Salmon fillets seared skin-side down until shatteringly crisp, finished with a nutty brown butter sauce of capers, shallot, garlic and lemon.
Take the salmon out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking so it cooks more evenly. Good with roasted potatoes, rice or a green salad.
Leftovers keep 2 days; flake them cold into salads rather than reheating, which dries the fish.
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 4 skin-on salmon fillets (about 6 oz each)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 4 skin-on salmon fillets (about 6 oz each)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
Dry and season the salmon
Pat skin-on salmon fillets very dry with paper towels and season both sides with kosher salt (1 tsp) and black pepper (¼ tsp), about 2 minutes.
Sear skin-side down
Heat neutral oil (1 tbsp) in the skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes.
Lay the fillets in skin-side down, press each flat with the spatula, and cook without moving until the skin is crisp and the flesh is opaque most of the way up, about 8 minutes.
Flip and cook just until the center reaches 125°F, about 2 minutes, then transfer skin-side up to plates.
Equipment: large stainless or cast-iron skillet, fish spatula, instant-read thermometer
Make the brown butter caper sauce
Wipe out the skillet, lower the heat to medium, and melt unsalted butter (4 tbsp), swirling until it foams and turns golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Add shallot, garlic (2 cloves) and capers (2 tbsp) and sizzle until the capers open and crisp, about 1 minute.
Off the heat, stir in the juice of lemon and flat-leaf parsley (2 tbsp) for about 1 minute.
Equipment: large stainless or cast-iron skillet
Serve
Spoon the brown butter sauce around the salmon, keeping the crisp skin dry, and serve right away.
Tomorrow's Meal
Salmon and Caper Fried Rice
Flake leftover salmon into day-old rice fried hard in a hot skillet with scallions, egg and a little of the caper butter.
Quick overview:
- 1.Flake leftover salmon, discarding the skin.
- 2.Fry cold cooked rice in oil in a hot skillet until crisp in spots.
- 3.Push the rice aside, scramble an egg, and stir it through with scallions.
- 4.Fold in the salmon and capers, heat through, and finish with lemon.
Before you cook
Cook notes
- • Take the salmon out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking so it cooks more evenly.
- • Good with roasted potatoes, rice or a green salad.
- • Leftovers keep 2 days; flake them cold into salads rather than reheating, which dries the fish.
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