South Seas Mango Halibut

May 2025. Spring in Memphis, and I am 66, watching the azaleas and dogwoods bloom along my neighborhood walk, the annual resurrection that makes the winter worth surviving. The smoker wakes up in spring the way the whole city wakes up — slowly, with a stretch, then fully, with purpose.

Rosetta beside me through the week, steady as ever, the woman who runs this household with the precision of a hospital ward and the heart of a mother who has loved fiercely for 41 years of marriage.

I experimented this week — smoked pork belly burnt ends, cubed and re-smoked with sauce and butter until they were sticky, caramelized, and indecent. The kind of food that makes Rosetta say "Earl, your arteries" and then eat three more pieces, because even nurses have limits, and the limit of smoked pork belly burnt ends has not yet been found by human science.

I sat in the lawn chair next to Uncle Clyde's smoker as the dark came on, and I thought about what I always think about: the chain. From Clyde to me. From me to Trey, maybe, or Jerome, or whoever comes next with the patience and the hands and the willingness to stand next to a fire at three in the morning and wait for something good to happen. The chain doesn't break. The fire doesn't stop. And I am here, 66 years old, in a lawn chair in Orange Mound, Memphis, Tennessee, watching the smoke rise, and the rising is the living, and the living is the gift.

Rosetta made sure I didn’t end the week entirely on pork belly — after three days of smoke and butter and caramelized excess, she steered us toward something that reminded both of us there’s a world beyond the smoker’s orbit. This South Seas Mango Halibut is that world: bright, clean, and just tropical enough to feel like a small vacation from Orange Mound — the kind of meal that lets a man sit back in that lawn chair and breathe easy, knowing the fire will be there waiting when he’s ready again.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 halibut fillets (6 oz each), skin removed
1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced small
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

Make the mango salsa. In a medium bowl, combine the diced mango, red onion, jalapeño, ginger, cilantro, and 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Stir gently, season with a pinch of salt, and set aside at room temperature while you prepare the fish.
Season the halibut. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice. Season both sides evenly with cumin, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
Heat the pan. Warm the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Cook the halibut. Add the fillets to the skillet without crowding. Cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes until a golden crust forms on the bottom. Flip carefully and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until the fish flakes easily at the thickest point with a fork.
Rest and plate. Transfer fillets to a serving platter and let rest 2 minutes. Spoon the mango salsa generously over each fillet and serve immediately with fresh lime wedges alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

South Seas Mango Halibut — When the Smoke Settles, Something Light Calls You Back