Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon is sweet and sticky and a healthy way to eat salmon. Cooked in cast iron the salmon gets a nice char.
Cast Iron Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon is sweet and sticky and a healthy way to eat salmon. Cooked in cast iron the salmon gets a nice char.
My mouth waters when I think of Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon. Pretty much anything cooked in brown butter is fantastic. I love to make a brown butter sauce with butternut squash and pour it over ravioli!
Cast of Ingredients for Cast Iron Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
There are not a lot of ingredients to this dish and it is super easy.
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Ingredients for Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
- Filet of Salmon
- Butter
- Honey
- Garlic and Lemon
- Salt
Best Honey to Use
- There are so many types of honey from which to choose. Any honey that you like is best.
- Wildflower Honey is very flavorful. Clover Honey is a very popular honey to use for cooking.
Heat up Cast Iron Pan
I love my cast iron. Other than a stainless steel sauce pan, I cook exclusively with cast iron. If you are lucky enough to see old cast iron in a thrift store, snatch it up. As I have not been so lucky, so I use newer the newer Lodge and season my pieces well to make them nice and slick.
How to Make Cast Iron Non Stick
- Always heat up your cast iron skillet for at least five minutes, so that it is nice and hot through and through. Cast iron takes a bit longer to fully heat than stainless steel pans.
- Once the pan is hot the oil or any kind of fat you are using can be added. This will help prevent the pan from becoming sticky after use.
- The surface of the pan will become nice and slick.
A drop of Oil and Butter is Added to a HOT Pan
When making brown butter, keep your eye closely on the pan as the butter will turn from yellowish to brown pretty quickly.
Can Ghee Be Used in Place of Butter?
- Ghee or clarified butter can be used and will taste just as delicious.
- Try my Homemade Ghee recipe if you like. Ghee is great to use as it gives the brown butter a nuttier flavor.
Pro Tip: Adding a drop of oil before adding butter helps to keep the butter from burning.
Butter will Foam and Turn Brown Quickly
The flavor and richness comes from properly cooking the butter. You will need to keep a close eye on it so that you don’t burn the butter.
After several minutes of whisking, the butter will be dark. Keep whisking, so that it doesn’t burn. You’ll want a low simmer, don’t let the butter boil and burn.
Side Dishes for Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
- A popular side dish to Brown Butter Honey Salmon is Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
- Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto or Pressure Cooker Jollof Rice [Instant Pot] are both terrific side dishes.
- My favorite mashed potato recipe is a mix of carrots and potatoes giving the dish a nice orange color. Pressure Cooker Potato Carrot Mash adds a bit of antioxidents from the addition of carrots and looks so pretty on the table.
Whisk the Honey and Lemon into the Butter
When the honey and lemon are added, I turn to my trusty Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk which makes incorporating the honey and lemon into the butter easy. You will get a nice emulsion in about three minutes.
Fun Fact – Is Honey Bee Vomit?
- Yep, I suppose one can say that it is.
- The honey bees pass nectar from mouth to mouth. The processor bee will then regurgitate the honey crop into another bee which is closer to the honeycomb.
Fresh Garlic is Added to the Brown Butter
Can Brown Butter Be Made in Advance?
- Absolutely. In fact, if you are planning on using brown butter within a couple of days for various recipes, make up a big batch.
- Store it in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Silicone Butter Molds
Pro Tip: Make a huge batch and store brown butter honey garlic sauce in large blocks in a silicone butter mold! Freeze the molds using a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System.
- One block is perfect to use when cooking fish or adding to a butternut ravioli sauce.
- I use the butter mold trays to make an egg scramble to put inside tortillas for an easy take a long breakfast. They are also great for making Instant Pot New York Cheesecake Logs! Frost the logs and then slice into individual servings.
Salmon Fillets are Added to the Brown Butter Sauce
I’ve used this Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon recipe with other types of fish. If you decide to use another fish, make sure you adjust the cook time to pair with the type of fish cooking.
What Other Fish Can Be Used?
- Best to use a hearty fish like rockfish, snapper, mahi mahi, shark.
- If using a delicate fish like flounder, cod or haddock, skip the oven step and enjoy the fish right after pan frying.
Pro Tip: It is easier to remove the skin from the salmon fillet after searing the fish skin side down.
Remove Salmon Skin with Butter Knife or Fork
Serving Cold Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
- Cold salmon is wonderful on a salad. I often make this Avocado Chicken Salad without the chicken and place a cold salmon fillet on top.
- It is also perfect as part of a charcuterie board with crackers and cream cheese spread.
Seared Cast Iron Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
Pressure Cooker Garlic Whipped Potatoes is another side dish to serve with Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon. Drizzle the salmon and potatoes a bit of the reserved sauce. Pressure Cooker Cauliflower Soufflé or even Instant Pot Broccoli Butternut Pasta w/Blue Cheese make a wonderful addition to the dinner plate.
Cast Iron Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
More Delicious Salmon Recipes to Make:
- Instant Pot Salmon with Rice Pilaf
- Air Fryer Salmon Croquettes {Jewish Mom Style}
- Pressure Cooker Gefilte Fish [Jewish Fish Balls]
- Instant Pot Bagels Lox and Cream Cheese Pasta
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk – a MUST have, probably my most used utensil
- LamsonSharp Chef’s Slotted Turner – I totally love this spatula!
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board
- Lodge 10.25″ Cast Iron Skillet
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Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons Butter or Ghee
- 8 tablespoons Clover Honey
- 2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- 4 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
- 4 Salmon Fillets
- Sea Salt
- Lemon wedges
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Preheat oven to grill/broil settings on medium-high heat.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or oven proof pan over medium heat.
- Add butter and with a good whisk cook and stir about 3 minutes, or until the butter begins to change color.
- Add honey and lemon juice and continue to whisk the sauce until well combined.
- Turn down heat and simmer for two minutes while stirring.
- Add garlic and cook about a minute, or until the garlic is fragrant and butter has an almost nutty fragrance and has turned golden brown.
- Carefully remove half of the browned butter sauce from the pan (liquid only) and reserve for later.
- Place the salmon steaks, skin side down into the pan and sear for 2 minutes only.
- Flip fillet and quickly peel off skin and any grey area (if any).
- Transfer the skillet to the oven.
- Broil for 6 minutes.
- Season with salt to taste and drizzle with the reserved brown butter sauce.
- Serve with Garlic Whipped Potatoes.
Notes
Types of Honey
- There are so many types of honey from which to choose. Any honey that you like is best.
- Wildflower Honey is very flavorful. Clover Honey is a very popular honey to use for cooking.
Ghee Or Butter
- Ghee or clarified butter can be used and will taste just as delicious.
- Try my Homemade Ghee recipe if you like. Ghee is great to use as it gives the brown butter a nuttier flavor.
Other Fish Can to Use
- Try using another hearty fish like rockfish, snapper, mahi mahi, shark.
- If using a delicate fish like flounder, cod or haddock, skip the oven step and enjoy the fish right after pan frying.
How to Serve Cold Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
- Make this Avocado Chicken Salad but don't make the chicken. Just the salad and dressing. Place the cold salmon fillet on top and enjoy.
- Place cold salmon fillet on to a charcuterie board and slice. Add crackers and cream cheese spread.
Nutrition
PIN this Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon!
Cast Iron Brown Butter Honey Garlic Salmon
