Blog | Chez Alaska Cooking School

Beer-battered halibut is one of the best things we have in Alaska.  It’s a great way to use previously-frozen halibut, or rockfish or cod.  It’s pretty simple to make, as long as you don’t mind deep-frying.

First, a word about deep-frying…  If you own a deep-fryer, terrific.  Otherwise, you can do it in a pot on the stove, it just takes a little more attention.  You need a pot that’s at least 6” high, and you want to fill it with oil up to about a third of that height, so about 2”.  As far as the type of oil, you want to use an oil which has a high smoking point.  Many oils are available refined or unrefined; you want to use a refined oil.  Unrefined oils generally have more flavor, and are better for salad dressings, etc., but refined oils are more stable at high temperatures.  All vegetable oils degrade at high heat, but the best ones to use for deep-frying are safflower, sunflower, canola, soybean, and peanut.  Don’t use vegetable shortening.  Some people try to save the oil after using it, to use again, but if you try to keep it longer than 3-4 days, it will go rancid.  It can even go bad before you ever use it, so you should check it if it has been in the cupboard for a few months.  If it smells at all like old paint, throw it out.

It’s also helpful to have a deep-fry thermometer that clips firmly to the side of the pot.  You want to try to maintain a temperature between 325ºF and 350ºF.  If you don’t have a thermometer, you can still do it (people managed for hundreds of years), you just need to keep watch.  You test to see if it’s hot enough by throwing in a drop of batter.  After that, you keep adjusting the control knob so the fish doesn’t cook too quickly or take too long.

If you’re cooking for a group, turn the oven on to warm, and line a sheet pan with paper towels.  As you cook the pieces of fish, transfer them to the oven to keep warm.

It’s a good idea to cut all the pieces of fish to the same thickness.  This makes it easier, because you know they will all take the same time to cook.  Otherwise, the thicker pieces tend to be undercooked and soggy.  (Mmmm….soggy!)

The beer batter is simple.  One cup of beer, and a cup of flour.  To that add an egg, a teaspoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.  You can use either Dijon or yellow mustard.

Beer Batter

1 cup beer
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

I’ve read that letting the batter sit for an hour before using will yield better results.  I tried that, and the fish came out great, but honestly, I don’t think it makes too much difference.

As far as beer is concerned, I like an amber or brown ale, such as Alaskan Amber.  Very hoppy beers such as IPA are bitter, so I probably wouldn’t prefer them for a beer batter.  American lagers such as Bud, Miller, et al., are okay for batter.

After the fish is cut and the oil is hot, dredge the pieces of fish in flour a few at a time, then shake off all excess flour and drop in the batter.  Using a pair of tongs, transfer each piece into the hot oil.  Hold each piece in the oil, and swish it back and forth a few times before letting go.  This allows each piece to develop a skin before it hits the bottom of the pot, and will help keep them from sticking.

You want to cook the pieces of fish until golden brown…but “golden brown” can mean anything from barely crisp to nearly burnt.  Also, if your batter contains yellow mustard, it’s a different color anyway.  So if you’re unsure, break a piece open to check for doneness.  Since all the pieces are the same size, you can cook them to color from then on.

I don’t like a sweet tartar sauce.  Most commercial tartar sauces use sweet pickle relish, and I think they’re terrible.  I like dill pickle instead.  Also, your tartar sauce will be lighter if you use half mayonnaise and half sour cream.

Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup minced dill pickles
3 Tbsp minced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp capers, minced into mush
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Tabasco
1/8 tsp ground celery seed

Mix all together and chill.

- Derrick Snyder

Halibut has really jumped in price during the last few years.  I believe I was routinely paying $8.00/lb. as recently as four or five years ago.  Today halibut runs $15.00/lb. or more, and it’s showing no signs of dropping back.

What’s the cause?  Well, part of the problem is due to the jump in fuel prices.  It costs fishermen more to operate their boats, and that increase is passed on to the consumer.  All local seafoods are affected.

The other part of the problem has to do with overfishing.  The fact is that halibut stocks are depleted, especially in the traditional fishing areas.  Both commercial halibut fishermen and sportsmen report having to travel farther and farther from port to procure their limits.

