Salmon With Anchovy-Garlic Butter

By Melissa Clark

Updated Nov. 25, 2024

Salmon With Anchovy-Garlic Butter
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(7,093)
Comments
Read comments

Minced anchovies and garlic add a complex salinity to seared salmon, enriching and deepening its flavor. To get the most out of them, the anchovies and garlic are mashed into softened butter, which is used in two ways: as a cooking medium and as a sauce. Used to cook the salmon, the butter browns and the anchovies and garlic caramelize, turning sweet. When stirred into the pan sauce, the raw garlic and anchovies give an intense bite that’s mitigated by the creaminess of the butter. It’s a quickly made, weeknight-friendly dish that’s far more nuanced than the usual seared salmon — but no harder to prepare.

Featured in: An Easy Salmon Recipe for Weeknight Meals

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 4anchovy fillets, minced
  • 1fat garlic clove, minced (or 2 small ones)
  • ½teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4(6- to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
  • 2tablespoons drained capers, patted dry
  • ½lemon
  • Fresh chopped parsley, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

505 calories; 36 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 42 grams protein; 536 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mash together butter, anchovies, garlic, salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    In a large ovenproof skillet, melt about half the anchovy butter. Add fish, skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes over high heat to brown the skin, spooning some pan drippings over the top of the fish as it cooks. Add capers to bottom of pan and transfer to oven. Roast until fish is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Remove pan from oven and add remaining anchovy butter to pan to melt. Place salmon on plates and spoon buttery pan sauce over the top. Squeeze the lemon half over the salmon and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve.

Ratings

5 out of 5
7,093 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Roger in Seattle

The sauce is definitely a keeper. But I hope East Coasters will try to break themselves of such overcooking. Sear the skin for crispness by all means; but 10 minutes at 400 degrees produces a firm chewy slab. Please, try 15 minutes at 225 or at most 250; then pour the melted sauce over the fish for delectable moist flakiness.

Mary

So easy, and addictive. After I removed the fish and most of the sauce from the pan, I quickly sauteed a mixture of greens in the residual anchovy butter. Perfection!

alanzelt

Wow, never thought of anchois for salmon. But, I can see with frozen wild it does make sense. But, come May, I will ditch the anchovies because it will be fresh wild salmon season again in Seattle.

As an aside, I would point out to NYT food readers that Costco is an absolutely amazing location for their own Kirkland brand frozen wild salmon. Absolutely top notch.

Katherine at home

Five stars with the understanding that we only want our salmon cooked to 130 F MAX now. For me, a few minutes to brown on one side, add the fabulous anchovy butter, flip over, add capers, cook a couple more minutes in the pan. You’re done. Fabulous!

Melissa Clark fan

I used a teaspoon of fish sauce instead of anchovies, combined everything except the salmon, and microwaved all in a small glass bowl for 15-20 seconds. Then we grilled the salmon without seasonings, and poured the butter sauce over the fish. Way easier and just as delicious! I love Melissa Clark recipes!!!

Sam I am

Great recipe ... we actually felt the sauce was too mild for the coho. I ended up doubling the anchovies and capers and then it was mouth party.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.