What's for dinner? Halibut Cheeks and Engawa
 

The other night I had a great and quick halibut meal; I figured I'd share.
The preparation starts right at the filleting process, so it's something you've got to plan ahead for.

Halibut cheeks I always harvested - they're tender and fatty (I mean for a halibut), super tasty. Separating engawa I never did for some reason. Engawa is that fatty part of meat at the end of the fillet, that is tight along the dorsal fin bones that surround halibut. On a bigger fish, it is nicely held together strip of "halibut tears", that's how it kind of looks like. :) Definitely the fattest part on otherwise very classy, lean, white meat you find on the rest of the fish. It is too subtle to toss on the grill, but it's got to be good fried, right?

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Getting your "raw material" may be challenging, especially if you're planning on feeding bigger party. Keep in mind that cheeks and engawa all together are not much meat. It helps tremendously if you happen to score a couple, especially if they are on a chunky side. :D

Cut each cheek down through the center, and slide your filleting knife above the brown skin to peel off your halibut scallop. Screw that brown slimy stuff. :redface:

It's as simple as it gets - you need

• halibut cheeks and engawa

• plain bread crumbs (I'm sure italian, or even panko would work great)

• olive oil

• Salt & peper

• Lemon or lime

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Put some salt on the fish

Roll in plain bread crumbs (or whatever you prefer)

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Fry on hot olive oil for 1 min, 2 max depending how thick your engawa is. Leave cheeks for a tad longer

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Flip and do the same on the other side

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Heavenly...

Take out on a plate with paper towel to soak the oil,
Squeeze some lemon or lime over it and serve

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I serve it with traditional Mediterranean potato salad - cooked potato, sliced red onion, olive oil and vinegar, salt & peper, some chopped parsley - goes great with any grilled or fried fish. Serve cold

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The only thing you need to be careful is not to overdo it; how long you fry each side depends on how thick your engawa is. Fry cheeks just a lil' longer. I fry it on high quality olive oil, home made stuff that wife's family from Croatia supplies. Good quality oil won't hurt.

You can ad any green salad, butter lettuce with worked fine. Old school, olive oil and red vinegar dressing.

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It was the tastiest halibut I ever had! :luxhello:

For cbass and yt, it's always the collar that hits the grill the day of the kill, that is the ritual.

Now I know what's what dinner when I score some brown love! :eating:

That looks delicious.........I'm on my way to your place for dinner

Wow, that looks tasty! Makes me want to go kill a halibut :drool5::evil:

My mouth was watering while I read this. I'm now hungry. Jim

Adi, You and Yani kill me!!!

Between you and Yani I have learned how to cook fish in many ways. Eating raw fish with rice is overrated.

Great post. I never knew the little muscles that move the individual fin rays at the margins of the fillets had an official seafood name. Engawa sounds good, halibut tears sounds a bit morbid. They often come off with the skin. Next time I'll be careful to save them. Mike

That looks outrageously good! :eating:

Im with Stevo.. Makes me wanna go find one and kill it..