As this problem relates to cuisine, it’s nothing new.  Chefs have seen this happen time and time again over the past 25 years.  A certain type of fish becomes popular, often because it’s of high quality and is cheaply available.  Chefs take advantage of this, and use it to create their signature dishes.  Before you know it, customers are demanding it.  Soon it becomes almost a requirement that restaurants offer it, and it becomes a symbol of fine dining.  As demand rises, this puts pressure on the commercial fishermen, who know they can sell as much as they can catch.  As fish stocks begin to fluctuate, the supply becomes unstable, which drives up the price.

You might think the market for this popular fish would self regulate:  the increase in price should translate into a reduced demand, and the lowered demand would allow the depleted stocks to rebound.  But unfortunately, if this special fish becomes a status symbol, an increase in price only makes it appear more precious, and the demand goes up, not down.

I’ve seen this process happen with swordfish, orange roughy, chilean sea bass, ahi tuna, and now it’s occurring with halibut and pedigree salmon, such as Copper River king.  Now, these are all great seafood products, but the thing is, just about everything that comes from the sea is delicious.  So its not so much that these fish are overrated, rather that everything else is underrated.  The most important quality of any seafood product has to do with its freshness.  The Alaskan seafood industry constantly updates its systems for cold storage, processing and shipping to improve the quality of its products at the point of consumer purchase.

Anyway, back to halibut…  Despite the hype and the sky-high price, halibut is still my favorite.  When it’s done right, the texture is almost silken, and its flavor is light and incredibly versatile.  When its fresh, it almost cooks itself.  What I mean is, no matter how you cook it or season it, whether it’s a little bit under- or overdone, its still terrific.

My favorite way to cook halibut is very easy.  I like to steam it in white wine.  To do this, I season halibut fillets with salt and pepper, and place in a casserole dish.  If I have some fresh herbs, I’ll lay a few sprigs on the fillets (but I won’t use dried herbs for this).  Then I thinly slice some slices of onion, lemon and tomato, and lay these all over the fillets in a haphazard order, splash on about 3 tablespoons of wine per serving, and then seal with foil.  The foil shouldn’t touch the food, but it should be tight around the edge to keep the steam in.  Then I bake it in a 450 degree oven until done, about 15-25 minutes for 2-6 servings.  As with all fish, it’s important to not overcook the halibut.  Personally, I let it cook until the internal temperature at the thickest part is 140 degrees, then I pull it out of the oven and break a piece slightly to check for doneness.  If some pieces are a bit undercooked, I re-cover and let rest for 5-10 minutes as necessary before serving.

I like to serve this with a brandy-sour cream sauce.  Stir together some sour cream, brandy, salt, white pepper, a shot of Tabasco, then add a bit of whatever herb you used before.  Make some plain rice, and when it’s done, stir in some grated Double Gloucester or extra-sharp cheddar.  Serve with the rice, and with some grilled or oven-roasted vegetables.

I’ve been smoking salmon for more years than I can count with my socks off.  When I was a kid, my dad used to drag me out of bed in the dark wee hours of Saturday mornings, and force me to fish. At the time, I thought this was a hostage crisis on par with events of international terrorism.  That I eventually came to enjoy fishing is a story best suited for a psychiatrist, but the fact that I came to enjoy smoked salmon is much easier to understand.

Dad used to soak fresh salmon in a brine of brown sugar, salt, molasses and soy sauce, then toss them in a Little Chief electric smoker and smoke them all night long with alder chips.  I thought every family did this.  Later, when I was a teenager, I came to realize it was more of a rare treat for most people.  What’s more, I learned that most smoked salmon wasn’t as good as the stuff my dad and I made.

Here in Juneau, there’s lots of good home-smoked salmon (even some good commercially-smoked salmon), and it’s still a rare treat for most people.  Give someone a gift of freshly-smoked salmon, and they’re putty in your hands.  I think it’s a good candidate for Best Food on the Planet.  It’s certainly one of the best things we have here in Alaska.

Everyone seems to have their own brine recipe.  Some folks just use brown sugar and salt, or just white sugar and salt.  Soy sauce and molasses are nice additions, because they seem to add a depth of flavor.  Beyond that, fresh crushed garlic is usually the only other ingredient I add to the brine…I think it makes the fish more savory.  I’ve had smoked fish that was ‘brined’ with sugar and no salt, and tasted quite bleah.

Other additional ingredients I’ve seen people use include puréed onion, puréed jalapeños, hot sauce or cayenne, ginger, black pepper, celery seed, dill seed, curry powder,various fresh herbs such as dill and marjoram, ketchup, lemon zest.  Not all of that at once, of course.  I think a bit of cayenne or chile is a good idea; not enough to burn, but just enough to add a subtle warmth.

