Gordon Ramsay cooks halibut in seven different cookbooks, from pan-frying with a butter emulsion in Bread Street Kitchen to tandoori-spicing it in Fast Food to wrapping it in potato scales for his signature restaurant dish. The techniques change completely, but one rule stays the same across every recipe: halibut dries out fast, so every method he uses is built around preventing that.
His solutions depend on the dish. The pan-seared halibut uses butter and fish stock whisked into an emulsion that bastes the fish as it cooks. The tandoori halibut coats the fillets in spiced yogurt which acts as a moisture barrier during the sear. The potato-crusted version wraps the fish in mandolined potato scales that shield it from direct heat in the oven.
In The F Word, Ramsay says halibut is “a great alternative to cod” with “this really nice snowflake appearance, bright, wide, full of flavour and packed with protein.” The season runs April to November, so this is the window when the flesh is at its best and the price drops.
Ramsay’s Halibut Rules
It dries out, so build moisture into the method
Ramsay warns in Bread Street Kitchen that halibut “has a tendency to dry out, so adding a little butter and fish stock during the cooking will keep it moist.” That is his pan-frying fix, but every other halibut recipe he publishes solves the same problem differently.
In Fast Food the yogurt marinade does the work, coating the fish so the surface doesn’t lose moisture during the sear. In Cooking for Friends he poaches halibut in a bath of aromatics and water for 8-10 minutes, the gentlest method of all. In Great Escape he marinates it overnight in tamarind and orange, writing that the long soak “will help it remain moist when cooked.” Five books, five different solutions, one problem.
Master the cuisson
Ramsay uses two doneness tests across his halibut recipes. In Make It Easy he writes that “the secret of cooking fish is mastering the cuisson,” and his test is to press the flesh gently with your index finger. When it feels firm but gives slightly, pull it off the heat.
In Bread Street Kitchen he adds a second check: push a cocktail stick through the thickest part of the fillet. If it slides in easily, the fish is done. White fish goes from silky to chalky in about a minute, so I start testing early and pull it the moment one of these tests passes.
Skin on or off depends on the dish
In The F Word, Ramsay skins halibut himself on camera: “hold it towards the tail and just tug.” He removes the skin for the tandoori because the yogurt marinade needs to coat the flesh directly.
In Bread Street Kitchen the pan-seared recipe also calls for skin removed because the butter and stock emulsion replaces the need for a crispy skin barrier. But the potato-crusted version keeps the fillet skinless too, using the potato scales as the protective layer instead. If you want crispy skin, sear skin-side down first in hot oil for 3-4 minutes until it crackles, then flip and finish.
FAQs
How do you fillet a whole halibut?
Ramsay demonstrates on MasterChef and calls halibut “flatfish, one of the most difficult fishes anywhere in the sea to fillet.” A whole halibut has four fillets, two on each side. He starts from the head, follows the centre line with the tip of a fillet knife, and says “let the knife do the work” rather than forcing it through.
After all four fillets are off, he goes for the cheeks: “this is what we call the sort of oyster, beautiful majestic cheek.” The cheeks are the most prized cut on the fish and most fishmongers throw them away with the carcass, so ask them to set the cheeks aside if you are buying a whole halibut.
When is halibut in season?
April to November in the UK and across the North Atlantic. Ramsay says on The F Word that halibut is “absolutely perfect this time of year” during the spring and summer episodes. Outside the season the fish is scarcer and more expensive, though frozen halibut is available year round.
During the season, a 150g fillet runs roughly £5-7 at Tesco or your local fishmonger. Out of season it can double. Cod, haddock and sea bass are the closest swaps if halibut is not available or the price puts you off.
Which Ramsay halibut recipe should I start with?
It depends on what you want from the dish. The tandoori halibut is the fastest at 15 minutes and easiest because the yogurt does most of the flavour work for you. The pan-seared halibut with the butter and stock emulsion is the most restaurant-like and teaches you a technique that works on any white fish. The potato-crusted halibut is the showstopper for a dinner party because the golden potato scales look spectacular on the plate.
All three are from different cookbooks and use completely different techniques. If you are new to cooking halibut, start with the tandoori, work up to the pan-seared emulsion, then try the potato crust when you want to impress someone.
