This is a very easy seared halibut with a buttery wine and caper sauce! It takes hardly any time at all to make, but it is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Capers and Halibut

olive oil

ounce) halibut

white wine

garlic

butter

salt and pepper

capers,

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the halibut steaks on all sides until nicely browned. Remove from pan, and set aside.


Pour the wine into the pan, and use a spatula to scrape any browned bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce to almost nothing, then stir in the garlic, butter and capers. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a minute to blend the flavors.


Return the steaks to the pan, and coat them with sauce. Cook until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve fish immediately with the sauce from the pan poured over it.


"Capers and Halibut"--what an ordinary name for such an extraordinary dish! The pan roasted halibut becomes nicely golden brown and caramelized, while the sauce, although it includes no lemon juice, is inspired by that used in the  classic Veal or Chicken Piccata. Simple to prepare, remarkably pretty presentation, with delicious results. I served this with rice, but a side of pasta with garlic and olive oil would also be a perfect complement.

Fantastic!!  This was simple and delicious.  I also made the "cheesy acorn squash" recipe from this site to go along with it and a nice white wine.  My husband was in heaven!  One thing... go easy on the caper juice-very salty.

Prior to making this recipe, I was not a huge fan of fish.  Now, I am!
Everyone LOVED it!
As a side dish, I made all recipe's "Asparagus Cashew Rice Pilaf".  The dishes complimented each other very nicely. Enjoy!


love this.. thanks Barbara!!! I added extra capers since my hubby loves them, and left out salt all together.  After searing I placed in baking dish cover with foil.  Worked on the sauce then pour on top the seared fish re-covered with foil and baked for about 10min-15min at 450F.  It was moist and so so tasty.

Completely delicious. Took other posters' advice and cut down a bit on the butter, but sauce was still indescribably good (we had it tonight and it's already been requested again!). Thanks for sharing the recipe.

This has way too much butter, and it doesn't need the extra salt. The capers have enough salt in them to carry the dish. Cut the butter in half. For two halibut steaks that is more than adequate. With those changes, easily a 5 star.

Just as stated, this is easy and delicious!  I will make this again and again.

fantastic..never cooked with capers before. The halibut was cooked in a teflon pan so no real brown bits, I'll try an iron pan next time. As the halibut was already cooked after the first bit I just mixed it in the sauce to warm it up and it came out great. No add ons or substitutes. If your weary about capers, dont add the full 3 tbsp, add only one tbsp, the caper liquid and cooking of them will add the taste that is required.

Great recipe. I used tilapia because that's what I hada on hand and it still turned out great.

It was good, but don't add any salt. The capers make it a bit to salty already.

I used cod with this and it was wonderful. I love capers and am always looking for ways to use them. Thanks so much Barbara!

I loved this recipe. It will be served the next time I have guests.  It's easy, quick and tasty.

I had 2 lbs of halibut, so I doubled the amount of wine, added a little more garlic, and used 2/3 cup butter and 3 tsp capers w/liquid. I also sprinkled the halibut with a lemon/dill spice blend and added 2 tsp of lemon juice to the sauce. Turned out amazing! 

This is so delicious and easy! It has become my go to quick recipe. I double the sauce ingredients and serve the sauce over pasta (which I slightly undercook and add the sauce and contine to cook in the pan). With salad or broccoli, it is a perfect elegant meal.

I was able to get away with a little less butter, but other than that, I made this recipe as written.  It is a healthy, delicious dish, good enough to serve to serve as a special occasion meal.

Loved this recipe!  We, too, reduced the butter to 2 tablespoons.  Though we had never tried it with 1/4 cup, we loved our results.  This recipe is a keeper.

My husband thinks capers should go in most dishes, so when I saw this, I thought I'd try it.  I thought it was just okay, as did my husband.  (LOL, although he loved the capers) I just thought it was a bit bland that's all.  If I do this again, maybe I'll add some red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch.

This recipe was on the dinner menu last night.  When my husband returned from the store he announced they didn't have Halibut, so he bought Cod instead.  Since the filets were large, he cut them in half for easy turning in the pan.  We added some lemon zest to the sauce and the final result was was outstanding.  The Cod didn't brown, but it was moist and flaky....perfectly sauteed.  Will try this recipe again with the Halibut, but the Cod is a terrific substitute.  Many thanks for sharing the recipe and for making our Friday night dinner a success.  