The best smoked salmon is simple.  Not too salty or too sweet.  It shouldn’t be too moist or too dry.  Lox and kippered salmon have their place, but they’re under-smoked and gummy.  Conversely, if the salmon is smoked too long with too much heat, it becomes smoked-dried and firm.  That’s a nice way to preserve fish, but it’s not what you’re trying for with smoked salmon.  Smoked salmon should be dry on the outside, but soft in the middle.  You achieve this quality by smoking at a low temperature for a long time, as long as 15 hours.  That much smoke puts a lot of flavor on the fish, but it’s not too much.

I like to bone my salmon before I smoke it.  I take a pair of needle-nosed pliers and yank out all the pin bones before cutting the fillet into 4” chunks.  This is a hassle, but it’s also a hassle to have to break your chunk of smoked salmon apart while you’re eating it to make sure you get all the bones.

Another thing that’s important is to leave the skin on.  It’s critical!  It adds flavor and makes the fish easier to handle on and off the smoking racks.

Lastly, a word about the wood.  Here in AK, we wouldn’t think about using anything but alder.  I’ve heard of apple-smoked salmon, and I imagine that it’s edible.  I’ve heard of people using oak or mesquite, and that doesn’t seem right, not for salmon.  Alder is the most prevalent hardwood in Southeast Alaska.  It’s been used by natives for cooking and smoking for thousands of years, and those folks knew what they were on about.

Great smoked salmon is a perishable product.  It will keep refrigerated for a couple weeks, but otherwise it should be frozen.  The very expensive products you sometimes encounter in grocery stores boxed and unrefrigerated are completely inferior.  That stuff is hard, dry, vacuum-packed, and probably has no expiration date.  If I was emperor, I would put the guys who make that stuff on trial for crimes against smoked salmon.  The best thing you can do with that kind of smoked salmon is to leave it on the store shelf.

I’m crazy about pizza.  I can’t think of any dish that’s more fun than pizza:  it’s designed to be shared with friends, and everyone loves it.  Making pizza makes people happy; it’s as simple as that.

Pizza is now enjoyed everywhere around the globe; it’s Italy’s gift to the world.  And every country has developed their own styles, with local and favorite toppings.  In Japan, they put on squid and seaweed.  In Brazil, they like linguiça and bananas.  In India, tandoori chicken and cashews.  In the USA, we love pepperoni, but that’s just us; in Italy, you’d be more likely to encounter sardines on pizza than pepperoni.  Everybody’s got their own way of doing it.

I’m always delighted when I discover a new food trend.  New culinary inventions are being brought forth all the time in the modern world.  Fortunately, we’re all alive and around to enjoy these.

Anyway, I thought I was familiar with most of the American regional pizza trends, but here’s a new one from Washington, D.C.:  the jumbo slice.  It’s pretty much what it sounds like; it’s a slice of pizza, only it’s jumbo-sized.  Pizzerias in D.C. have all started offering jumbo slice pizza.  Basically, when you order a jumbo slice, you get a giant slice cut from a pie 30 or more inches in diameter.  It’s as big as an entire small pizza.  You might suspect jumbo slices to be popular with college kids around 1 in the morning, and you’d be right.

Here is a video clip to show what it’s like taking a class at Chez Alaska.  This is a small portion of an Indian cooking class taught by Chef Urvashi Shedev.  Now, I’m just figuring out how to use my durned video software, and this is my first clip, so you’ll have to bear with me.  Especially seeing as how I only filmed a small portion of the class that evening, and this video clip dead-ends right in the middle of the demonstration.  I know…I know.  But hopefully you can still tell how fun it is to take a cooking class at Chez Alaska.

Urvashi has taught several special classes here, and they have all been very popular.  I’ll tell you, when she starts frying pakoras, she puts the whole class in her pocket!  As the smell of deep-fried fritters starts to waft through the room, everyone suddenly realizes they MUST learn how to make pakoras.  Not that you’re going to see that in this video, since I stopped filming before she got to that point.  There were other wonderful creations made that night as well, none of which you’re going to see when you watch this video!  Oh, well.  Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy…

You can make it bigger if you click on the “YouTube” in the bottom right corner of the video.  That will open a new window.

