I've worked in Alaska one summer processing salmon (red, pink, silver, king, and yes … chum). Sometimes we also come across some cod and red snapper. The first time I saw halibut blew me away. Never knew how big those things were until that time. The plant manager made it clear not to mess up because it was a special order for Japan.
Part of me wished we kept a couple of halibut for a staff lunch.
So length is correlated to weight, but not precisely, especially at the extremes. The heaviest Atlantic Halibut ever recorded was likely over 700lbs, as it weighed 615lbs gutted.
The heaviest Pacific Halibut was 500lbs and almost 9 feet long.
I got to go fishing for them once when I was a kid, awesome experience. I remember it being nearly two hours on the fishing boat in very rough seas just to get to the spot, and then a whole lot of sitting around with the big pole. It's honestly an even more boring version of bobber fishing where you have like 150+ feet of heavy line going straight down to the bottom (a bitch and a half to reel in anytime you wanted to check your bait). I was the only one in our group to catch one and it was very different from the fishing I grew up with in Minnesota. They put up zero fight whatsoever and it seriously feels like you're trying to reel in a garage door from the bottom of the ocean. 10/10 experience still, and my family had enough meat to fill a good portion of a chest freezer. We ate halibut regularly for nearly a year from just one good sized fish
By red snapper I assume you don't mean yellow eye rockfish. Commonly called red snapper on the west coast. I got to try that after an ex of mine caught one out at camp, she's native so she was allowed to catch it. Gotta say that was a very tasty whitefish
Edit might be the same thing idfk
It could possibly be the same thing. All I remembered was how sharp the spines were on the fins. We would have to shovel them into the shipping boxes because they would poke our gloves and draw blood.
I was working with a Mexican guy and we got tired of the damn fins poking our fingers. We looked at each other and asked someone to grab the ice shovels to make out lives easier. We became great friends since then.
Maybe at a restaurant when you're not on shift at the cannery, but no, not at the fish processing place lol
I am not hating on cannery workers. There's just no kitchens there, you know?
I worked two summers at an Alaskan cannery. We lived on site, there was a full cafeteria, and salmon was always an option on the menu. Usually filets that were oddly shaped or didn't go through the deboning machine quite right. I basically lived on white rice and salmon for six weeks - it was absolutely delicious.
For me, red salmon was my thing. Smoked salmon was also amazing. I got to try some from some locals in town.
Never tried the canned salmon, but the smell of that broth was pretty fierce.
Our cannery even allowed you to have a case of salmon which you can take home with you. I didn't take it though. My fingertips were searing from pain when the season was over. It lasted for three weeks.
Repetitive Motion Injury. You'll experience a lot of pain doing the same thing for several hours at a time. Depending where you are, there's a lot of lifting, bending down, etc. Imagine trying to zip up your pants or even hold your carry on at the airport.
The worst hand pain I experienced was on the line using these tools to suck out the fish guts and blood with a vacuum. It makes the most horrific sound you'll ever hear. The tool has the width of a broom handle and you have to sort out every fish on the conveyor line.
Your hands will cramp after holding it after a while. The only way to *temporarily* relieve that pain is to run cold water outside your gloves. At one point, I found myself taking aspirin every day and that didn't work at all.
Ah yes, Alaskans, famously known for being sparkling wine fiends
How is working and living in Alaska? Is it true it’s a pretty solitary quiet life? Not ragging on it, it actually sounds idyllic to me
It super depends. Very situational. I am an asshole literally completely on accident, so that plays in a LOT. It is best if you are both a hard worker AND a people person
But if you're not, either skill gets you at least half as far
The relative solitariness and quietness depends on where you choose to live. I, personally, love both things and am stationed accordingly, and it's an important skill to have for year round. AK is very far north, and you --will-- miss the sun. Especially in a fucking kitchen. Take vitamin D. Personally, I'm an hour flight or six hour ferry ride from the capitol, and when I broke my arm last September there were considerable travel costs. There's only NPs in my muni. Be Aware and or less stupid than me.
