Grilled Halibut Steak with an Avocado, Habanero and Mango Salsa

I love to cook and eat halibut.  The best halibut to buy is wild-caught Pacific halibut, which also goes by the name "Alaskan halibut," because it is the most sustainable.  Atlantic halibut or Pacific halibut caught using means such as gillnets and bottom trawlers are not as sustainable because the fishing methods result in a lot of bycatch.  Recently, Pacific halibuts steaks have been available around where I live, so I got the idea of buying one (which was almost a pound) and taking it home to grill. 

Before grilling the fish, I decided to use a very simple marinade of olive oil (which would help with the grilling of the fish) and lemon, along wtih some salt and ground black pepper.  I decided to leave the skin on the steak, which made it (slightly) easier when the time came to turn or flip the steak.  Once the steak is finished, I removed the skin and took a cleaver to cut through the bone in order to create two smaller steaks to serve to Clare and myself.

I made this dish without any guidance from a recipe, so it is a little rough around the edges. I plan on making this dish again, and, in future efforts, I will probably tweak both the marinade and the salsa.  

GRILLED HALIBUT STEAK WITH AN AVOCADO, HABANERO

AND MANGO SALSA

A Chef Bolek Original
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 pound of halibut steak

1 avocado, diced

1 mango, diced

1/4 Vidalia onion, diced

1 habanero pepper, diced

1 lemon, juiced

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Marinate the halibut.  Whisk the lemon juice and the olive oil.  After seasoning the steak with salt and pepper, place the halibut steak in a ziplock bag and pour the lemon juice and the olive oil into the bag. Let the steak marinate for about thirty minutes in the refrigerator.

2.  Prepare the salsa. While the steak is marinating, add the diced avocado, mango, onion and pepper in a bowl.  Mix the contents thoroughly.  Add some salt and ground pepper.  Continue to mix.  Set aside.

3.  Grill the fish.  Heat the grill on medium high.  Oil the grates with some olive oil to make sure that the fish does not stick.  Add the steak and let it cook for about three to four minutes, then turn it ninety degrees and let it cook for about three or four minutes.  Flip the steak and repeat, grilling for three or four minutes and then turning it ninety degrees to cook for three or four minutes.  Let the steak continue to cook until finished, probably a couple of minutes at most.  The total cooking time should be about sixteen to twenty minutes.  You will know when the fish is about finished because, despite the skin, the fish will begin to flake. 

4.  Finish the dish.  After removing the fish from the heat, let it sit for a minute.   Remove the skin and take a cleaver or large knife and cut through the backbone to create 2 separate steaks.  Plate each steak on a plate and spoon some of the salsa over the steak.

ENJOY!