Elk camp halibut (recreation)
Ok… I know what you’re thinking… Fish at elk camp?!?! You sir are doing it wrong…
But hear me out on this one.
I hadn’t been to elk camp in the Blues for a few years. As the resident coastie of the camp I felt I had to take things up a notch to ensure I get invited back… So I was trying to think of something that would be an interesting treat that no other camp was likely to have. It also turns out I did pretty good halibut fishing out of Neah Bay this year and had enough to share. So voila, halibut in elk camp made sense.
Ingredients:
Main dish -
Halibut fillets (about 1/2 – 2/3 a pound per person worked well)
Bacon (enough to cover your cook surface)
Lemonade (one small 12oz bottle is enough)
Salt
Pepper
Dill
Basil
Garlic powder
Ancho chilli powder
Can of cheap beer
Sides -
Rice or rice-a-roni
Lettuce and veggies for a salad (yes, doing it wrong again…)
Your favorite salad dressing
Instructions:
Start by washing your hands… No really, go wash your hands. I’ll wait.
Get the rice going, it will take the longest to cook.
I used rice-a-roni at camp since it’s easy to make. For this recreation I used a rice cooker and normal brown rice.
Fire up the burners to medium heat and line the bottom of your cook surface with strips of bacon. This is for two reasons.
1. Because no elk camp meal is truly complete without bacon.
2. The non stick properties of the elk camp cookware is questionable.
While the bacon is coming up to temp lightly season one side of the halibut with:
Light salt (this can be omitted, there’s plenty of salt in the bacon)
Pepper
Dill weed
Basil
Garlic powder
Ancho chilli powder
Once you’re done with that the bacon should be about ready to flip.
Once the bacon has started getting some color on both sides go ahead and put the halibut on the bacon bed with the seasoned side down.
Back the heat down to medium low and repeat the seasoning for the other side of the halibut.
We didn’t have any lemons at camp, but I did bring some lemonade. Close enough, lets git-r-dun!
Lightly drizzle some lemonade on the top of the halibut.
Probably not a bad idea to wash or at least wipe your hands again now.
(Not on your pants! Get a paper towel…)
Pat the seasoning and the lemonade into the top of the fish.
Cover with a lid or foil or whatever you have.
Now, grab your cheap beer and don’t open the lid until you’ve finished your beer. No peeking…
Once you’re done with your beer we can open the lid and add some more lemonade. If there’s extra bacon that’s been cooking you can place one slice on top of each fillet.
Cover again, but crack the lid a little this time.
Check the rice. Now is a good time to ask someone who’s holding the monkey’s tail to find plates and help make the salad. (Inside joke there… And yes, you can also crack inappropriate jokes during this step)
Give the fish a quick taste. It should be just about done and taste awesome. If you’re feeling generous, share a bite with the souse chef (that’s a nice word for the opinionated person standing next to you).
Put the halibut on low heat to wait for the rice to finish.
Once the rice is done have your fellow elk campers dish up their sides. Make sure they get a salad… if nothing else it will make the plate look prettier…
OK, it’s game time now!
Halibut is pretty delicate if you cooked it right. The bacon worked perfectly as a non-stick surface and we were able to easily remove the fish from the pan once it was done. It also added a ton of flavor to the halibut.
Mmmm, that looks good! I’m hungry again now!
AND! Yes, there’s more!!!
As an added bonus, the sugar in the lemonade has caramelized and we also have candied bacon!
For the record, it tastes as good as it looks.
So yeah, there you have it. I think it’s pretty obvious why I had to try to recreate elk camp halibut in my kitchen. Give it a try for yourself and let me know what you think!
