Garlic Butter Salmon Fillets (Printable Version)
Pan-seared salmon fillets in a luscious garlic butter and lemon sauce, ready in 25 minutes.
# What You Need:
→ Salmon
01 - 4 salmon fillets, about 6 oz each, skin-on or skinless
→ Garlic Butter Sauce
02 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
03 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
04 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
05 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
06 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
07 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Optional Garnish
08 - Lemon wedges
09 - Additional fresh parsley
# How To Make It:
01 - Pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels and season both sides generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
02 - Heat 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until melted and foamy.
03 - Place the salmon fillets in the skillet skin-side down if using skin-on. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the bottom is golden and the flesh is mostly opaque.
04 - Flip the fillets and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, minced garlic, and lemon zest to the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, spooning the melted garlic butter over the salmon occasionally.
05 - Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fillets and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Remove from heat when the salmon flakes easily with a fork.
06 - Serve immediately, garnished with lemon wedges and extra fresh parsley if desired.
# Helpful Hints:
01 -
- The entire dish comes together in under thirty minutes, which means dinner feels special without eating into your evening.
- That garlic butter sauce spooned over the top makes the salmon taste like something from a restaurant, yet the ingredient list is surprisingly short.
02 -
- Overcooked salmon turns dry and chalky in seconds, so pull it from the heat when the center still has a slight translucence since carryover heat will finish the job.
- Adding a splash of dry white wine to the pan right after the garlic transforms the sauce into something deeply complex with almost no extra effort.
03 -
- Press the fillets flat with a spatula for the first ten seconds in the pan to ensure full contact and an even sear across the entire surface.
- Basting is the single technique that elevates this from good to unforgettable, so tilt that pan and spoon generously.