Seed Oil Free Pan-Seared Salmon with Brown Butter and Capers
Rich, flaky salmon with crackling skin and a nutty brown butter sauce is the kind of weeknight dinner that feels genuinely special. Avocado oil is the only cooking fat used here, making it a clean, straightforward choice that sidesteps the refined vegetable and seed oils found in so many restaurant-style fish dishes. The real magic happens after the salmon comes off the heat — grass-fed butter is swirled in the same hot pan until the milk solids turn deep golden and smell almost caramel-like, then brightened with briny capers, fresh lemon juice, and chopped parsley. That combination of fat, acid, and salt does a lot of heavy lifting in a very short amount of time. Pressing the fillets skin-side down for the first thirty seconds is a small move that pays off big, giving you that shatteringly crisp skin that makes pan-seared salmon worth making at home. The whole thing comes together in one skillet, which means less cleanup and more time actually enjoying dinner. Serve it straight away with a wedge of lemon and you've got a restaurant-quality plate built entirely from whole, recognizable ingredients.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 4 salmon fillets (6 oz each), skin-on, pin bones removed
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
For the brown butter sauce
- 4 tbsp grass-fed unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
For serving
- lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Pat the salmon fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels, then season both sides with the kosher salt and black pepper.
- 2
Heat the avocado oil in a 12-inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and just begins to smoke. Place the salmon fillets skin-side down and press each fillet gently with a fish spatula for the first 30 seconds to prevent curling. Cook undisturbed for 4–5 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crisp and the flesh has turned opaque about two-thirds of the way up the sides.
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