Garlic Butter Salmon

5 from 7 votes

Golden pan-fried salmon fillets drenched in an irresistible 4-ingredient garlic butter sauce, all made in under 30 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Universal

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £2.50 / $3

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Large Shallow Dish & Fork (for dredging salmon)
Large Non-Stick Pan & Tongs
Wooden Spoon
Jug (for stock)

Ingredients

1 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp Black Pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 cup / 40g Plain/All Purpose Flour
4x boneless skinless Salmon Fillets, take out the fridge 15-30 mins before needed (approx 4-5oz / 120-150g each)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
6 tbsp / 90g / 3.2oz Unsalted Butter, divided into tbsp chunks (see notes)
2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced (see notes)
1/2 cup / 120ml Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley
1 Lemon, divided into 4 wedges (to serve)

Instructions

In a large shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Coat each salmon fillet, giving them a shake before placing to one side.
Add the olive oil to a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the fillets and fry for around 3 mins, or until they build up a golden crust on the bottom. Carefully flip them over and fry for another 2 mins, or until golden on the other side. Add in 1 tbsp butter and baste the fillets for a minute, or until they're just about cooked through. Remove from the pan and lower the heat to medium.
Add the garlic and fry until it just begins to take on colour (careful it doesn't burn or it'll turn bitter). Pour in the stock and scrape any flavour off the pan. Add the remaining butter and whisk until it binds with the stock and turns it cloudy. Add parsley and a pinch of salt & pepper if desired.
Simmer for a few mins, stirring as you go, until the sauce begins to thicken (it will thicken, just keep simmering/stirring). Turn the heat to low and add the salmon back in. Baste in the sauce to warm it through, then serve with more sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. The sauce will thicken more as you baste the salmon.

Video

Notes

a) Garlic - Really important you're using fresh garlic (not the jarred stuff). Jarred/pickled garlic will throw off the flavour. Just be vigilant as it fries that it doesn't burn.

b) Butter - I like using unsalted butter because you get so much more control over how salty the sauce ends up. If you've only got salted, just go easy when you season to taste and preferably use low-sodium stock if you've got it. Important to measure correctly (i.e not heaping tbsps), otherwise you'll end up with way too much butter.

c) Salmon - You can use slightly larger fillets if you'd prefer; you'll just need to adjust the timings slightly. You want the salmon to be only just cooked through as you fry it. It should easily flake, and the centre should turn from a deep pink to a light pink, similar in colour to the outside. Bear in mind they'll carry on cooking slightly as they rest and when added back to the pan.

d) Consistency - The sauce will be quite thin at first, but when you add the salmon in, the floured exterior helps thicken the sauce. If it thickens quite a bit, you might notice it starting to split. In which case I'd add 1 tbsp stock and give it a good whisk to bring it back together.

e) Lemon - This is important to balance the richness of the sauce. Don't squeeze it straight into the pan, or it'll break up the sauce. Just serve a wedge with each piece and let people squeeze their own to taste.

f) Calories - Just the salmon and sauce divided by 4. Assuming 120g salmon fillets and half of the seasoned flour.

Nutrition