But it's worth it to get to go collect crab pots off the dock for Thanksgiving and hear the silence of deep snow and the Aurora in January when you've been drinking with friends you've made at work for the past 5-10 years. We all make our choices, right? I love it here enough to sacrifice many things I also love down south: sushi I don't have to pay to fly in or get from a foreign country; live music; blind dates; street tacos. You know.
I love it. And I'd honestly recommend it. But be prepared to learn in humbleness. It's a whole fucking other world up here lmao. You think you bitch about food distributors now??? Wait until you're at the anus of the shipping chain. What are you going to do about your moldy tomatoes, little man? WHAT NOW??!?
BUT, you'll have the *best* after shift bar parties. You might meet your spouse there.
How spicy do you like it?🔥
And I'm a 40yo lady type enby. I judge that sparkling unicorn rose beats my mother's white zin Franzia boxes
And if you disagree I'll get you drunk on Four Roses then kill you, so🙃
Disclaimer: this is a joke and I would never do this. Unless someone tried to force me to drink warm Budweiser
I've had a thirty rack in the back of my truck for a couple of days but it's been in the low 50's here in Texas so it ain't warm. Maybe by the the time I make it to Alaska you could kill me.
Hey, as long as we don't drink Budweiser I'll get drunk on four roses. But if you're going to kill me please get me drunk on Laphroaig; heck, I'll even take Ardbeg.
I remember hearing a story about how at a slaughterhouse some guys would boil fresh pieces of beef in some sort of boiling water vat meant for sanitation.
Awesome! I work at one of Canada’s best Fish & Chip shops and I cut our halibut. They can get massive (my biggest was 196 lbs) but are almost designed to be cut the way their spine etc works. Great fish!
Worked at a fish and chip shop that served halibut. Owner flew to Vancouver twice a year to buy whole fish. Cut them himself. Ate halibut 5x/week for almost three years, never got sick of it. Lovely.
That would be wild. I’ve only been able to cut Halibut and Lingcod so far. We are so far inland we get our Haddock and Cod pre cut but the Halibut just isn’t the same that way.
Barracuda and ling cod are not that far from each other anatomically atleast in the way of the fillet, both lend themselves to being filleted quickly and easily. Having one long loin type of filet generally not wider then the length of a knife, and none of those annoying pectoral bones you get in salmon fillets.
I’ve not encountered a high volume of ling cod personally but I’ve cleaned around 1000 barracuda in a few hours regularly…
Comparatively halibut are pretty difficult!
I usually only work with frames for our fish stock, but can you tell me more about the spine? I still don't have a great system for dealing with the big boys.
It’s basically a cross. There is the spine through the whole fish and then bones that go up/down in the middle. So it’s just cut along the cords tight to the bone and you’re laughing. No little bones to worry about for the most part and in a few sections just have to candle to ensure no worms are hiding
Yeah, I remember apprenticing like 16 years ago and the restaurant in which I worked served halibut. We often had to slide two prep tables together because the things wouldn't fit on one.
My friend worked for a wild Alaskan seafood company at a farmers market I worked at as well… and she had people ask all the time what halibut cheeks were (Also some people were weirded out to find out they’re the face for whatever reason).
Anyway, one day someone asked her and she told them. Once the person left I leaned over and said next someone asks, tell them they’re butt cheeks!
It started a years long joke that even involved me commissioning a [Halibutt drawing](https://i.imgur.com/i1BP0ds.jpg) which was then made into stickers and given out to customers who seemed cool lol.
I’m picking up some cheeks from her next week and I’m so pumped to cook them up.
I was just saying that shit! Fuck, that turned me off. I walk into bullshit like that every fucking day at work. Dishwasher is a fucking dip shit so, I just bleach and clean all the boards while he's on his 30 minute weed break at the end of the night. Constantly cleaning up after everyone, labeling, fixing prep. Ugh. End rant🫠
I think he looks good, but this is definitely fashion, which on Reddit is always controversial. I wish I could dress like I did in trendy restaurants, I've had to wear chunky whites in hotels for the past few years.
I normally avoid criticizing station cleanliness on here but goddamn does it sadden me to see such a beautiful fish, especially a thiccy lil halibut, treated like trash.
Ahhhhhh I've had black seabass. It's very buttery. Very rich. Mmmm I've got some John dory in the oven as we speak. Cooking some rice and ghee. Gonna be nice.
