sately

← All recipes

Meals · Skillet & sheet-pan mains

Butter-basted salmon

49

Salmon cooked skin side down until the skin is properly crisp, then finished by spooning foaming butter over the top until the fish is just done. It takes under ten minutes in one pan, and the butter turns nutty and sweet as it browns.

Time
24 min (15 prep + 9 cook)
Servings
4
Per serving
390 kcal
Protein
35 g

Ingredients

Steps

  1. Take the fillets out of the fridge 15 minutes ahead. Run a finger over the flesh to feel for bones and pull out any you find. Pat them very dry, especially the skin. Season the flesh side with the pepper and most of the salt, and sprinkle the rest over the skin.
  2. Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the fillets skin side down and press each one with a spatula for 30 seconds so the skin stays flat against the pan.
  3. Cook without moving them for 5–6 minutes, until the color has crept about three-quarters of the way up the sides and the skin lifts easily from the pan. If it sticks, it is not ready.
  4. Turn the heat to medium and add the butter, and the dill, if using. When it foams, tilt the pan so the butter pools and spoon it over the fillets again and again for 1–2 minutes, until the thickest part reads 145°F.
  5. Lift onto plates skin side up so the skin stays crisp, spoon the butter onto the plate around the fish, leaving the last spoonful and the darkest bits in the pan, and eat right away.

Good to know

Can I use wild salmon?

Yes, sockeye is the classic for this method, and it is leaner, at about 69 instead of 49. It cooks faster, so start checking a minute early.

Not eating strictly carnivore?

A squeeze of lemon into the butter at the very end is the usual finish.

Per

Calories
235
Protein
(36%)
21 g
Fat
(63%)
16 g
Carbohydrates
(0%)
<1 g
of which sugar
<1 g
Fiber
<1 g
Sodium
323 mg

More meals

Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How

As written, 1558 kcal goes into the pot and 722 g of ingredients comes out as about 663 g of food: 235 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.