Just for the Halibut

     When I arrived in Alaska I learned that the salmon run season had not yet begun.  The most prolific of all Alaskan fish species do not begin their migration upstream until sometime in June when the stately King Salmon swim back to the pools and estuaries where they were born.  But I was in search of a good meal with some authentic local seafood. I quickly learned that another popular and plentiful fish up in The Last Frontier was the halibut.

     And I learned not only about it's year round availability but also it's identity.  Halibut are the largest of all the flatfish, a relative of the flounder but much, much larger.  It is not uncommon for a fisherman to haul in one that weighs nearly a hundred pounds.  The largest recorded catch was just last year off the coast of Norway, a 9 foot long fish weighing a purported 515 pounds.  Halibut are found in northern waters in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, although there is concern that the Atlantic species is being over fished and is thus considered endangered.  They have a dark brown upper side and are white underneath, a productive coloration known as countershading.  And as bottom feeders they will eat almost anything: octopus, crab, salmon, sculpin (a so-called "trash fish"), cod, and each other.  They are considered near the top of the marine food chain.

     When cooked halibut have a clean taste and a dense firm texture.  They can be boiled, deep fried, or grilled when fresh and smoked to preserve them for future meals.  So how did I enjoy my first taste of Alaskan halibut?  Actually I had it two times.  First in the small town of Denali I dined on a blackened halibut pizza.  Then later in the trip I had a delicious halibut chowder in Skagway at Olivia's Garden Restaurant.  But more about Skagway tomorrow.