Halibut for Two

Homer, Alaska -

Yesterday I went out at 6 am to catch Halibut in Cook Inlet. Homer is a lovely place on the tip of the Kenai Peninsula. We are camped on Homer Spit, a strange strip of glacial moraine that extends about five miles into the ocean. Homer is surrounded by tall mountains and glaciers. Mrs. Phred didn’t go. She gets seasick.


The fishing was fair. Everyone caught the limit of two halibut within two hours. Mine were on the small side, about 20 pounds each. Each halibut yields four filets weighing about two pounds. I keep one out for dinner and put the rest in the freezer. Last year the halibut were much bigger.


Today we will take a small water taxi for a 30 minute ride across Kachemak Bay to a place with no roads or people to hike up to an Alpine glacier. The Grewingk Glacier dumps into a large lake. The stream coming out of the lake is full of Sockeye salmon this time of year and brown bears feeding on the salmon. We are likely to be the only two people in the area. We get dropped off on the beach at 9 am and picked up six miles away at 3 pm. Mrs. Phred wanted some bear bells so we picked up two to clamp to our boots. We have bells, books, sandwiches, trail mix, rain gear, Sockeye flies, a fishing pole, water, sunscreen and bug repellant.

We also found a tennis court. It’s light enough at 3 am to play. I hope to get in a couple of sets before the hike if I can wake Mrs. Phred up. Here’s my favorite of all my favorite halibut recipes. Probably one pound of halibut would have been enough. 

ALASKA HALIBUT ROYALE

1 cup dry white wine
2 tsp. salt
1 ½ lbs. Alaska Halibut steaks
¼ cup fine dry bread crumbs
½ cup each sour cream & mayonnaise
¼ cup minced green onions
paprika
Combine wine and salt; pour over halibut. Marinate in refrigerator at least 1 hour. Drain halibut on paper towels; dip both sides in breadcrumbs. Place halibut in shallow buttered baking dish. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise and green onions; spread over halibut. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at the thickest part, or until halibut flakes when tested with a fork