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–+ servings
large piece of salmon on a plate in melted butter with diced cooked onions and chopped parsley

RECIPE FOR PAN SEARED SALMON WITH LEMON CAPER BUTTER SAUCE

This recipe for Pan Seared Salmon is simple to follow and one of my favourite ways to cook salmon. It's served up with the most flavourful Lemon Caper Butter Sauce that is so good, you'll want to swim in it!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Wild Sockeye Salmon*
  • ½ cup Butter
  • 3 Cloves Garlic minced
  • ½ a small White Onion diced
  • 4 tbsp Fresh Parsley chopped
  • 2 tbsp Capers
  • 1 Lemon juiced
  • 1 tbsp Avocado Oil for frying
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Pat the salmon dry with a clean paper towel.
    hand with a paper towel patting a piece of raw salmon dry, cut lemon in the background
  • Generously season both sides with salt and pepper.
    raw salmon seasoned with salt and pepper on a plate
  • Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When extremely hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Place the salmon, skin side down*, in the hot pan and resist any urge to fiddle with or touch it. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the salmon is about 90% cooked (you can check the sides to see the progress).
    raw salmon seasoned with salt and pepper in a cast iron skillet
  • Carefully flip the salmon over and cook on the remaining side for about a minute or until the salmon is cooked to your liking.
    salmon, skin facing up, in a cast iron skillet
  • Transfer to a plate under a foil tent and set aside.
    pan seared salmon seasoned with salt and pepper on a wooden spatula, half a lemon in the background
  • In the same skillet, add the onions (with a touch more oil, if needed) and cook until soft, stirring frequently, a few minutes.
    diced white onions in a cast iron skillet
  • Add half the butter and stir until frothy and melted.
    diced soft onions in a cast iron skillet with chunks of butter
  • Then add the garlic and capers and cook for a few additional minutes being sure to break up the capers with the back of a spatula.
    diced onions and capers in a lemon butter sauce
  • Add the remaining butter, parsley, and lemon juice.
    cast iron skillet with butter, onions and chopped parsley
  • Stir until the butter melts then remove the sauce from the heat.
    butter, parsley, capers and onions in melted butter
  • Spoon the sauce over the pan seared salmon and serve immediately.
    pan seared salmon on a plate in a lemon caper butter sauce, another plate of salmon in the background with the sauce next to it

Notes

You can also use salmon fillets that are 4-6 ounces each.
Skin on or off the salmon is totally up to you. If you are using skin on, you can choose to serve it with the skin or easily remove it after you cook the salmon.
Searing the salmon skin side up or down is up to you. If you're planning on serving and eating the skin, I recommend starting with the skin side down. If not, you can start with the flesh side down as that's the part that will be the crispiest.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 346mg | Potassium: 614mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1098IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
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