I have shelves and shelves of rubs, spices, seasonings and sauces.  There is even a spare refrigerator in the garage where the overflow of previously enjoyed jars/bottles of sauces are kept.  I love all the unique flavors you can come up with, but when it comes to expensive cuts of meat and seafood I prefer to go with a much more simple approach.  And that’s the case with these wonderful halibut filets my sister-in-law dropped off from a recent trip to Alaska.  The last time I checked halibut this good was over $19.00 a pound.  At prices like that I want to taste the fish, not seasoning.

Halibut is a very firm white fish and holds up well to grilling directly on the grates.  It you’ve had trouble with fish sticking to your grates try oiling the fish and NOT the grates.  This is the technique I use with great success.  Also, trying to turn the fish to early will also give you sticking problems.  If your grates are clean and you oil the fish when its time to turn over the flesh of the fish will “release” from the grates.  Making sure you’re not using too hot of a grill also will make sure your life is much easier.

I served the halibut with a some roasted potatoes and a zucchini fritter.  Just a touch of tartare sauce for some added zing and we had a fantastic meal.  The zucchini fritter was super simple.  Shred three or four zucchini and place them in a mesh strainer.  Mix in 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes cut the crust off two pieces of white bread.  In a food processor grind the bread into a fine powder.  Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the zucchini and add the bread crumbs, pepper and a little sliced green onion.  Form into patties and pan fry until crisp and cooked through.

I wanted a little dab of tartare sauce to compliment the fish so I mixed some mayo with a touch of Dijon mustard, pickle relish and grated onion together.  It was a little boring so I chopped up a few candied jalapeno and added them to the sauce and bingo, we had ourselves a winner.

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This year we will conducting various polls about grilling/barbecuing/smoking.  If you have ideas or suggestions about polls please drop me a line or two by using the “Ask The BBQ Grail” link at the top of the page.

[poll id=2]

On my Facebook page I post a “Topic For Discussion” each morning.  A couple of weeks ago the topic was Egg Nog.  The topic turned into a discussion with Laura of Laura’s Best Recipes on how hard it would be to come up with a couple of recipes that used Egg Nog as an ingredient.  Laura has a recipe she’s working on, mine is Egg Nog Chipotle Battered Fried Shrimp with Jalapeno Cranberry Dipping Sauce.

Jalapeno Cranberry Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 can Cranberry Sauce
• 1 Jalapeno, seeded, deveined and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for several hours before using so flavors have a chance to mix.

Egg Nog Chipotle Battered Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 12 to 14 ounces Egg Nog
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1+ teaspoon chipotle powder

Directions:

Beat the egg and add to the flour.  Stir in enough Egg Nog to give you a consistency slightly thinner than pancake batter.  When you have the desired consistency add in baking powder and enough chipotle powder to give you the heat you want. The batter is going to pretty sweet and it won’t take much chipotle powder to change the flavor.  What you want is the batter to be sweet on the front of the tongue and give you just a little heat on the back of the tongue on the way down.

The Egg Nog makes a thick batter so don’t be afraid to add some regular milk if needed to give you a thin consistency.

Batter your shrimp and fry them until done.  Serve with the Jalapeno Cranberry Dipping Sauce.