Jay Veregge - Executive Chef, Big Water Grille

I know, cheesy title right? But summer is here and halibut is in peak season, which means the fish side of the hot line finally gets to do some work. Since we sell so much halibut, I thought that a little education on the subject might be in order.

Halibut is loved by diners and foodies alike for its sweet flavor and firm yet flaky texture. It is a great source of protein and minerals and is low in sodium, fat and calories, (that is until we smother it with a beautiful beurre blanc). Halibut can grow to more than 8ft long and 700lbs.  It’s great fried, poached, baked, pan fried, roasted; it’s kinda like the Bubba’s Shrimp of the fish world.

Halibut fishing and the regulations governing it has changed dramatically in the last 35 years. In the 70s, halibut was fished during a 5 month season, but in the 80s, this was changed to two “openers” only 24-48 hours in length each year. This “derby” style fishing made it almost impossible to buy great high quality halibut that hadn’t been sitting in some fishery’s freezer for the last 6 months.

This all changed in 1995 when halibut fishing switched to an individual vessel quota system which has increased the availability of fresh halibut to an 8 month annual span, also increasing the quality of the halibut caught.

Well, right now we are right smack dab in the middle of halibut season and the quality fish that we’ve been getting fresh from Alaska is amazing. We’ve been running it as a fish special for the last couple of weeks and it seems like no matter what, we can never buy enough.

So come into the Big Water Grille this weekend and try out our “roti” of halibut, you’re guaranteed to love it.