Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut

My husband pulled a package of frozen halibut from the freezer today for lunch. My parents go to Alaska and fish then share with us.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  This halibut was from this year's trip.

 This recipe was in a cookbook I've had for several years.  Though I had never tried this halibut recipe I had some confidence it would be great because I had made the beurre blanc sauce a few times and that recipe alone was worth the purchase of the cookbook. 

Beurre Blanc Sauce before the shallots were strained out.

Furthermore, for the first time in my life I had a good supply of macadamia nuts.  It was SOOOO good and a must try recipe especially for those of you who have Alaska halibut in your freezers...you know who you are.

MACADAMIA CRUSTED HALIBUT
McCormick and Schmick's Recipe

Serves 2

Fish and Crust
2 (5-6 oz.) fresh halibut fillets  (I had enough coating for all seven fillets in the package)
1 cup macadamia nuts (chopped small in a mini food processor)
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs (Kikkoman brand made from whole wheat bread.  This brand had the least additives)
1 tablespoon ground pepper (I got tired of grinding so used pre-ground for about half of this)
1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used fresh ground Montana Wheat Prairie Gold)
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used Avocado Oil this time)
1/2 cup Beurre Blanc Lemon sauce (see recipe below)  (I did not use lemon this time)
1/4 cup Major Grey's chutney



Roast the macadamia nuts in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. (My macadamia nuts were pre-roasted so I skipped this step). Combine the nuts and Panko breadcrumbs in a food processor (the mixture should be a little coarse), and place on a large plate or in a pie pan.

Season the flour with the salt and pepper, and place on a second plate.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a tablespoon of water or milk. I used a little 55% cream instead of milk.

Dredge the halibut fillets in the flour, then the eggs and then the nuts. Pat the fillets to ensure the nut mixture sticks to the fish.

Pan fry the fillets 3 to 4 minutes per side in oil over medium high heat. Remove the fillets and allow them to drain briefly on paper towels. Combine the butter sauce and the chutney and pour over the halibut.

Beurre Blanc Sauce and Chutney combined:

Beurre Blanc Sauce 
6 ounces white wine (I used Vermouth this time)
3 ounces white wine vinegar (I used Champagne Wine Vinegar this time)
3 whole black peppercorns
1 shallot, quartered
1 cup heavy cream (I had 55% cream from a local dairy)
9 ounces cold butter, cut into pieces

Combine wine, vinegar, peppercorns and shallot in a non corrosive saucepan. Reduce until the mixture is just 1 to 2 tablespoons and has a consistency of syrup. Add the cream and reduce again until the mixture is 3 to 4 tablespoons and very syrupy. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in butter, about 2 ounces at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each piece to melt in before adding more. If the mixture cools too much, the butter will not melt completely and you will need to reheat it slightly.

To make lemon butter sauce, replace the vinegar with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

I made this again June 16th, 2017 because my friend brought some macadamia nuts from Hawaii.  It was so good again.  This was the last of the halibut brought to us from my parents who fished in Ketchikan, Alaska.