Divine!  I made this pretty much exactly as listed, plated it over garlicky spinach (saute a few chopped garlic cloves in olive oil, fill the pan with spinach, saute...   I added a seeded roma tomato shortly after the spinach and a but of sea salt and ground pepper) and spooned the sauce over.  My husband, who before he met me at his fish in stick form, swooned.  Then he scraped all sauce from the pan. And ate the extra piece of fish.

Norma  Jackson Wi  This is the best.  We love it, if only we could get more fresh Halilbut.  It is such a treat.   Our friends brought us some from Alaska.   Makes me want to go to Alaska just to catch a big one.   We  also love capers. 

Very good but watch cooking time with halibut, doesn't take long!  Capers also very salty, love them but do add a lot of salt to flavor.

This is an excellent recipe for an excellent fish.   8 ounce halibut fillets are not very desirable.  They're too thin.   Halibut should be cut thick (at least an inch) to cook right.   Therefore, I used this recipe on a single 1.3 pound halibut steak that I cut in 2 for my wife and I.     When I do this the next time I will make a little more sauce.  There was not quite enough sauce for my big halibut steak - - but it was still GREAT.      

I live in Alaska, and we have a freezer full of halibut at any given time. We started using this recipe a couple of years ago, and haven't even tried anything else--because, why? This one is so good we've never had the desire to try anything else!

This recipe is FANTASTIC!  I made this for dinner the other night and everyone loved it, my one-year-old son even liked it.  I have been craving it ever since (I think I might make it again tonight.)  It was very easy to make (under 20 minutes), didn’t mess up the kitchen &amp; didn’t leave a fish odor in the house.  Next time I am going to try using a little less oil by brushing the oil on the fish instead of putting it directly in the pan &amp; I am going to increase the amount of white wine and decrease the butter in the sauce.  I don’t think these changes with effect the taste at all, but it will decrease the fat. 2 thumbs up for this recipe!!

Holy Moly this was good. I made it for my boyfrind who works from home on Friday's. Saturday afternoon there was a small piece of it leftover and I just ate is cold on the go. It was a flavor explosion in my mouth. Yum!

Outstanding! My husband can't stop talking about how delicious this recipe is--and he's a tough one to please. He doesn't even like capers but this recipe made them the star. This is definitely a "fine restaurant quality" meal! Didn't change a thing!

Very good and simple. Don't overcook the fish! They fry up in a minute each side for good size fillets.

Beautifully simple, this sauce is the perfect compliment to halibut! I had a bottle of Pinot Grigio on hand, so used that and it was wonderful. I added shallots (because I love onions) , and, just before serving, Italian parsley and scallions. I probably used extra butter and garlic too, but you only live once. ;) Capers and halibut are a great pair. I will definitely be making this again.

i have made this with cod steaks as well 5 stars  keep up the good work (recipes)

Not being a fish lover I was skeptical about a recipe that didn't include lemon.  It was actually quite good and went beautifully with steamed brown rice, as the sauce has so much flavor.  Go easy on the capers - they are delicious but do add a lot of salty flavor to the recipe.

Tasty dish but be aware "medium high heat" is a relative term. On my stove that proved far too hot. I patted the fish dry before cooking but the olive oil still spattered everywhere and the fish cooked too rapidly. Will make it again but at a bit lower temp. This is basically a "piccata" recipe for fish, minus the lemon. If you like chicken or veal piccata, you'll love this.

The sauce was pretty easy to make and it tasted awesome!  I felt a little bad eating all that butter but it just made it taste so good!  This was the first time I had ever cooked with wine and the whole experience was just great.

Made his after reading ingredients and reviews.  This is a delicious recipe and takes ingredients that I normally have on hand.  We loved it and I would make it again.  We could not have had a better dinner anywhere.  Definitely a keeper.

Excellent recipe.  I added a little more white wine than called for. Just before plating I added the juice of a whole lemon for about 30 seconds .  Halibut, capers and lemon..a winning combination.

Loved this! Followed the recipe exactly and served with sauteed spinach.  Perfect simple meal.

Loved it. I think it's best with a very dry white wine and drain the capers. Restaurant quality.

Great &amp; easy recipe.  Loved it.  I thought it was better than I can get at a fancy restaurant.

First, let me say I rarely give 5 stars as that is reserved for the "Praise God for this food" food :).  That said, this was very good, not great (probably due to a semi-quality halibut).  Pretty easy to make and will definately make again.

Tried lots of recipes to try to get some “flavor” from halibut. This is it!  I knew to adjust salt with capers and agree there is too much butter but yummy!  I need to take the initial step of browning further to get some “texture” on the fish but this was very easy and very tasty for what can be a bland fish.

