Pan Seared Honey Glazed Salmon with Browned Butter Lime Sauce – The Best Salmon I’ve Ever Eaten Recipe

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Ingredients

4 (6 oz) salmon fillets, rested at room temperature 20 minutes
8 tsp flour, divided
2 Tbsp honey, divided
zest of 1 - 2 limes (I like it with a generous amount so in my opinion 2)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 recipe Browned Butter Lime Sauce, recipe follows
6 Tbsp salted butter, diced
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

recipe over Epicurious, from Gourmet Magazine. I will be honest, Gourmet Magazine is sometimes too “gourmet” for me. Their version of this however looked awesome! Simple yet incredible. I created my own version by jazzing it up to suit my taste. Rather than grilling it I pan seared it, obviously. I wanted a tiny bit of sweet to balance out the citrus-y tang so I added honey, and what better way to get that perfectly golden brown, crisp crust then to pan sear it along with a little sprinkling of flour? I also thought if you’re going to make butter one of the main components of the dish then you may as well brown it and add another layer of delicious flavor. It’s amazing how well the citrus of the lime, the silky sweet of the honey and the deep, rich flavor of the browned butter go together. They all compliment the salmon perfectly. I can tell you now, the majority of the time this is going to be my go to salmon recipe. Not only does it taste phenomenal but it is incredibly easy to make. Serve this alongside some roasted aspargus and garlic mashed red potatoes and you’ve got a delicious, elegant meal definitely set to impress. Enjoy!

Directions

Working in batches of two salmon fillets at a time (or using two skillets, because you don't want to overcrowd the salmon when cooking it on the stove-top so it cooks more evenly), place salmon fillets on a cutting board or plate and sprinkle 1 tsp flour over each side of the salmon fillets and spread flour to evenly coat. Evenly drizzle 3/4 tsp honey over each side of the flour coated salmon fillets.* Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil into a 10 inch non-stick skillet, swirl pan to evenly coat bottom and heat over medium heat. Once oil it hot, carefully place salmon ) in pan and cook over medium heat, 3-5 minutes per side until salmon has cooked through and bottom has nicely browned. Plate salmon immediately, drizzle each fillet with 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp Browned Butter Lime Sauce and sprinkle with lime zest. Serve warm.

*note that once you remove the salmon from the plate some of the flour and honey coating will stick to the plate so I'd recommend just scraping it up with a spatula and adding it to the salmon once it's in the pan, alternately you could just coat one side with the flour and honey then after adding it to the pan you can coat the top side with flour and honey. Either way works I'd just say don't waste any of that delicious coating.

Place butter in a small (light colored) saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is fragrant and has turned a tan shade (for a step by step tutorial on how to brown butter see link

, although I would recommend not to stir constantly rather swirl pan occasionally). Remove from heat and add browned butter along with lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute until well blended. Pour sauce into a small glass dish (note: whisk butter mixture with a fork before pouring onto salmon as it will separate, rewarm if needed).

: Can you make this with lemon instead of lime?

: I’m going to try this Friday night for company! Thanks so much–your adaptions of the original recipe sound wonderful. Brown butter makes everything better :)

Sweetie – yes browned butter makes everything better! I finally learned that last year, who knows why it took me over 20 years of life to figure that out =).

: Anonymous – I would recommend it, it just helps everything stick and gives it a nice crust. If you are on a gluten free diet you would probably be fine to replace the all purpose flour with rice flour. I hope that helps!

: lacefrontwig – I usually just serve it with baked potatoes (loaded of course =) and fresh yellow squash. If you have any left over lime butter it goes great over steamed veggies. I love it on the squash. It would also be really good on steamed carrots or roasted asparagus. I think roasted parmesan red potatoes would also make another great side dish. Or if you wanted to go more Mexican you could serve it with cilantro lime rice.

: Amazing dish, a simple recipe to make.

: Anonymous – I don’t think there’s anything that could be substituted for the butter in this recipe, it basically makes the recipe what it is. If your asking because of an allergy or lactose intolerance I would recommend just making it without the sauce. I hope that helps somehow!

To add to the comment above, I left the skin on my Alaskan Sockeye (since I’m not sure how to properly skin fish) and followed the recipe and it was still very flavorful. The fish just peeled right off the skin as we ate!

Jacque: Is there a way to make the browned butter sauce without a blender?

: Jacque – a food processor would probably work great or an emulsifier. Basically if you don’d blend it the juice and butter will keep separating like water and oil so just give it a good stir right before pouring if you don’t use a blender or one of the above, or pour it into an airtight container and shake it vigorously. Hope that helps!

: I wouldn’t recommend a replacement simply because it is one of the highlights of the dish. I think the best thing you could do is maybe reduce the amount or try replacing some of the honey with agave nectar (not sure if that even changes the carb count =).

The crust is carmelized and so good and the brown butter sauce, blended with the lime juice and garlic is like velvet.

Meredith: This truly is “the best salmon I have ever eaten.” I love seafood, but no a huge fan of salmon. This recipes is so delicious, and sweet. The brown butter lime sauce is so easy to make! Will have to make this one again! Looking forward to trying other recipes from your blog!

Pan Seared Honey Glazed Salmon | Maddeelicious

: OMGoodness I know this is going to be so good!!! I can’t wait to make this tonight!!! I just actually started eating salmon. I am such a picky picky salmon eater but I am sure I will love this one!

: [...] 1. Place the salmon fillets onto a cutting board and put 1 tsp flour on each side and evenly spreading the flour over the salmon. Evenly drizzle 1 tsp honey onto each side of the salmon. 2. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil into a saucepan and heat to medium. Since you don’t want to overcrowd the pan, you may want to use two pans and use the other 1 tbsp of olive oil, or do two batches. 3. Carefully place the salmon into the pan and cook 3-5 minutes on each side browning each side of the salmon. 4. While salmon is cooking, to make the sauce heat the butter into a small saucepan. Swirl the butter occasionally until it has turned a light brown color and is fragrant. Remove from heat and whisk the garlic, honey, salt and pepper into the sauce. 5. Pour the browned butter sauce over the salmon and sprinkle with your lime zest and enjoy! Recipe Adapted from Cooking Classy [...]

Holly: I made this with my fiancé tonight and we both absolutely adored it!!! This is definitely going to be something we make often and I can’t wait to make it for guests. Thank you for sharing :)

Monica: I don’t have a blender to blend the sauce..can I just keep it as is?

: Yes, but I’d whisk vigorously before pouring over the salmon.

: I’m so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed this CJ and that you’d make it again! Thanks for leaving a comment!

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: This looks so delicious, and I love coconut, definitely I have to make it, and eat it :)