Browned butter honey garlic salmon is an easy pan-fried salmon recipe with a delicious citrus butter sauce! Salmon fillets are marinated in a honey garlic citrus marinade and pan-seared in browned butter. The marinade is then reduced to glaze the salmon.
Zest both the oranges and lemon, carefully leaving out the white part, which is bitter.
Extract juice from the oranges and the lemon.
Mix the zest and juice with crushed garlic, oregano, chili flakes, honey, salt and pepper.
Pan-fry the salmon fillets
Clean the salmon fillets and marinate with the prepared citrus marinade for 10 minutes (up to 30 minutes if time permits).
Heat butter in a pan on low flame until it melts and foams. As soon as it turns brown and gives a nutty aroma, increase the flame to medium heat.
Shake off the excess marinade from the salmon fillets and place them skin-side down. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes until browned, frequently basting with butter.Flip and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes.
If the fillet is too thick, cook each side for additional 1 to 2 minutes. If the skin starts sticking to the pan, add a little more butter.
Remove the salmon fillets onto a serving platter. Pour the marinade with 2 tablespoons of water into the same pan. Deglaze the pan by stirring, so the flavorful bits stuck to the bottom of the pan would be incorporated in the sauce. The sauce becomes a darker brown in colour. Simmer until it reduces to a thick, sticky sauce.
Drizzle the citrus butter sauce over the seared salmon, or serve it in a small bowl alongside salmon.
Notes
Fry the salmon fillets on a non-stick pan to avoid them from sticking to the bottom. If using a regular metal pan, use an additional tablespoon of butter.
Cook the salmon on medium flame to get salmon fillets that are perfectly browned and flaky on the outside and juicy inside.