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ThEoRy

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[video=youtube;wqsejnZOVbg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqsejnZOVbg&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
It's a fumet of halibut with reduced white wine and Marie Blizzard.
 
That looks like a simple light dish. Beautiful. Sometimes less is more. Great color on the fish. I can tell by looking at it that there was just the right amount of cooking for a flaky fish. Thumbs up...You make me want to get a deba.
 
You're right, it looks simple.
 
Thanks for the video. I just got a shig deba. Would be looking at these vids very closely.
 
Throw yer tomatoes but I still say the dish simple, elegant and refined...Concentrated sauces are not magical they are just about patience, love and ingredients. Obviously Mr. Theory rocks the dish, that can't be denied. Presentation is awesome, execution is awesome, just because something takes a long time does not mean it is complex to assemble.

I do believe the beauty of the dish is lack of components. I did not mean to insult the skill of the executor. Rather I meant to praise him for being refined in practicing restraint. Such a beautiful fish and no ornate spatters of foam or streaks of color...just good ingredients brought to the plate. This is the kind of stuff we need more off.
 
Throw yer tomatoes but I still say the dish simple, elegant and refined...Concentrated sauces are not magical they are just about patience, love and ingredients. Obviously Mr. Theory rocks the dish, that can't be denied. Presentation is awesome, execution is awesome, just because something takes a long time does not mean it is complex to assemble.

I do believe the beauty of the dish is lack of components. I did not mean to insult the skill of the executor. Rather I meant to praise him for being refined in practicing restraint. Such a beautiful fish and no ornate spatters of foam or streaks of color...just good ingredients brought to the plate. This is the kind of stuff we need more off.

Most of the time simple is better, IMHO, learning restraint and just clean plating takes practice
 
Maybe I should elaborate.

First, you have to know how to break down the fish properly. Then you need to make a saffron fumet by reducing pernod and chablis by half, continue in a traditional fumet manner and finish it by using the gelatin web consomme method. Takes about 3 days. Tomatoes are peeled then vacuumed in laudemio with crushed garlic and basil then marinated overnight. The calamari are sliced then scored so they curl up in the pan to look like a pasta. Halibut can be a ***** to cook in the hands of the unskilled as well. It's a very delicate fish and can overcook and become dry as a bone quite easily. Really the only simple execution is the haricots verts. Just make em confetti and saute with stock and butter.

I will say CutFingers is still correct in that it does look simple. That was the idea behind the dish. A light, simple, elegant yet refined and perfectly executed dish. Restraint is the key here. I always understate my menu writing as well. It sets the expectation at a certain level as if you think you know what you are getting but then BAM! Colors, flavors and textures easily blow you away.
 
Hey thanks for posting, great vid. I have some halibut questions if you don't mind. I've don't have a ton of fish experience but I've been learning Halibut. I've done about 12 so far, ranging from the size you have to 50lb.

Is there a reason you start on the belly side? Any other tips?

So far I have been doing the top side first (I don't know why, I just do) but I don't cut down the spine. I go from long side to the spine, then the short side side to the spine, then remove the entire side. Repeat other side, then split the two halves into quarters and skin and clean. So far, its taking me a long time to do a fish. For a large fish it takes me about 25 min to take off the two sides, and another 25 min to skin, clean (that membrane near the top of the loin takes me a while...even though its just used as trim).

I'm slow, but so far the end result is very good. Very little waste or gouging.

When taking the side off the bone, one thing that slows me down (going from outside to spine with a deba) is when I cut through the bone. I have to go back and cut above the bone quite a few times. I think adjusting grip/angle/force will help with this, but it keeps happening.

Do you happy to have the full raw video of this halibut? I'd love to see it. I've seen your other halibut video posted a long time ago as well, but would like to see this one if possible.

Thanks
 
Also I notice that when you did this fish and do the initial cuts on the outside, you don't follow too closely to the fins the entire way. You leave quite a bit in the "middle" of the fish. Is there any flesh left inside there, or is that all mostly empty and that weird frilly muscle? I always follow it as close to the fins as possible, but there is that weird empty space there which is what I assume you are missing. However I just want to know if, using your technique, how much waste is there in that area? Just want to know before I try it and get yelled at.

Also, the collarbone really messes me up sometimes. On the top side, I just loosen it all up from the rest of the fish, then leave it and continue. On the flip side, I loosen it up then take it off. In your vid, did you just cut through it when you cut through the spine?
 
Sorry Theory...I think I misspoke. I want to praise you for giving a simple elegant presentation, also for not throwing a bunch of stuff on the plate. I think modern cuisine is often times too over the top.

You are right, halibut is easy to overcook. My words didn't come out right. I'm trying to say good job for using fewer components on the plate. Also the simplicity of the dish is not so much something to be taken as insult. You clearly practiced restraint and took the best of few ingredients to integrate them into that dish. Simply done to perfection is what I'm trying to say.

So much of this modern cuisine seems to be about who can give the most crayola crayon effect with food. You nailed this one...I can see the finished product looking white and flaky with a slight translucent sheen to the fish.
 
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