Sous Vide Halibut
Halibut has a reputation as the overachiever of the white fish world. It's firm, mild, and beautifully white. It's also expensive enough that overcooking it feels like a personal failure. And it's easy to overcook. There's a short stretch between "flaky and perfect" and "why is this so dry?"
Sous vide takes care of that stretch for you. The halibut is sealed with butter, garlic, fresh thyme, and a little lemon zest, then cooks gently in a water bath held at an exact temperature. It can't go past the temperature you set. A quick sear in a hot cast iron pan gives it a golden crust. Finish with the browned butter from the pan and a squeeze of lemon, and you get fish that is tender all the way through and flakes apart under your fork.
This recipe comes from Annie Weisz, a registered dietitian and the cook behind Peak to Plate. It doesn't need much: six ingredients, an hour in the water bath, and about three minutes at the stove. Most of that time you're not doing anything, which leaves you free to pour a glass of white wine and make a crisp salad to go with it.
Wild Alaskan halibut is made for this kind of gentle cooking. Here's how to do it.