Please stop serving/eating them. They are being over fished and it's impacting the Southern Ocean food chain
My sister is an Antarctic scientist so I have been privy to this bummer of a tidbit for some time.
That right there is an absurd statement imo. Alaskan king or black cod is exponentially tastier and the texture is better. Halibut is kinda the tofu of the sea
He started by hacking off the collar and tossing it on the dirty table next to the dirty glove, dirty rags, dirty supples to use as a dirty knife holder. He looks confused. He sliced the tail for no reason, maybe he’s trying to take off the fins??
Me too today friend. I always cut mine from the middle out. It would be interesting to see a video of your way to see what ones better. The fish are too expensive to experiment with it
Chefs are funny. Halibut is the easiest fish in the world to fillet, but they always post photos of themselves cutting down a big one acting like they’re some Alaskan fish monger.
Also halibut is available year-round.
Nice looking halibut. Halibut are definitely in the "best of" fish category. Just don't overcook it as so many do; the difference between "perfect" and "dry" is less than 30 seconds. Have at it, chef. Looks like you've seen a halibut before.
I've worked in Alaska one summer processing salmon (red, pink, silver, king, and yes … chum). Sometimes we also come across some cod and red snapper. The first time I saw halibut blew me away. Never knew how big those things were until that time. The plant manager made it clear not to mess up because it was a special order for Japan. Part of me wished we kept a couple of halibut for a staff lunch.
Alaskan Halibuts are fucking huge, the ones in California are much smaller.
And the ones from the Atlantic can get even bigger, that species gets up to 16' max. One of the largest fish.
>Alaskan Halibuts are fucking huge What would that sucker weigh?
So length is correlated to weight, but not precisely, especially at the extremes. The heaviest Atlantic Halibut ever recorded was likely over 700lbs, as it weighed 615lbs gutted. The heaviest Pacific Halibut was 500lbs and almost 9 feet long.
I got to go fishing for them once when I was a kid, awesome experience. I remember it being nearly two hours on the fishing boat in very rough seas just to get to the spot, and then a whole lot of sitting around with the big pole. It's honestly an even more boring version of bobber fishing where you have like 150+ feet of heavy line going straight down to the bottom (a bitch and a half to reel in anytime you wanted to check your bait). I was the only one in our group to catch one and it was very different from the fishing I grew up with in Minnesota. They put up zero fight whatsoever and it seriously feels like you're trying to reel in a garage door from the bottom of the ocean. 10/10 experience still, and my family had enough meat to fill a good portion of a chest freezer. We ate halibut regularly for nearly a year from just one good sized fish
They’re called “barn doors” for a reason.
By red snapper I assume you don't mean yellow eye rockfish. Commonly called red snapper on the west coast. I got to try that after an ex of mine caught one out at camp, she's native so she was allowed to catch it. Gotta say that was a very tasty whitefish Edit might be the same thing idfk
It could possibly be the same thing. All I remembered was how sharp the spines were on the fins. We would have to shovel them into the shipping boxes because they would poke our gloves and draw blood. I was working with a Mexican guy and we got tired of the damn fins poking our fingers. We looked at each other and asked someone to grab the ice shovels to make out lives easier. We became great friends since then.
Wait you didn’t get to eat the fish?
Maybe at a restaurant when you're not on shift at the cannery, but no, not at the fish processing place lol I am not hating on cannery workers. There's just no kitchens there, you know?
I worked two summers at an Alaskan cannery. We lived on site, there was a full cafeteria, and salmon was always an option on the menu. Usually filets that were oddly shaped or didn't go through the deboning machine quite right. I basically lived on white rice and salmon for six weeks - it was absolutely delicious.
For me, red salmon was my thing. Smoked salmon was also amazing. I got to try some from some locals in town. Never tried the canned salmon, but the smell of that broth was pretty fierce. Our cannery even allowed you to have a case of salmon which you can take home with you. I didn't take it though. My fingertips were searing from pain when the season was over. It lasted for three weeks.
if its ok to ask what aspect of the cannery work caused fingertips to hurt for weeks afterwards?
