By Capt. Andy Martin – When I was running charter boats in Seward, Alaska, Capt. Skip and I shared a cabin rental just outside of town. We’d usually eat at one of the boardwalk restaurants one night, and then take turns cooking dinner the next. With a steady supply of salmon, halibut and lingcod fillets, we were able to come up with some fantastic dishes.
Capt. Andy with a trophy halibut from his days running charters boats in Alaska. The halibut weighed 375 pounds.
Capt. Skip came up with Halibut Spaghetti. It was much better than what I first expected. In fact, it is now one of my family’s favorite ways to enjoy halibut.
Halibut spaghetti is simple to prepare and is surprisingly delicious. It is a favorite of our crew and customers who have tried it.
The recipe is simple. Prepare a homemade spaghetti sauce, and simmer a few raw halibut fillets in it. After a half hour of simmering, the halibut flakes into small pieces, perfectly cooked, and giving the sauce an incredible flavor — not too fishy, but unlike anything you’ve ever had.
When I ran a lodge and charter operation in Southeast Alaska’s Glacier Bay, the captains would get together on Sunday afternoons and have a potluck. The halibut spaghetti was always a hit, and often requested by the other skippers.
Simply prepare a homemade spaghetti sauce, and then add raw halibut. Jarred sauce will also work.Add raw halibut, and summer until halibut easily flakes apart.
There are countless spaghetti sauce recipes. Mine includes the typical blend of Italian seasonings, garlic, red wine, tomatoes and onions. Prepare your spaghetti sauce, add small pieces of halibut fillets and simmer. You know the halibut is done when the fillet easily breaks apart as you stir the sauce.
The finished halibut spaghetti sauce.Capt. Andy with a halibut caught aboard the Miss Brooke during the 2024 season with Brookings Fishing Charters.
By far, our most requested recipe has been rockfish chowder. Our customers love it, and almost everyone who tries it says it one of their favorite ways to prepare their catch. Perfect for rockfish, lingcod or halibut, this recipe will have you coming back for seconds. Here’s a look back at Capt. Andy’s rockfish chowder recipe. This is our best Rockfish Chowder Recipe.
(Originally published March 26, 2020) Rockfish chowder is great way to enjoy fresh or frozen Oregon Coast rockfish, especially on a cold, rainy or foggy day. The fillets from a couple of rockfish will yield enough chowder for your entire family, or for a feast to enjoy with friends and neighbors, double the recipe.
Rockfish chowder is delicious and easy to make. Just a couple of rockfish fillets is enough to make a pot of chowder.
Here is Capt. Andy’s favorite rockfish chowder recipe, which yields 8 servings or 2 quarts. Halibut, lingcod or even salmon can be substituted for rockfish. This dish is quick and easy to prepare.
Rockfish Chowder
4 strips bacon (reserve a small portion of the bacon grease)
1 cup finely sliced carrots 1 bunch green onions, sliced (1/2 cup yellow onion may be substituted)
1 cup diced potatoes (optional) 2 tablespoons butter 1 minced garlic clove 1 package cream cheese (8 oz.), cut into small cubes 2 cans (10.5 oz. cans) cream of potato soup, condensed 1 can (10.5 oz.) cream of mushroom soup, condensed 2 cups 2% milk, half-and-half or heavy cream 1 to 2 pounds rockfish, cut into small pieces 1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can corn (drained) Salt, pepper and lemon pepper to taste
Parsley to garnish
In a large pot, sauté the thinly chopped carrots, onion and potatoes in butter. Cook until the onion and carrots are tender.
Add the soup (undiluted), milk and cream cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cream cheese is melted. (Cutting the cream cheese into small cubes will allow it to melt much faster than a whole block). Add crumbled cooked bacon and small amount of bacon grease.
Add the soup (undiluted), milk and cream cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the cream cheese is melted. Add the raw rockfish fillets, cut into small pieces. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring, and then simmer for 10 minutes. The rockfish will quickly cook.Add crumbled bacon and some of the reserved bacon grease.Add the corn, stir, and prepare to serve.
Serve with a dash of Tabasco, or cayenne pepper, and a dab of butter.
To make a seafood chowder, add cooked crab meat and/or cooked shrimp.
Rockfish chowder makes a hearty meal. Serve with warm break, and a dab of butter and few drops of Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper.Rockfish chowder made by Brookings Fishing Charters customer Neil Anderson.
To catch a limit of rockfish and lingcod to enjoy with this recipe, check out www.brookingsfishing.com. Capt. Andy learned about this recipe while working on halibut charter boats in remote Southeast Alaska, where charter operators living in the bush ate fish several times a weeks.
A few rockfish yield enough fillets for a large pot of rockfish chowder.
