We absolutely love grilled halibut! It’s tender, flaky, and mild, but feels luxurious. Top it with our super vibrant charred scallion sauce made with cilantro and grilled jalapeño and you’ll feel like you’re dining al fresco at a fine dining restaurant!
Here’s why we love it so much:
- Bold flavor! While the halibut fillets are cooked simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper, the scallion sauce is bursting with flavor! The scallions, lime, and jalapeño all cook over direct heat, giving them a fiery character we’re crazy about!
- No oven required! The entire dish cooks on the grill, with the sauce getting a quick blitz on a blender. Perfect for when you don’t want to stay inside with a hot oven!
No complaints here, just wishing we had made a double batch of that sauce!
Ingredient Notes
Well the halibut itself could not be simpler! All you need is high quality, fresh halibut fillets. Halibut steaks will also work just fine.
For The Charred Scallion Sauce:
- 2 bunches of fresh scallions
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Jalapeño or serrano pepper
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
How To Grill Halibut
- Season the fish. Pat the halibut fillets dry gently with a paper towel, then brush well with 3 Tbsp olive oil. Season the fillets with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper on all sides.
- Preheat grill. Heat a grill over medium-high heat to a temperature of about 425-450 F. Make sure the grill grates are very clean, then either coat with grill spray or brush lightly with olive oil. The easiest way to do this is pour a little olive oil on a paper towel, then use tongs to rub the towel along the grates of the grill.
- Cook the halibut. Place the halibut fillets flesh side down on the grill then cook for 4-6 minutes per side, flipping once. Halibut is safe to eat when an internal temperature of 140-145 is reached. Take it off the grill just before it reaches this temperature, as it will continue to cook as it sits.
- Finish and serve. Make the charred scallions sauce (recipe below), then serve immediately with lime wedges.
Halibut is a very lean fish. Without a high fat content, it is prone to sticking — make sure to brush halibut well on both sides with olive oil, as well as greasing the grill grates before placing fish on.
I recommend the Thermapen MK4 to check for doneness on all meats!
If you’re looking for more ways to use halibut, consider trying our Fish Pie recipe, which is serious comfort food for cool, winter nights!
How To Make Charred Scallion Sauce
- Grill the scallions. Trim the root ends off the bottom of each scallion, then toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Grill at the same time as the halibut fillets. Scallions can be placed directly on clean grill grates, though it’s helpful to place them on perpendicular to the grates so they don’t fall through. Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until charred.
- Blend the sauce. Chop the charred scallions into pieces about 2″ long. Reserve about ¼ cup of scallions, then place the rest in a blender with ½ cup cilantro (leaves and stems), 1 grilled lime juiced, the grilled jalapeño or serrano pepper (stems and seeds discarded), 1 clove garlic minced, and ½ tsp Kosher salt. Turn the blender on, then drizzle in ½ cup extra virgin olive oil. Blend until very smooth, then transfer to a bowl for serving. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
How To Serve
We love these simple side dishes to round out the meal:
- Light salads: Tomato And Onion Salad, Avocado Tomato Salad, House Salad with arugula and fresh fruit
- Easy vegetable sides: Creamed Spinach, Roasted Broccolini, Garlic Spinach and White Beans, or any type of blistered vegetable (pictured below is string beans, but blistered shishito peppers would be stellar!)
- Potatoes, orzo, or rice: Roasted Potato Wedges, Red Skin Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Potato Salad with Burrata or good ol’ reliable white rice. We love this with orzo, too!
And don’t underestimate the power of a really delicious baguette! Always welcome on our table!
FAQs About Cooking Halibut
- What does halibut taste like? Halibut fish is a medium firm white fish that has a mild, neutral flavor, and it holds onto sauces very well. Check out our pan seared halibut with chili garlic oil! It’s also a more hearty fish, being compared to the ‘steak’ of the sea (similar to swordfish).
- What is Alaskan halibut? Most US halibut is labeled as Alaskan halibut, largely because upwards of 80% of halibut sourced and sold here comes from Alaska. Most remaining halibut is sold as Pacific halibut or Atlantic halibut, depending on where it is sourced.
- Can I use halibut steaks instead? Absolutely! Halibut fillets and halibut steaks are from the same fish, but are different cuts. The latter tends to have bones (the backbone and possibly rib bones too), while halibut fillets tend to be boneless and have the skin removed. Both work here, it really just depends on what you’re able to find and buy.
- What are other methods for cooking halibut? Halibut steaks and fillets can be pan seared, grilled, baked, fried, steamed, broiled, or poached. You can pair any of these with our homemade charred scallion sauce — hooray!
This is one of those light, summer meals that you will have on repeat. It’s a step up from your every day salmon recipe (not hating, you know how much we love salmon!!), but still easy enough that you can feel confident cooking halibut if you’ve never tried it before.
If you make this Grilled Halibut recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below! We think you’ll be adding that scallion sauce to everything!!
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More seafood recipes to try!
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Grilled Halibut Recipe with Charred Scallion Sauce
Ingredients
For the halibut
- 4 6-8 oz halibut fillets or steaks, skin on or removed
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Lime wedges for serving
- Flaky sea salt for serving
For the charred scallion sauce
- 2 bunches scallions
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 lime zested and jucied
- 1 jalapeño pepper or serrano pepper
- 1 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Season the fish. Pat the halibut fillets dry gently with a paper towel, then brush well with 3 Tbsp olive oil. Season the fillets with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper on all sides.
- Preheat grill. Heat a grill over medium-high heat to a temperature of about 425-450 F. Make sure the grill grates are very clean, then either coat with grill spray or brush lightly with olive oil. The easiest way to do this is pour a little olive oil on a paper towel, then use tongs to rub the towel along the grates of the grill.
- Cook the halibut. Place the halibut fillets flesh side down on the grill then cook for 4-6 minutes per side, flipping once. Halibut is safe to eat when an internal temperature of 140-145 is reached. Take it off the grill just before it reaches this temperature, as it will continue to cook as it sits.
- Grill the scallions. Trim the root ends off the bottom of each scallion, then toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Grill at the same time as the halibut fillets. Scallions can be placed directly on clean grill grates, though it's helpful to place them on perpendicular to the grates so they don't fall through. Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until charred. Remove and set aside.
- Grill limes and pepper. Cut both limes in half crosswise, then place cut side down on the grates. Cook for about 1 minute. Meanwhile, char the jalapeño directly on the grill, about 1-2 minutes per side, until blistered. Set aside.
- Blend the sauce. Chop the charred scallions into pieces about 2" long. Reserve about ¼ cup of scallions, then place the rest in a blender with ½ cup cilantro (leaves and stems), 1 grilled lime juiced, the grilled jalapeño or serrano pepper (stems and seeds discarded), 1 clove garlic minced, and ½ tsp Kosher salt. Turn the blender on, then drizzle in ½ cup extra virgin olive oil. Blend until very smooth, then transfer to a bowl for serving. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Finish and serve. Place one halibut fillet on each plate, then spoon on charred scallion sauce. Top with a few reserved chopped scallions and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, then serve immediately with lime wedges.
This recipe looks amazing! My hubby just returned from fishing in Alaska and caught a 90# halibut, he shared it with others, but still brought home ALOT of halibut. We also have King and Coho salmon – but right now I am concentrating on the halibut. I will let you know how this turns out. As Always thanks for the great recipes!
Oh that’s incredible! The seafood in Alaska truly is the greatest — and wow that’s a huge halibut! Super jealous of the King salmon too. Enjoy every bite, and please report back to let me know what you think! Cheers, Ari