I have issues with making this sauce work - it's delicious when I can manage it, but the butter separates easily - I think that's just my fault, I'm new at this.

YUM! I don't even like capers, but this was DELICIOUS!

very good. capers are salty so DO NOT add salt.  and be gentle when flipping the fish. mine looked like it exploded, and my ex boyfriend gave me bs about it! :O

I followed an earlier suggestion of serving this with the cashew aspargus rice pilaf, and my results were WONDERFUL :). I'm so very glad I found this recipe and followed the serving suggestion. This meal was resaturant quality, thanks Barbara!

Totally awesome! Moist, tender, flakey...delicious flavors! My husband said it was the best halibut he ever tasted. Plus, this is one of the easiest entrees you could make!

I thought it rather ordinary, my partner thought it rather good.  I'll probably move on to another recipe.

This was DELICIOUS!!! A simple, yet outstanding sauce... I did make this with halibut, although I think it would work well with most types of fish. Thanks to Barbara for submitting this one!

This was without a doubt one of the best!
I made it for myself and was sad I didn't have company to share it with. Next time I will. 
Thank you for a keeper!!
Gene 
San Clemente, CA

I did not like how the recipe turned out at all. It had an after taste I didn't like.

now this recipe was yummy, I liked everything about it and will make it again

this was the first time I cooked fish in a pan and it came out great! My husband and I can't get enough of it! I didn't add any salt though, the capers are salty enough! I also had rice and butternut squash with it and it all tasted wonderful! Will definitly use this recipe again! 

This was sublime!  I omitted the salt and cut down a little on the butter as was suggested by others.  This is a show stopper!!

Much better than 99% of restaurants we have enjoyed coast to coast. Tried it because it was simple, quick and we had all the ingredients on hand. We added sliced almonds to the rue which added a finishing touch to an amazing recipe!

This was fantastic! TIP: use STEAKS not fillets! I used fillets as that was what I had, and they fell apart. I ended up mixing it all together, and served it over the brazilian white recipe from this site and it was still AMAZING! Awesome flavor!

This turned out very good.  We really liked it.  I love capers so I had to try this recipe.  The sauce was great, I think I may try the sauce with chicken next time for soemthing different.  You can't go wrong with this recipe.  Simple and easy to prepare.

I loved this!  It left me wanting more.  I used margarine instead of butter.  I felt it was a bit much; will cut back next time.  I didn't use juice from the capers, simply because I barely have any in the jar anyway.  I didn't have halibut, so I used tilapia.  

Simply excellent!

Fa-bu-lous.  I did salt and pepper the steaks lightly before cooking.  I also added a couple of fresh sprigs of dill for the final presentation and it added great flavor!

Very yummy!  My husband and I have not been successful making good fish at home, and this was terrific!  I tried the recipe as it was written, and there wasn't a morsel left!  I would agree with other reviewers that it was a bit too greasy, so I think I would increase the wine and cut the butter in half next time.  At any rate, it was fabulous and so quick and easy.  Definately a weeknight meal.

i used halibut chunks and half the butter. my husband liked this even though he isn't a caper fan. i also left out the pepper (by mistake) and salt (on purpose). still good though. i could see lemon pepper working here.

This recipe was quick and easy to make, and tasted great.  I reduced the butter by 1/2, and will probably reduce it even more next time.  This recipe would work great with any kind of mild flavored fish.  Thanks for the recipe, Barbara!

excellent dish! I used tilapia instead of Halibut (it's what i had in the fridge) and it was delicious! this will definitely be made again.

Turned out beautifully! One of our favorite Halibut recipes.

Used Salmon instead, it was awesome.  I usually don't care for salmon but I couldn't eat it quick enough.  Also added a little cream to thicken the sauce a tiny bit.  

We enjoyed this one very much and would make it again.  I scaled it to two servings and Hubs said he would have preferred a little more sauce – once you reduce the wine, and then add the butter and capers, there’s not much there.  My fish (tilapia) was pretty much done after browning, so I returned it to the pan very briefly – just long enough to reheat it.  This goes together quickly, so be sure to have all your ingredients ready to go before you start.

Easy to make and incredible to taste.  It's a KEEPER!

This recipe was enjoyed by two halibut lovers.  The favor is fabulous, while preparation is a breeze!  This will be one of our regular recipes when we prepare halifut.

This is a great meal that makes anyone look like a gourmet chief. I've made this several times w/o any complaints.

little to salty for me. Next time I'll use the capers without the liquid.

I'm not a huge fish fan, but this recipe was fantastic.  I couldn't get fresh halibut at the fish market this time of year but used flounder and it came out great.  Can't wait to try the receipe with halibut too.  Thanks!

