Pan Seared Halibut
Light, flaky, and buttery, this pan seared halibut recipe is both delicious and healthy. In less than 20 minutes, you can make the perfect weeknight dinner that's sure to impress!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the Lemon Garlic Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon chives or parsley, freshly chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic cloves, minced
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon juice from fresh lemon
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
For the Fish:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 cold halibut fillets, 1" thick, about 4 oz each
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Lemon Garlic Mixture (can be made ahead)
- In a small pan, combine all Lemon Garlic Mixture ingredients and stir to fully combine. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Turn off heat and set aside.
For the Halibut
- Pat-dry all excess moisture from the fish fillets with paper towels. This step is important, so be sure to pat off as much moisture as you can. Evenly sprinkle both sides of fillets with pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Heat 2TB olive oil over high heat in a cast iron pan; once oil is smoking and very hot, carefully add 2 halibut fillets, cover with a splatter guard (or a lid, but leave it partially open so steam can escape), and cook without disturbing the fillets for 2 ½ - 3 minutes or until bottom half looks cooked.
- Use a thin metal spatula to carefully flip fish to the other side and cook without disturbing for another 2 ½ - 3 minutes. Transfer fish to a serving plate, add 2 TB of oil to the pan, and repeat with remaining halibut fillets.
- While halibut finishes cooking, gently reheat lemon garlic mixture if needed. Transfer halibut fillets to a serving plate and pour warm lemon butter sauce over them. Serve warm.
Equipment
Notes
- It’s important to use kosher salt as kosher salt is less salty than table salt, by volume.
- We use a large cast iron pan for high heat and even browning.
- If you don't have a cast iron pan, you can use a high quality stainless steel pan for high heat and even browning.
- We recommend cooking fillets in batches to prevent over-crowding. If there isn’t enough air flow in between the fillets, fish will “steam” instead of sear. If you can fit 4 fillets into a very large pan without over-crowding, you can cook them in one batch.
- The 2 ½ - 3 minute cook time works for fish fillets that are 1” thick, around 4oz in size, and If fish is not cold before cooking, they may become overcooked. If fish is thicker or larger than specified, you may need to increase cook time.
- We use an oil splatter guard to prevent hot oil from splattering during cooking.
- Serve Pan Seared Halibut with these extra crispy Smashed Potatoes and this easy Air Fryer Broccoli for a full, balanced meal.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ❤️
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 763mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.4mg