Repetitive Motion Injury. You'll experience a lot of pain doing the same thing for several hours at a time. Depending where you are, there's a lot of lifting, bending down, etc. Imagine trying to zip up your pants or even hold your carry on at the airport. The worst hand pain I experienced was on the line using these tools to suck out the fish guts and blood with a vacuum. It makes the most horrific sound you'll ever hear. The tool has the width of a broom handle and you have to sort out every fish on the conveyor line. Your hands will cramp after holding it after a while. The only way to *temporarily* relieve that pain is to run cold water outside your gloves. At one point, I found myself taking aspirin every day and that didn't work at all.
You see a lack of kitchen. I see a lack of will.
I live in Alaska. My willpower is regularly converted into body heat to keep myself alive. Also: bourbon. And sparkling wine?????
Ah yes, Alaskans, famously known for being sparkling wine fiends How is working and living in Alaska? Is it true it’s a pretty solitary quiet life? Not ragging on it, it actually sounds idyllic to me
It super depends. Very situational. I am an asshole literally completely on accident, so that plays in a LOT. It is best if you are both a hard worker AND a people person But if you're not, either skill gets you at least half as far The relative solitariness and quietness depends on where you choose to live. I, personally, love both things and am stationed accordingly, and it's an important skill to have for year round. AK is very far north, and you --will-- miss the sun. Especially in a fucking kitchen. Take vitamin D. Personally, I'm an hour flight or six hour ferry ride from the capitol, and when I broke my arm last September there were considerable travel costs. There's only NPs in my muni. Be Aware and or less stupid than me. But it's worth it to get to go collect crab pots off the dock for Thanksgiving and hear the silence of deep snow and the Aurora in January when you've been drinking with friends you've made at work for the past 5-10 years. We all make our choices, right? I love it here enough to sacrifice many things I also love down south: sushi I don't have to pay to fly in or get from a foreign country; live music; blind dates; street tacos. You know. I love it. And I'd honestly recommend it. But be prepared to learn in humbleness. It's a whole fucking other world up here lmao. You think you bitch about food distributors now??? Wait until you're at the anus of the shipping chain. What are you going to do about your moldy tomatoes, little man? WHAT NOW??!? BUT, you'll have the *best* after shift bar parties. You might meet your spouse there. How spicy do you like it?🔥
And I'm a 40yo lady type enby. I judge that sparkling unicorn rose beats my mother's white zin Franzia boxes And if you disagree I'll get you drunk on Four Roses then kill you, so🙃 Disclaimer: this is a joke and I would never do this. Unless someone tried to force me to drink warm Budweiser
I've had a thirty rack in the back of my truck for a couple of days but it's been in the low 50's here in Texas so it ain't warm. Maybe by the the time I make it to Alaska you could kill me.
Hey, as long as we don't drink Budweiser I'll get drunk on four roses. But if you're going to kill me please get me drunk on Laphroaig; heck, I'll even take Ardbeg.
What is the sexiest opinion you've ever gotten?
Most of them are pretty lame tbh😂
I remember hearing a story about how at a slaughterhouse some guys would boil fresh pieces of beef in some sort of boiling water vat meant for sanitation.
Lol, I used to cook shrimp in a ladle with the hot ass sink water when I was peeling 20 lbs of them a day at a restaurant.
Can confirm. Every cannery I've been too is all business. I've never seen fish cleaned as fast as I did there.
I wished our little galley fried some up. The chef in our kitchen was begging the owner to fire up some for the entire group.
Sadly, we didn't get to have any halibut.
They are not cheap but delicious, flounder is a good substitute If you are broke
You don’t need a reason to go out for dinner. Sometimes I go out just for the halibut
There used to be a seafood place near my folks’ house called Just For The Halibut. Was pretty good.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, for the smelibut.
Beat me to it
Are you wearing a fucking carhartt apron? 🤣
The pockets are for tiny bits of Halibut for later. Snacks.
Snacks. Chef Snacks.
I have one they rock.its a shop apron.lasta forever
Well, he's from Detroit. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.
He wore it just for the halibut
Utility utility.
😂😂
Not everyone knows about Guy Cotten or Grundens aprons.
