Hot Honey Butter Salmon
This Honey Butter Salmon is sweet, spicy, sticky and outright DELICIOUS!
The other awesome thing about this recipe is it comes together in around 15mins! Ready for your new favourite midweek dinner? Follow me…
Pan Fried Salmon
Salmon is just the perfect dinner. Mainly because it cooks so quickly, but it also takes on a huge range of delicious flavours.
What kind of Salmon to use?
For this recipe, we’re going to be using skinless salmon fillets. I tend to head to the fresh fish section at the shops, because you can usually get it sliced to size. The fish monger will also skin the salmon if you ask nicely too! Having said that, you’ll also find salmon fillets pre-packaged too.
Preparing Salmon
The first bit of prep, which isn’t really prep at all, is to take the fillet out of the fridge 30mins before needed. It’s important the salmon is at room temp so it cooks through evenly. From there, you’ll want to pat them dry with paper towels to remove moisture and give them a generous seasoning of salt & pepper.
Cooking Salmon
To cook the salmon, we’re going to pan-fry it. You’ll gain a nice golden crust this way, which adds gorgeous flavour to the salmon. You can also baste the salmon in butter, which is never a bad idea!
Process shots: add salmon to oiled non-stick pan (photo 1), fry then flip (photo 2), add butter (photo 3), baste salmon (photo 4).
Hot Honey Butter Sauce
Once the salmon has just about cooked through (it’ll carry on cooking as it rests), remove it from the pan. From there, you’ll be left with all the melted butter, which will create the base of the sauce. It’ll also be a little brown, which is absolutely fine. In fact, brown butter will add a nice nutty flavour to the sauce.
Hot Honey Butter Sauce Ingredients
- Butter – Leftover from basting the salmon.
- Honey – Runny honey works best so it blends easily into the sauce.
- Vinegar – This balances out the sweetness/richness of the sauce. I like using rice vinegar, but apple cider vinegar also works well.
- Soy Sauce – This adds a savoury/salty tone to the sauce to balance out the sweetness. Make sure it’s light/all-purpose, not dark soy sauce.
- Chilli Flakes – This is where the ‘hot’ aspect comes from.
- Garlic – Just for added flavour.
Simmering the sauce
The sauce comes together and thickens pretty quickly. You’ll notice it foam up and then settle down as the vinegar burns off. It should end up with consistency that will coat and cling to the salmon.
Process shots: fry garlic and chilli flakes (photo 1), add honey, vinegar and soy sauce (photo 2), simmer then add salmon back in (photo 3), baste in sauce (photo 4).
Honey Butter Salmon FAQ
Can I use skin-on salmon?
I prefer skinless salmon because the sauce/butter seeps into the flesh easier. If you prefer skin on salmon though you can definitely use that.
How sweet is this sauce?
It’s honey salmon, so it’s pretty sweet! The soy sauce, butter, vinegar, chilli and garlic all balance it out nicely though.
How spicy is this sauce?
This is completely in your control. I typically use around 3/4 tsp chilli flakes, but I’d recommend starting off with 1/2 tsp and working up.
Serving Honey Butter Salmon
Here I’ve served with Mash and Broccolini, but Green Beans and Rice also work nicely.
Looking for the chicken/pork version of this recipe? Check out my Cajun Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin and Honey Butter Chicken!
After more pan fried salmon recipes? Check out my Creamy Lemon Salmon, Creamy Cajun Salmon and Honey Sriracha Salmon!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this honey butter salmon shall we?!
How to make Hot Honey Butter Salmon (Full Recipe & Video)
Hot Honey Butter Salmon
Equipment
- Large Non-Stick Pan & Tongs
- Wooden Spoon
- Paper Towels
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless Salmon Fillets, brought to room temp (preferably around 7oz/200g each)
- 1/3 cup / 110g Honey
- 6 tbsp / 3oz / 90g Butter, preferably unsalted (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar (sub apple cider vinegar or other white vinegar)
- 1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce (not dark)
- 1 – 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1/2 – 1 tsp Chilli Flakes (see notes)
- Salt & Pepper, as needed
- Olive Oil, as needed
- finely diced Spring Onion, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels then season all over with salt & pepper.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the salmon upside-down and cook for 3mins, or until a golden crust forms. Flip them over and fry for 1 minute.
- Move the fillets to the top of the pan and drop butter into the bottom of the pan. Tilt the pan and baste the salmon for 1-2mins, or until the other side starts to turn golden. By this point the salmon should be almost cooked in the centre (it will start to flake, also look at the sides). Remove and place to one side.
- Lower heat to a low-medium and add in garlic and chilli flakes. Fry for 10-20seconds, just to catch the garlic before it browns. Stir in honey, vinegar & soy sauce. Keep stirring over a gentle simmer until the sauce thickens to a thin caramel consistency, 5mins or so. Check seasoning/spice at this point and adjust if needed.
- Add the salmon back in and baste over the sauce. Serve with your preferred amount of sauce and finely diced spring onions. Enjoy!
Notes
b) Salmon – Important to get the salmon out of the fridge around 30mins before needed, just so it cooks through evenly. The salmon will continue cooking slightly when resting, so just keep that in mind.
c) Chilli Flakes – I’d recommend starting conservatively with 1/2 tsp, then adjusting more if needed. Much easier to scale the spice up than down!
d) Serving – Here I’ve served with Mash and Broccolini, but Green Beans and Rice also work nicely.
e) Calories – Based on just the salmon & sauce (not sides).
Nutrition
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