmaster501]

You can fully smoke halibut if you keep the smoker moist and dry the surface of the halibut before putting in the smoker. The key is develop a pellicle on the outer surface that the smoke will adhere to. I don't know how long you are brining for but I am sure that you have a recipe. You want a fast smoke as to not dry out the flesh but you want a good bit of smoke especially towards the end for flavor. Since this is just for flavor and not preservation, bring the internal temperature to 145F and you will be fine. Make sure it is indirect heat though.

[AlasKen]

Thanks.  We smoke a lot of salmon.  Just starting on halibut.  Thanks fir the tips.

[tab]

Good topic, I just finished smoking a few pounds of halibut and realized just how lean the meat is.
I used the same recipe I have in the past for sturgeon but the halibut ended up a bit dry.

I'll try it with a little oil next time and a pan of water in the smoker. If that happens to end up dry as well, I'll go for some jerkey 

[jigmaster501]

do a wet brine you will trap more water in the flesh.