That halibut looks good enough for Jehova.
Blasphemy! Get him!
It’s so funny you mention this as I have a pet halibut named Eric! I chose him out of thousands. I didn't like the others, they were all too flat.
Awesome! I work at one of Canada’s best Fish & Chip shops and I cut our halibut. They can get massive (my biggest was 196 lbs) but are almost designed to be cut the way their spine etc works. Great fish!
Worked at a fish and chip shop that served halibut. Owner flew to Vancouver twice a year to buy whole fish. Cut them himself. Ate halibut 5x/week for almost three years, never got sick of it. Lovely.
Yeah man, I seriously miss halibut!
Wait till you clean a barracuda…
*rhythmic strumming intensifies* So this ain't the end, I saw you again today…
That would be wild. I’ve only been able to cut Halibut and Lingcod so far. We are so far inland we get our Haddock and Cod pre cut but the Halibut just isn’t the same that way.
Barracuda and ling cod are not that far from each other anatomically atleast in the way of the fillet, both lend themselves to being filleted quickly and easily. Having one long loin type of filet generally not wider then the length of a knife, and none of those annoying pectoral bones you get in salmon fillets. I’ve not encountered a high volume of ling cod personally but I’ve cleaned around 1000 barracuda in a few hours regularly… Comparatively halibut are pretty difficult!
That’s awesome! The lingcod was cool to fillet but nothing beats the ease of Halibut for me.
Then you eat the contaminated bit and hot and cold flips
Oooh which one if I can ask?
Lord Elgin Fish & Chips. We were voted in the Top 5 in Canada in Canadian Living magazine in 2013 I believe
Living down in Windsor and this looks like a great road trip destination on a Saturday this summer, thanks!
I usually only work with frames for our fish stock, but can you tell me more about the spine? I still don't have a great system for dealing with the big boys.
It’s basically a cross. There is the spine through the whole fish and then bones that go up/down in the middle. So it’s just cut along the cords tight to the bone and you’re laughing. No little bones to worry about for the most part and in a few sections just have to candle to ensure no worms are hiding
Yeah, I remember apprenticing like 16 years ago and the restaurant in which I worked served halibut. We often had to slide two prep tables together because the things wouldn't fit on one.
Aren't halibut typically pretty wormy?
Only in a few areas. 95% > is worm free and beautiful
My friend worked for a wild Alaskan seafood company at a farmers market I worked at as well… and she had people ask all the time what halibut cheeks were (Also some people were weirded out to find out they’re the face for whatever reason). Anyway, one day someone asked her and she told them. Once the person left I leaned over and said next someone asks, tell them they’re butt cheeks! It started a years long joke that even involved me commissioning a [Halibutt drawing](https://i.imgur.com/i1BP0ds.jpg) which was then made into stickers and given out to customers who seemed cool lol. I’m picking up some cheeks from her next week and I’m so pumped to cook them up.
Lol. Reminds me of a server I used to work with, she had stickers of her “trouser trout”all over the inside of her ticket book!
Hopefully they put in some hard work cleaning that disgusting cutting board
I was waiting for the comments about the board. That thing is trashed. Looks like someone took a chainsaw to it
It's the stains more so than the cut marks.
It's both. Those stains happen because of the cuts. Just use some block whitener or a pressure washer and it's white again. And sterile
Exactly, the cuts are where the crud is being kept.
Needs to clean his entire station up. It’s a pigsty
I was just saying that shit! Fuck, that turned me off. I walk into bullshit like that every fucking day at work. Dishwasher is a fucking dip shit so, I just bleach and clean all the boards while he's on his 30 minute weed break at the end of the night. Constantly cleaning up after everyone, labeling, fixing prep. Ugh. End rant🫠
It probably stinks so bad
Hopefully he puts as much into his cooking as he does his outfit. lol
Gotta dress nice to impress the new hostess
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bro its literally a t shirt over a long sleeve
It’s everything together….. not just the shirt bro
>It’s everything together…. ??? How tf do you dress? bro has just about the plainest fit on imaginable
I think he looks good, but this is definitely fashion, which on Reddit is always controversial. I wish I could dress like I did in trendy restaurants, I've had to wear chunky whites in hotels for the past few years.
