Bacon-Wrapped Halibut Skewers

How do you make halibut even better than it already is? You guessed it! Wrap it in bacon. Everything's better with bacon. :) I found this recipe in my new cookbook "The Fishes & Dishes"; the same book that provided the Thai Clam Chowder recipe. This was once again, a hit. Besides the beautiful piece of halibut and the bacon, the marinade elevated the taste of this dish dramatically. To make a long story short, this is completely worth preparing to serve friends and family.

Before I give you the recipe, I want to share one tidbit of information. Our weather was less than desirable last night so I opted to grill the skewers in the oven. I had to look online to find steps for grilling in the oven to achieve similar results to grilling on an outdoor gas grill. I learned that the key is to preheat your oven at the highest temperature possible and then to switch the oven to broil. This creates the same high heat atmosphere that an outdoor grill provides. It is also important to put the oven rack on the highest notch possible for grilling. These tips worked beautifully. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp sesame oil

1 pound halibut, skinned and deboned

12 strips thin-cut bacon, cut in half

6 skewers

To make marinade, mix cornstarch with a little cold water, to make a smooth paste. In a small pan over medium-high heat, mix soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice, ginger, garlic and sesame oil together. Stir well to blend. Bring to a boil, then whisk in cornstarch. Marinade will thicken. Remove from heat and let cool. Place marinade in Ziploc bag.

Cut halibut in 1 1/2 " chunks and add to marinade in bag. Squeeze air out to ensure halibut is well coated and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. (I refrigerated for 1 hour and it was perfect).

Brown bacon partially on one side. Bacon should still be pliable. Wrap each chunk of halibut with one slice bacon, with cooked side facing halibut. Place each wrapped halibut on skewer so bacon is secured. If using bamboo skewers, make sure to soak in water for 30 minutes prior to using. Repeat until you have about 4 halibut chunks per stick.

Heat grill to medium-high. Generously oil the grill grate. Place skewers on grill and cook for 2 to 4 minutes per side, until bacon is crisped and halibut is done. Makes 6 servings.