Fennel-Cured Halibut
2 Comments
We're curing up a storm around here. Maybe it's the summer weather. But we're making lots of cured things to serve up cold. And so delightful.
Last time, we made duck prosciutto--which you can find here. Today, it's halibut. Fennel-cured halibut. Sort of like gravlax. Except halibut is so much thicker. But believe me: sliced and on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, it's pure bliss. Mild and sweet, grassy and herbal--perfection!
Let's get to it.
First, place the greenish fronds of 3 medium fennel bulbs in a large food processor. Just the feathery fronds, not the stalks. Add 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar, 1/3 cup (55 grams) kosher salt, 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Whir this up to a grainy paste, scraping down the canister once or twice.
Lay two 1-pound (450-gram) halibut fillets on your work surface. Massage this fennel frond paste onto the fillets. Make sure you cover them well, all over, a sort of lurid mess.
Wrap these fillets in plastic wrap and set them in a loaf pan or a small baking dish.
Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. The longer you go, the firmer the fish. Most mavens don't like the flesh quite so firm, more velvety--and thus stop at 24 hours. You'll need to decide the texture you prefer.
Unwrap the fish, rinse the fillets, pat them dry, and slice off any desiccated bits, particularly at the corners or in any thin spots. Our chunks this time were so thick, there was no chance they'd dry out from the salt.
Mince some dill fronds and sprinkle these over the fillets. They can now be sliced into paper-thin strips and served at will--or covered again and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Talk about excellent! I know we're mostly about goat around here, but this cured halibut will keep your summer cool and easy, just the way it's supposed to be. But do get your goat. You'll never believe the response that the goaterie contest has had among bloggers. To find out the whole tale (tail?), click here or here and go to the bottom of the page. You'll see all the entries for everyone who's doing goat this summer. What are you waiting for?
Reader Comments (2)
This look really fantastic! Do you have any suggestions on how to go about slicing the finished halibut ? Any tutorials you can point to or anything like that for slicing it correctly?
Maggie: Use a long, thin knife. Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Hollow-Smoked-Salmon-withRosewood/dp/B003WQGQCA And here's a GREAT one: http://www.amazon.com/Henckels-Four-Star-II-Salmon/dp/B0015YF6BS/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1312299089&sr=1-2 Slice the salmon by angling the blade so that you're cutting the widest pieces possible--see how Bruce is doing it in that first picture. Of course, you don't have to have the fancy knife, but it will help you to make the thinnest slices possible.
M.