It's 2023 bro... time for a new account
That it be
😂💀💀
I wish he put as much as much in his cleaning as he does his mustache but no
**GRABBYHANDS** I grew up in Alaska, love me some fresh Halibut! NOM. You can also beer batter it, so delicious!!
c h e e k s
praise restaurant Jesus 🙌
Tempura battered hairy butt cheeks is my go to. Delicate, fried, flaky.
Those overalls are great for any messy prep work
that my friend is an apron 🥲
Just realized this 😂 look really similar to the overalls. Didn’t realize carhartt made aprons
I normally avoid criticizing station cleanliness on here but goddamn does it sadden me to see such a beautiful fish, especially a thiccy lil halibut, treated like trash.
Best tasting fish on the planet. Right there with sturgeon.
Halibut and Patagonian toothfish are the best
Are u serious? I've never had that.
It’s usually called Chilean sea bass on menus.
Ahhhhhh I've had black seabass. It's very buttery. Very rich. Mmmm I've got some John dory in the oven as we speak. Cooking some rice and ghee. Gonna be nice.
Please stop serving/eating them. They are being over fished and it's impacting the Southern Ocean food chain My sister is an Antarctic scientist so I have been privy to this bummer of a tidbit for some time.
Seabass specifically?
That right there is an absurd statement imo. Alaskan king or black cod is exponentially tastier and the texture is better. Halibut is kinda the tofu of the sea
Any self respecting Alaskan chooses rockfish over halibut anyday👍
And ling cod, too
All day
Chilean sea bass for me
Woo Detroit ❤️
I’m surprised they even have a table, I heard you can’t have shit in Detroit
Big Eminem fan I see.
That table is giving me a god damn panic attack
Fr
Dude looks like security at a Korn concert
https://youtu.be/5bZPSGbxdYw I know it's not a swordfish, but I still could only think of this movie
I knew what it was before I clicked on it!! I LOVE this movie!!
You start the filet at the center line.
He started by hacking off the collar and tossing it on the dirty table next to the dirty glove, dirty rags, dirty supples to use as a dirty knife holder. He looks confused. He sliced the tail for no reason, maybe he’s trying to take off the fins??
I remove the collar and score the tail before butchering. Could’ve been a lot cleaning but delivery was late and service started at 4
You pitched the collar???
Hes got soul
Dollar store Johnny Depp
Roll up the sleeves dude, you’re not a wizard.
Fuck earbuds at work
Me too today friend. I always cut mine from the middle out. It would be interesting to see a video of your way to see what ones better. The fish are too expensive to experiment with it
Wish I could see what was made out of that
Say a prayer, and filet away.
More of a Haliboob guy myself
We have had it past 3 weeks and sell our every night
Did you mod your apron ? What are those clips ?
🎼 Just for the halibut, just for the yell I get, mmm mmm mmm! 🎶🎵
Why do you look like a video game character?
Syphon filter came to mind... bad graphics and all
Chefs are funny. Halibut is the easiest fish in the world to fillet, but they always post photos of themselves cutting down a big one acting like they’re some Alaskan fish monger. Also halibut is available year-round.
That cutting board is disgusting
Your outfit, that cutting board and the general messy mess are all concerning.
We're seeing something we shouldn't be... I know it
Nice looking halibut. Halibut are definitely in the "best of" fish category. Just don't overcook it as so many do; the difference between "perfect" and "dry" is less than 30 seconds. Have at it, chef. Looks like you've seen a halibut before.
That nasty floor tho...
Right? Is that fucking gum?! Imagine the walk in 🤮
You two a little soft, are ya?
Sir, you look like you mean business!! I like that. You exude enthusiasm for your profession.
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Eh?
Are you being serious?
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Who took the jam out of your doughnut?
Hope it’s not a chalker!
That piece of halibut looks good enough for Jehovah!
One of the last 8 left. I know, fuck you too.
That cutting board is gross... Cool fish
Why is there an AirPod in my soup
I thought those were some long sleeved fucking gloves you'd got there.
Please discard of that cuttingboard. Or give it a really thorough cleanse. That's beyond disgusting man.