Stepping into the kitchen for the first time can be a nerve racking experience and even if you are comfortable in the kitchen, working with a new ingredient can be a struggle.
Learning how to cook halibut is a fairly straight forward process.
Halibut can be cooked a variety of ways and is ready quickly, making the whole process quick and pain free.
Along with the simplicity in cooking halibut, the taste is wonderful and is so mild that it can please almost any crowd.
Whether baked, fried, or grilled, halibut is an easy to make addition to any meal.
Halibut is a carefully monitored fish because it occupies the waters of a variety of countries and has an unfortunately slow maturation rate.
The popularity of the fish in all types of cuisine presents to problem of over fishing but also the motivation to protect populations in order to ensure its existence for a long time to come.
This particular fish is so popular because it possesses a very pleasing, mild flavor that work seamlessly into nearly any dish.
The most difficult choice you have to make is how to cook halibut.
Once you have decided which method you find the most appealing the culinary celebration can begin, to the delight of your mouth and any other mouths you may be feeding.
Halibut can be prepared a whole variety of ways, whether it is baked, broiled, grilled, barbequed, or fried.
The method of cooking depends on what flavor you are trying to achieve.
If you are seeking a light, mild flavor then the grilling, broiling, or baking routes would be the best option.
A heavier, fuller flavor will result if you go with barbequing of frying the halibut.
Even if you are not an experienced chef, learning how to cook halibut is a relatively simple and enjoyable process.
One great, decadent recipe is for baked blue cheese halibut.
For this dish you will need ¼ pound crumbled blue cheese, 1 ½ cups mayonnaise, ½ quart buttermilk, 1 cup water, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, ½ teaspoon white pepper,1 sliced red onion, and 2 pounds of fresh halibut sliced into five ounce servings.
To start, mix all of the ingredients, except the halibut, together in a large bowl, adding the water to thin it out if necessary, and allow this mixture to chill and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place a think layer of the blue cheese mixture in a large baking pan and place the fish on top, then adding another layer on top of the halibut.
Then place the red onion slices and blue cheese crumbles on top and place the pan in the oven, allowing it to cook for 25 to 30 minutes and completing your first lesson on how to cook halibut.
While this recipe is not easy on the heart or waistline, it is quite pleasing to the palate and the dark side in all of us that calls for cheesy goodness.
For those on a lighter eating regiment or not wanting to venture into too complex a recipe, there are others that call for lighter ingredients and even simpler preparation.