Pan Seared Cod or Haddock with Lemon Butter Sauce
The lemon butter sauce is made directly in the skillet once the fish has cooked through. It can be made in two different ways using the same ingredients based on your preference. Both are delicious.
For a mild, lightly flavored sauce, cook the lemon slices for a minute or two before removing them and discarding. Serve the fish with the lemon sauce spooned over the top.
For a bold lemon flavor, you can cook the lemons for 4-5 minutes in the pan. They will soften up and release more of their flavor into the butter. Serve the fish with butter and lemon slices spooned over the top.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 2 halibut or cod filets (around 6 ounces each)
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon , sliced thinly
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
- fresh dill (optional)
Instructions
- This recipe can be prepared with a skinless filet of fish or one with the skin attached. If you prefer a skinless filet, the skin can be carefully removed using a sharp, thin knife.
- Prep the fish filets by patting them dry with a paper towel. Remove as much moisture as possible from the exposed surfaces of the fish. Season the fish liberally with salt and pepper.
- Wash the lemon and remove the ends. Slice the lemon into thin slices. Remove and discard any seeds. If you prefer smaller pieces of lemon, you can cut the slices into halves or quarters.
- Warm the skillet over medium high heat for about 4 minutes. Add a tablespoon (or two if using a pan without a nonstick surface) of olive oil to the pan and swirl to fully coat the bottom of the pan. Allow the oil to warm for a minute or two. The oil should be hot enough for the oil to shimmer, but not smoke.
- Carefully add the fish pieces to the pan in a single layer with the skin side (or side where the skin was attached) down. Lay the fish down gently to prevent the hot oil from splashing up and out of the pan. Take care not to crowd the filets in your pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium and place the lid on the pan to hold in the heat and humidity. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and check the progress of the filets.
- The bottom surface should begin to caramelize. The top should turn opaque and the filet should flake apart when probed with a sharp paring knife or fork. See the note for a simple way to check the doneness.
- If the fish is not opaque and easy to flake apart, simply replace the lid and give it another 1-2 minutes before checking again for doneness. Repeat until the fish is cooked through.
- When the fish have reached the opaque and flaky stage, reduce the heat to low. Add a tablespoon of butter and a few thin slices of lemon for each serving of fish to the pan. Swirl the pan a bit to distribute the melted butter across the surface of the pan.
- Cook uncovered, for a minute or two. The butter will combine with the accumulated moisture in the pan and the lemons to create a delicious and flavorful sauce. See the note on this page about making this sauce two different ways to decide how you would like to make your lemon butter sauce.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Taste the lemon butter sauce, adding salt and pepper to taste or fresh dill if desired.
- Tilt the pan slightly and use a large spoon to capture some of the pan sauce. Baste it over the top surface of the fish. Using a flexible spatula, gently remove the fish from the pan to a plate. Top with additional sauce from the skillet and lemon slices if you like.
- I like the slight bitter acidity of the lemon slices with the fish, but I have other family members who prefer just the sauce without the lemon slices. The lemon butter sauce and lemon slices are also a delicious topping for steamed rice served with this dish.
Notes
A tip from the farmhouse kitchen:
Cooking fish can fill your house with a lingering aroma. I find that saving any leftover lemon slices from this recipe and placing it in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of baking soda helps to mitigate the odor a bit. I leave the bowl in the kitchen near the stove overnight and then use the lemon and baking soda to scrub the kitchen sink clean the next day. What type of fish can I use?
I like to prepare this recipe with cod or halibut because they are easy to source here in New England. You can substitute your preferred type of white fish when making this recipe. If fresh fish is difficult to source, you can use frozen filets that have been fully thawed before cooking. How will I know when the fish is done?
Use the tip of a fork or a paring knife to probe the thickest part of the fish filet at a 45 degree angle. Pull straight up to determine if the fish is flaky and fully cooked.
Cooking fish can fill your house with a lingering aroma. I find that saving any leftover lemon slices from this recipe and placing it in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of baking soda helps to mitigate the odor a bit. I leave the bowl in the kitchen near the stove overnight and then use the lemon and baking soda to scrub the kitchen sink clean the next day. What type of fish can I use?
I like to prepare this recipe with cod or halibut because they are easy to source here in New England. You can substitute your preferred type of white fish when making this recipe. If fresh fish is difficult to source, you can use frozen filets that have been fully thawed before cooking. How will I know when the fish is done?
Use the tip of a fork or a paring knife to probe the thickest part of the fish filet at a 45 degree angle. Pull straight up to determine if the fish is flaky and fully cooked.