No-knead bread is becoming all the rage lately, and for good reason.  It’s amazingly simple to make (“so easy a four-year-old can do it”), and barely takes as much effort as nuking a frozen dinner.  Plus, you can achieve homemade bread with a crunchy, old-world-style crust and texture.  Frankly, I’ve never seen bread like this come out of a home oven.  The two secrets to the technique are 1) a very long rising time (12-18 hours!), and 2) you bake it in your oven inside your biggest pot, with a lid on top.

Here’s an exciting video demonstrating the process, courtesy of YouTube and the New York Times:

It all started with the donut burger.  If you’re unfamiliar with the donut burger, it looks like this:

That’s a bacon cheeseburger, served in a split glazed donut.  Some genius figured out the problem with hamburgers was that the bread wasn’t sweet enough or deep-fried.  The frightening popularity of the donut burger began about four years ago, when it was first offered for sale at baseball games in St. Louis.    Apparently, attendance at the games increased, and the burger became one of the most popular features of the ballpark.  Here they are, ready for the hungry fans:

Of course, donut burgers fall into that category of foods that would probably taste good, but that should never actually be eaten for any reason.  Even if you have just stumbled out of the woods after being lost for a week without food.  The donut burger is estimated to contain 1000 calories, and 45 grams of fat.  Now, that sounds like a recipe for disaster, but that’s the diet version…if you go for the deluxe style, you get two donuts and a burger ball instead of a thin patty:

Okay, honestly, I doubt you can find this version for sale anywhere, so you probably shouldn’t spend time searching for it.  And remember, never try to eat anything bigger than your head!

According to the New York Times (article may be found here), truffle oil is not made from truffles.  What?

Apparently this is true.  Truffle oil, and by that I mean virtually all commercially-produced truffle oil, is made by adding chemicals such as, uh, 2,4-dithiapentane to olive oil.  The source of those chemicals is not truffles, they are manufactured in a lab.

If you think about it, it starts to make sense.  How can a product that costs $60 and more per ounce be used to flavor oil that costs $6 per ounce?  Truffles are flavorful, but they’re not that flavorful.  Also, truffles are so rare, that the quality and especially price can vary wildly from year to year, yet the flavor and price of truffle oil is consistent.

Even upscale and high-end restaurants use artificial truffle oil.  Real truffle oil is simply not available.  As it turns out, even truffle oil labeled as “organic” or “100% natural” is in fact, artificially flavored.

This whole fiasco came about because of the high demand for a limited resource.  And modern diners, especially American diners, aren’t satisfied with subtle flavors…they want big, bold flavors.  The only cost-effective way for chefs to provide this amount of truffle flavor is by adding truffle oil to their creations.

Carne Asada Fries will change your life.  In a good way, not a bad way!  Carne Asada Fries are french fries topped with carne asada steak, grated cheese, avocado, tomato and sour cream.  The steak is marinated in a mexican marinade of lime juice, onions, red wine and spices, then either grilled, or seared in a hot pan, and then sliced.  If for some reason you’re worried about fats, you can oven-roast the fries with just a spritz of oil, and sub non-fat yogurt or non-fat sour cream for the rich stuff.

If you think that pretty much everything related to food and cooking has already been discovered or invented, you’re wrong.  As certainly as the way we eat is changing, the way we cook is changing also.  Creative cooks and food scientists are out there constantly pushing the envelope of what can be done with food to make it better and more interesting.

Many examples of such new ideas can be found on the blog Ideas in Food.  You are certain to find techniques and food combinations there that you’ve never imagined.  Now, be forewarned, it’s a website designed mainly for food professionals, and many of the recipes would be virtually impossible to make in the home kitchen.  However, there are plenty of recipes which could be recreated at home, given a bit of time and good fortune.  I find this website fascinating, one of the best finds in the past year.

As an example of the sort of things you are likely to encounter there, this recipe for Broken Beet Salad involves using liquid nitrogen to freeze beets solid before smacking them with a mallet to crack them into rough shards (which are then thawed, but retain their odd shapes).  Okay, sure, I’m fresh out of liquid nitrogen too, but still, there are some terrific ideas here.

Another source for new culinary ideas is Cooking Issues, the French Culinary Institute’s blog.  Don’t be put off by the mean-looking guys on the front page; it gets better!  As an example of their creativity, check out the recipe for Ketchup Chocolate…that’s regular ol’ ketchup mixed with cocoa butter to produce a solid ketchup with the consistency of chocolate.  I know, it’s almost impossible to imagine.  And it begs the question of why someone would want to ruin perfectly good ketchup by turning it into chocolate.  Obviously these guys have a lot of spare time on their hands…