🌡 Cook to 145°F (63°C). The FDA figure for finfish. Halibut has very little fat to protect it, so the difference between perfect and dry is about two minutes — take its temperature rather than guessing.
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Ingredients
- 4 halibut fillets, about 6 oz each
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 4 tbsp cold butter, cubed
- 3 tbsp capers, drained
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Directions
- Pat the fillets completely dry and season both sides. Any surface water will steam the fish and cost you the crust.
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high until it shimmers.
- Lay the fillets in presentation side down and leave them alone for 4 minutes. Moving fish early is what tears it — it releases from the pan when it is ready.
- Turn once and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until the centre reads 145°F. Take them out onto a warm plate.
- Drop the heat to medium. Add the garlic and capers and cook 30 seconds, just until the garlic turns pale gold.
- Pour in the wine and lemon juice and let it reduce by half, scraping the pan.
- Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter a cube at a time. Off the heat is what makes it emulsify into a sauce rather than splitting into oil.
- Stir in the lemon zest and parsley and spoon over the fish.
Notes
Cold butter and no heat are the two rules for this sauce — a hot pan will break it every time. If it does split, a teaspoon of cold water whisked in hard will usually bring it back. Works exactly as well on lingcod or rockfish.
Kit for this recipe
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- Instant-read thermometer Every recipe here is written to a temperature, not a time.
- Stainless skillet Builds the fond that the pan sauce is made from — nonstick will not.
