Crispy-skinned seared salmon with creamy lemon butter sauce is the gold standard of cooking fish at home. Think you're ready to tackle this classic combo in your own kitchen? I promise, you are! Let me show you the simple techniques and 10 ingredients you need to make restaurant-quality seared salmon with lemon butter sauce at home.
Salmon is one of my go-to proteins for weeknight cooking, and it's the type of fish I get the most questions about from readers.
We all love this rich and flaky fish, but it can feel complicated to create that restaurant-style salmon dish at home.
So let's un-complicate things! Here are my simple tips and tricks to pull off a crispy-skinned salmon with lemon butter sauce. Everyone you know will be begging for the recipe!
Ingredients for salmon with lemon butter:
Before we get to the step by step instructions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Fish: use either Atlantic salmon (the lighter, peachy-colored salmon at your market) or wild-caught salmon such as sockeye (the deep, coral-red colored fish). Atlantic salmon is fattier and often a thicker fillet. If using sockeye salmon, reduce cooking time by about 1 minute on the first side. I recommend using skin-on salmon for best results. Even if you don't eat the skin, it performs an important role in the searing process.
Butter: I use a quality, European-style salted butter, but use what you have, then season to taste before serving.
Wine: a dry white wine is best. If you prefer cooking alcohol free, add a little stock and an extra squeeze of lemon juice.
Lemon: for garnish and flavoring our butter sauce.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
For a deep dive into all things seared salmon, check out Foolproof Seared Salmon.
Step by step instructions for salmon with creamy butter sauce:
Step 1: Season Fish
To reduce albumin (the white stuff that leaks out of salmon when cooking), season fish with coarse kosher salt and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes. Rinse, dry and season skin side of the salmon with salt.
Step 2: Sear Fish
Preheat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil and salmon fillets, skin side down. Season the flesh side of the salmon with salt. Set your timer for 6 minutes.
Once the skin is crispy and the fish is cooked about ⅔ of the way up, flip your fillets gently in the pan. Set your timer for 90 seconds. Use an instant-read thermometer to temp the fish. I like to remove the fish at 130 degrees and let carry-over cooking take it to 135. Remove fish and tent loosely with foil while preparing sauce.
Step 3: How to Make Lemon Butter Sauce
Simmer lemon juice, white wine and a lightly crushed garlic clove in a small, heavy saucepan for 3 minutes. Add heavy cream to the pan and return to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
Begin adding pieces of cold butter to the hot pan and whisking continuously to ensure a smooth emulsion. As you continue adding butter and whisking, if the sauce cools and the butter stops melting, return pan to the heat for a few seconds - just long enough to begin melting the butter. Then remove from the heat and continue adding butter and whisking.
Before serving, remove the garlic clove from the sauce.
Step 4: Garnish and Serve
Drizzle lemon butter sauce over seared salmon fillets. Garnish with diced chives and lemon wedges.
Want to learn more about cooking salmon at home? Check out my Perfect-Every-Time Salmon Tutorial!
Why is there white stuff on my salmon after it's cooked?
Albumin is a protein that comes out of salmon when cooked (especially if it's cooked to a high temperature). It's tasteless and edible. But if you're looking for tips to avoid it, check out my Salmon Tutorial.
How to store leftover seared salmon with lemon butter sauce?
Transfer leftover salmon fillets to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Lemon butter sauce is best enjoyed the day you make it. Leftovers will taste delicious, but the sauce may break while re-heating.
What to do if lemon sauce breaks?
Lemon butter sauce can be finicky and break, meaning the milk solids in the butter break away from the emulsion and you are left with a greasy mix. This can happen if you keep your pan over the heat while melting the butter, or if the sauce gets too warm. By adding cream in this recipe, we stabilize the emulsion a bit more. But if your sauce breaks, try adding a teaspoon or two of wine or lemon juice to the mixture and whisking vigorously to re-form the emulsion.
Print
Seared Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
4 salmon fillets (skin-on, 6-8 ounces each)
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Lemon, for serving
For Sauce:
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons heavy cream
7 tablespoons butter, chilled and diced
Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Brine salmon: For well-seasoned salmon with minimal albumin, season fish with coarse kosher salt and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes. Then rinse under cool water and dry well. Season skin generously with coarse salt and black pepper.
- Sear fish: Preheat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add extra virgin olive oil to the pan, then add salmon fillets, skin side down. Season the flesh of the fish with salt and set your timer for 6 minutes. Then check your salmon. You should see the lighter, cooked part of the fish at around ⅔ the way up the side of the fish. Flip fillets gently. Set your timer for 90 seconds. Use an instant-read thermometer to temp the fish. For medium to medium well salmon, remove at 130 degrees, and let carry-over cooking take it to 135 degrees. Tent salmon with foil and make sauce.
- Make lemon butter sauce: Add lemon juice and white wine to a small, heavy saucepan. Add lightly crushed garlic clove to the pot and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add heavy cream and return to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Begin adding pieces of cold butter and whisking. If the sauce cools and the butter stops melting, return the pan to heat for a few seconds - just long enough to begin melting the butter again - then remove from the heat and continue adding butter and whisking. Before serving, remove the garlic clove, then taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt, if needed.
- Garnish and serve: Drizzle salmon fillets with lemon butter sauce and garnish with diced chives, if desired.
Notes
I tested this recipe using stainless steel, cast iron and nonstick skillets for searing the salmon. For consistency and simplicity, the nonstick skillet was the winner. It heated pretty evenly, crisped the skin well and didn't even hint at sticking. Consistently a stress-free cooking experience.
For rare salmon, remove fish from pan at 115°F. Medium-rare, remove around 120°F. For medium, remove around 125°F.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: lunch, dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American, French
Jill
I always want some sort of aauce with fish and this one was so good! I’ve got it on the list to make again Wednesday night. Thanks for the recipe!
Christina Jolam
Great to hear, Jill! This creamy lemon butter sauces is a dream on salmon and the perfect topping for almost any seafood. So glad you love it!