Dear Judy Ludy:

I had the most incredible Macadamia Crusted Halibut at a restaurant. Do you have any tips on how to do this at home?

Thank You.

A Picky Fish Eater

Dear Picky:

Cook fish in the house – almost never! I can’t stand the way it makes the house smell, and the smell seems to linger forever…ugh! Don’t get me wrong; Mr. Ludy and I love fish. In fact, I made a Baked Scallop Salad one evening, which was excellent; however, Mr. Ludy complained for days about the smell in the house, and I must say, this time he was right. All the candles and Febreze in the world couldn’t get rid of that smell! Now I keep our fish preparation to outside on the grill.

But your request sounded so wonderful, I had to see if I had anything on file that was close. I once made Almond Crusted Red Snapper, and the Macadamia Crusted Halibut can’t be much different than that. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut

10 to 12 oz. of Halibut - bones removed
1/2-cup fresh lime juice (or to taste)
1/3 cup Panko*
1/4 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts – buy them whole and chop them yourself, you’ll see a huge difference!
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
1 shallow glass dish for marinating
1 shallow dish for dredging
1 shallow glass baking dish to bake fish

*Panko is finely ground Asian breadcrumbs available in the Asian food section of most supermarkets. If you can’t find Panko, then use finely ground white bread, crust removed. But never, under any circumstances, use canned pre-ground breadcrumbs; they’re like eating old Styrofoam – yuck!

Place halibut in shallow glass dish and pour limejuice over. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and let stand 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter in shallow glass baking dish and set aside; this is what you’ll bake your fish in.

Combine Panko, nuts, cilantro and salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Remove marinating fish from refrigerator.

NOTE: You should have 3 separate shallow dishes in front of you, in this order:
1 with the lime marinated fish
1 with the Panko mixture, and
1 with the melted butter, ready to take the coated fish.

Remove halibut from lime marinade, shaking off excess, and place in Panko mixture. Roll Halibut in Panko, dredging both sides of fish to coat evenly, and pressing gently to make sure Panko mixture sticks to fish. Place coated fish in prepared baking dish with butter, side by side, but not overlapping.

Bake until fish is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

If you prefer to sauté your fish, follow the steps above, omitting the prepared baking dish. Marinate your fish with limejuice, dredge in Panko, then in a heated sauté pan with the 2-3 tablespoons of butter, fry Halibut on 1 side until golden brown, then flip and do the same on the other side.

Transfer to serving dish, garnish with cilantro and enjoy!