1/4 lb fine diced bacon
One 4" sweet onion diced
Three fist-sized Yukon gold spuds cut into small chunks
Three stalks of celery finely diced
One carrot fine grated.
A pound or two of boneless fillets (1" or less) cut into chunks

Brown the bacon in a stew pot.  Drain off most of the grease, set the bacon aside, and put in the onion (you may need to add some grease back in).  When the onion is soft, add the spuds and rest of the vegetables.  Cut to heat to low and cook for a bit. 

Put the fish into a separate pot with about two cups of water, add a little salt but not too much and spice it up a little, I use Greek seasoning and pinch of Emrils dry rub for chicken. Turn up the heat and as soon as it starts to boil remove it.

Strain the juice (Aka Fish stock) into the big pot with the spuds and turn up the heat, you might need to add a little water here as you want to just barely cover the spuds. Also add a table spoon of butter and a healthy pinch of saffron

This is where I also start tasting for seasoning, it shouldn't need salt but you might like to add a little something else to your taste.  I set the fish aside in the fridge, cover the pot and set the heat to medium to just above simmer.

This isn't a race, it's is a labor of love so low and slow will taste better.

After a half hour or so the spuds ought to be done, add the fish and a cup or so of heavy whipping cream or half and half.

Stir the fish in gently as it will fragment easily. Let it simmer another 15 minutes or so untill it all blends and dive in. The saffron will turn it a buttery golden yellow and the taste is out of this world.

Now here is the surprise, the fish I used today was a 50/50 mix of sole and hake I caught out there while fishing butts this year.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the taste and texture of the hake in this chowder.

So next time you bring one up rather than cussing it, gut it quick and toss it into the ice chest and use it for fish chowder.

This basic recipe can be used with all kinds of white fleshed fish, the halibut and sole/flounder are especially good as they lend themselves to this sort of cooking. It will also work with abalone and crab.

ALASKAN   HALIBUT   SUPREME sent in by Robert, Sandra & Alie WARD

 SERVES 6 (or 2 ALASKANS)

 BUTCHER 1 LIVE WHOLE DUNGENESS CRAB, Break out of shell and remove viscera, cook legs and body meat 10-15 minutes in boiling water, let cool and remove meat. Canned crab meat or canned shrimp make good substitutions or variations to this.

          COMBINE above crab meat with 1 cup each of two of the following, Sour Cream, Plain Yorgurt, or Mayonaise creating a paste like mixture. Add 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice, 1 Tablespoon Lemon Pepper, Some Parsley Flakes and a little Dill seed and some chopped Mushrooms to the paste.
          PREPARE a 2 to 3 pound HALIBUT roast (1-11/2 inch thick) by placing it in a baking dish on a 1 inch bed of baby spinach leaves and cut deep slices with the grain 3/4 inches apart throughout the roast. Stuff the crab paste mixture into the slices and paste the roast all over with the remaining mixture. Grate Cheddar cheese over the entire dish as desired (approximately 1-11/2 cups). Cover dish for baking.
          BAKE in oven at approximately 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.        Then start planning a trip back to Alaska to go fishing with us for more Halibut.