Simple AND unforgettably delicious.  How can you beat that?  I had only about half amount of capers, so added a tiny bit of fresh tarragon from the garden and topped with fresh Italian parsley.  DEFINITELY into the rotation for all that amazing wild Alaskan halibut in the freezer.  THANKS

I really liked this, made it with tilapia. My hubby said it was to buttery. But, he ate late so it had sat in the pan for extra time.

I'm new to cooking fish so I had to look up a recipe. OH MY GOODNESS!! This is so delicious I can't seem to move on to anything else. I even love the way my house smells when it's cooking. I don't actually follow the recipe to the letter any more, I just use it as a basic guide. I pretty much use more of everything except caper juice and butter. The sauce is to die for.

This simple, lovely recipe really highlights the delicate flavor of halibut.  No need to dredge in flour, or add bread crumbs or parmesan, this was just a beautiful fish in lovely buttery sauce.  Not only was this recipe good, it was quick and easy, too!  Thanks for sharing!

Tasty dish. I think I could have reduced the amount of butter, like someone said, but it was fine. I also used a teflon pan so there wasn't much browning, but again, it was fine. Alaskan halibut is quite pricey! I'll try a different white fish next time, but this was yummy and I'd make it again!

Excellent - become a family favourite that even my picky 2-year-old enjoys.

this recipe is beyond gourmet, delicious, and easy!    honestly, one of the best fish recipes I have ever tasted.

Halibut is so expensive that I was nervous how to prepare.  This recipe didn't disappoint.  Very good.

Absolutely scrumptious! So easy, and so very,very good. Will make again soon!

My family loved this recipe!  Even my 3yr old!  We aren't really fish eaters (my husband is the only one in the house that really likes fish) but are trying to eat more because it is so healthy.  We did use 1/2 the butter and it was great.  

I made this and I couldn't get enough it was sooo delicious!! I do agree with others about the capers being salty enough. And about using less butter. But the combination of these ingredients where perfect. My five year old and three year old tore it up :)

Wonderful recipe. I've now made it twice. Last night I made it for one, and cutting down the recipe that much wouldn't have left me with enough sauce due to pan evaporation, so I didn't completely cut the liquid in half. I don't find anything bland about this recipe, however, I do make sure to season the fish before panfrying with a little salt and generous amount of fresh cracked pepper. Also, I think this yummy sauce would be good on many kinds of white fish and perhaps even chicken breasts. When I told a friend what I'd made for my supper he went, "That sounds like a meal for lovers." Was that a hint? lol I had it with sauteed zucchini and slices of heirloom tomato ... and a nice inexpensive  sauv blanc. You just can't go wrong with this recipe, I don't think.

Loved this recipe! The only thing I changed was sub a teaspoon of coconut oil instead of butter. Totally awesome, cant wait to make it again.

Very good!  We'll be having this again.  Used grape seed oil instead of olive oil.

Don't let those capers scare you. It was a wonderful meal with a delicious taste. Very easy. Try grilling halibut steak while drizzling the sauce.

I'm not a big fan of halibut,but I am now.  Sometimes I use this recipe for shrimp or scallops over angel hair pasta, never thought of halibut. My husband thought     it was good and he doesn't like fish. I will be making this again and again. Thanks!!

I didn't have capers and had run out of margarine. To the wine, I added a little tomato basil dressing which added a different flavor, but was still great! Thanks for the recipe!

This was amazing! My husband and I made this together and had a great time, mostly because it was so quick and easy!  We used tilapia because we had that on hand, cut out some of the butter and added a little bit of lemon juice but otherwise stuck to the recipe.  And what an amazing dinner it turned out to be!

This was really good.  We make chicken picatta so I am familiar with the flavors, but on halibut it was amazing.  I did cut the butter in half, but otherwise followed the recipe.  Definitely will use this one again.

followed recipe and it was wonderful flavor &amp; easy!

Perfect as written! Just make sure to not overcook the fish.

Great flavor. Will definitely be trying this with other kinds of fish too.

What a treat for the taste buds. All you want to do is savor the flavor of each bite. Excellent.

Very good, and we don't like fish. :)  Didn't use the water from the capers, salty enough already.

My husband cooked this tonight, using salmon.  We loved it.  He was very proud of himself, and, it tasted great.  My son who stays away from fish loved it.  Wonderful blend of flavors.  Will use again, definitely.  Thanks!

capers and halibut

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total: 25 minutes

Servings: 2

Author : Barbara Tantrum

Ingredients

Instructions

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