Name: Butter Baked Halibut with Lemon, Chives, & Garlic
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 pound halibut fillet; ⅓ cup butter (See notes.); 3 cloves garlic (chopped small); 1 lemon (zested); 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (from the zested lemon); 2 Tablespoons freshly chopped chives; Sea salt and and freshly ground pepper (to season)

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... with Lemon, Chives, and Garlic!

Halibut is my favorite white fish, especially wild-caught from Alaska. When cooked right, it is soft and tender, and can handle a multitude of seasonings. However, that's no reason to load it up with too much. Sometimes, a simple butter, lemon, chives, and garlic is just plenty to provide a delicious Butter Baked Halibut for dinner.

Butter baked halibut with fresh chives and blossoms

Fish is a great option for a weeknight dinner because it cooks so quickly. When time is of the essence during a busy week, fish is a timely and healthful choice. But this dish is just as appealing to serve to dinner guests! It's so tasty and beautiful.

lemon, butter, garlic, and chives to flavor halibut

I use the zest and the juice from the lemon for added zing, plenty of garlic, and fresh chives from my garden.

Let's talk about the chives a bit.

Chives are so easy to grow and if you only have an apartment balcony with a pot to grow it in, you certainly should. They are easy, they come back every year, and you can use the greens as well as the blossoms. At the end of the season, you can dry them and use them all winter.

Just melt the butter gently, then add the garlic and allow it to cook together for about a minute before adding the lemon juice, zest, and chopped chives.

Melted butter ready for the garlic, chives, and lemon juice

Swirl it around and pour it over the halibut in the baking dish. Make sure to cover all of the flesh.

Pouring the melted butter mixture over the halibut

What do I look for when buying halibut?

Whether you are buying a whole halibut or just fillets or steaks, be sure the flesh is firm and fully white, but translucent with maybe even a little green tint to it. Avoid any halibut that has red or yellow discoloration. If it's fresh, it will smell like seawater. You can read more on how to choose fresh halibut on Global Seafoods.

How long does halibut need to bake?

This is the best news ... not long at all! It all depends on how thick the halibut is, of course, but it shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes. Be sure to baste it about halfway through to be sure the fish is still covered with the butter. If you overcook halibut, it will be dry and unpleasant so err on the side of undercooked when you take it out of the oven because it will continue cooking as it rests. It should flake easily, but still have a bit of translucence.

How to serve Butter Baked Halibut with Lemon, Chives, and Garlic

All of that delicious flavored butter is amazing soaked into rice and is my favorite thing to pair with it. Along with something green and crunchy. Sauteed Garlic Green Beans is the perfect option.

two servings of butter baked halibut with lemon, chives, and garlic

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Recipe

Butter Baked Halibut with Lemon, Chives, & Garlic

Tammy Circeo

When cooked right, halibut is soft and tender, and can handle a multitude of seasonings. Sometimes, though, a simple butter, lemon, chives, and garlic sauce is plenty to provide a delicious Butter Baked Halibut for dinner.

The recipe is written using only a pound of halibut, but it can certainly be scaled to feed as many as you need!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

1 pound halibut fillet
⅓ cup butter See notes.
3 cloves garlic chopped small
1 lemon zested
2 Tablespoons lemon juice from the zested lemon
2 Tablespoons freshly chopped chives
Sea salt and and freshly ground pepper to season

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a baking dish and lay the halibut fillet in skin side down. Season the halibut with salt and pepper.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and let it cook for about a minute. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice, zest, and chives. Pour the melted butter mixture over the halibut
Bake the fish for 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet. Baste with the butter mixture after about halfway 7 minutes. At this point, also use a fork or knife to see if the fish will flake. Allow the fish to continue cooking, basting and checking again after another 5 minutes.
When the fish flakes easily and is still a bit clear, take it out of the oven. It will keep cooking once you take it out so don't let it go too long. Err on the side of caution. You can always put it back in.
Serve it with rice because that sauce is amazing and totally soaks into the rice. You should also have some sauteed green beans.

Notes

On the butter ... I always use salted butter. I know that the "experts" say you shouldn't do that because you can't control the amount of salt. That is true in that you don't know how much salt is in the butter, but if you are consistently tasting your food, you can control anything. And I like salted butter. Bottom line.

If you can get fresh chive blossoms (like from your garden!), you should definitely use them and add that gorgeous lavender color to your dish at the same time!

If you don't like chives, feel free to use your favorite herb. Thyme, rosemary, or basil would all be amazing choices and they all pair so well with butter.

Keyword baked halibut, halibut

Yum

Comments

Rich

August 25, 2024 at 11:55 am

After nearly 50 years of catching halibut in Cook Inlet Alaska and trying many many recipes, this is the best and easiest by far. I am looking forward to trying more of Tammy's recipes.

- Tammy Circeo
  
  August 25, 2024 at 5:48 pm
  
  Thank you, Rich. I'm very happy that you enjoyed it. And I'm just a little jealous of how fresh your halibut is! Straight from the water!!