Roasted Halibut with Caviar Butter Sauce

By Beleaev Family | Beleaev Caviar & Gourmet

Roast four 150g halibut fillets and serve each with an emulsified butter sauce and 5g of Oscietra Royal Caviar. One 20g tin covers the four plates exactly, while the caviar stays out of the roasting tray and hot saucepan.

Ingredients for four plates

Equipment

• Roasting tray and baking parchment
• Probe thermometer suitable for fish
• Small heavy saucepan and fine sieve
• Whisk, digital scale and lemon juicer
• Four warmed plates and non-metal caviar spoon

Roast the fish and make the sauce

1. Portion consistently. Check that the four halibut pieces are close to 150g and similar in thickness. Heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C fan, and line the tray.
2. Start the reduction. Simmer the shallot and 200ml stock in the small saucepan until about 50ml liquid remains. Strain and return the liquid to low heat.
3. Roast until safely cooked. Brush the halibut with oil and place it on the tray. Begin checking the thickest part early and use the current safe core-temperature standard or exact supplier guidance; time alone cannot verify doneness.
4. Emulsify off direct heat. Cut 80g cold butter into cubes. Whisk it into the warm reduction a few cubes at a time, moving the pan on and off low heat so the sauce stays unified. Add the lemon juice.
5. Plate without delay. Put one cooked fillet on each warm plate and spoon the butter sauce beside it rather than over every surface.
6. Finish with caviar. Add 5g Oscietra to each plate where it will not sit in actively bubbling sauce, then scatter the chives.

Match fillet thickness before timing

Fillet thickness changes the cooking time. Choose similar-sized pieces and check the thickest part for safe doneness; use the fish pack's instructions and appropriate cooking guidance. A starting check time does not override the condition of the centre.

Sauce and fish fixes

• The butter sauce splits: take it off the heat and whisk in a teaspoon of cool water before adding more butter.
• The reduction tastes salty: use a lower-salt stock and remember that the selected butter is salted.
• The thin fillet finishes first: remove it when verified and keep checking the thicker pieces separately.
• The caviar slides from the fish: place its 5g portion beside the fillet on a shallow spoonful of sauce.

Allergens and safe service

Fish and milk are present. Stock can add celery, gluten or other allergens, so check its label together with the caviar and butter packs. Use current safe seafood cooking practice for the halibut. Keep the caviar chilled until the plates are ready and serve promptly. This recipe provides no hot-holding, reheating or leftover-storage period.

Cooking similar portions

Four 150g fillets are 600g raw fish in total. Thickness matters as well as weight: a thin tail piece may finish before a thick centre cut. Begin checking after about ten minutes, then continue as needed. Use safe doneness, not a fixed minute count, to decide when each piece is ready.

For a cooking-temperature reference, Food Standards Agency guidance gives 70°C for two minutes or equivalent time-temperature combinations. Check the thickest part with a clean thermometer and keep raw-fish utensils away from the finished sauce and caviar.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use an unsalted butter?

Yes, at the same 80g total. Taste the reduced stock and finished sauce before adding salt, since the caviar also contributes seasoning.

Can I serve samphire with it?

Yes, as a separately cooked accompaniment. Keep the sauce and caviar portions unchanged and taste before adding more salt.

Can the sauce boil after the butter goes in?

Keep it below a boil and whisk gently. If it separates, take it off the heat and add a small amount of cool water.

For a pan-cooked version, see sea bass with caviar beurre blanc.

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