Seared Salmon with White Wine Butter Sauce

I used to hate salmon. I thought it tasted ‘fishy’ and bland. Now, I absolutely love it. This recipe is how I prepare some of the tastiest salmon one could ask for. The magic key is my cast iron pan. If you have one, you’ll want to use it for this recipe. Here’s what you’ll need…

Ingredients:

Fresh Salmon (a filet or two that will fit nicely in a large pan)

2 tbs Olive Oil

2 tbs butter

2 cloves garlic, thin sliced

Fresh Dill

Fresh or dried Thyme.

Garlic Powder

Salt & fresh cracked black Pepper

For the Sauce:

1.5 (1 1/4 cups) sticks butter, frozen, and pre-cut into tablespoons.

1 tbs butter, not frozen.

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tbs shallot (chopped)

White Pepper

Salt

Preparing the fish…

Pre-heat oven to 350*. Pat dry both sides of the salmon filet with paper towels. Next, score the skin side of the salmon a couple of times. Just enough to break the skin. Working on the skin side first, sprinkle salt and pepper, a bit of garlic powder, and a bit of fresh or dried thyme.

Heat an oven proof pan over high heat. Add 2 tbs olive oil. Place salmon skin side down on pan. Press flat. Season top side with same seasonings. Add 2 tbs butter, and drop fresh dill into pan. Spoon pan drippings onto top of salmon and cook for a total of 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip the fillets over, spoon pan drippings onto skin side, add garlic slices, and allow to cook over high heat for another 2 minutes. Transfer to oven and allow to cook in oven for 5-8 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Making the sauce…

This sauce is entirely optional, but adds a delightful combo of butter and tangy goodness. Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add the 1 tbs of unfrozen butter. Add shallots, and season with salt and white pepper. Saute for 2 minutes until the shallots begin to become transparent. Then add the white wine and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine and lemon juice has mostly evaporated, leaving about 3 tbs of liquid left in pot. Add a bit more salt and white pepper to season.

Strain liquid through a fine strainer to remove shallots and place liquid back in pot. Add two tablespoons of the frozen butter and gently whisk into remaining liquid. Turn heat on extremely low. Once butter has almost fully emulsified, begin to add more frozen butter, one tablespoon at a time and whisk it in to the liquid mixture. The goal is to keep the butter from separating. Just before you have finished adding all your butter, immediately remove the pan from the heat, and add in your last couple tablespoons of butter. Garnish with fresh dill and serve as a side to the salmon.

If you need help with how to mix your sauce, I recommend learning by this video. Please be aware, the recipe this video presents is different than the recipe I have presented here. But the mixing principles remain the same. Although this chef swirls his pan by hand, this same action can be easily conducted with a whisk.