Brown Butter Hot Honey Sockeye Salmon
- Jul 20
- 3 min read
Our Story
Some recipes look impressive but are incredibly easy to pull off, and this is exactly that. AJ roasted wild sockeye until it was perfectly flaky, then finished it with a silky brown butter hot honey glaze that lands right between rich, sweet, and bright with lemon. We could not stop going back for another bite. It feels elegant enough for guests but simple enough for a weeknight. He served it with crispy garlic Parmesan sourdough for catching every drop of sauce, and it paired perfectly with Gab's peach, prosciutto and mozzarella salad for a full summer spread. If you loved our lemon garlic halibut, this is your next seafood night.
Quick Stats
Serves: 6
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 30 min
Difficulty: 2 / 5
Cost: $$$
Ingredients
For the Salmon
6 wild sockeye salmon fillets
2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Garlic powder
Smoked paprika
Pinch of dried minced onion
For the Brown Butter Hot Honey Sauce
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp hot honey (or regular honey with a pinch of red pepper flakes)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp lemon zest
Pinch of kosher salt
For the Garlic Parmesan Sourdough
1 sourdough loaf, sliced thick
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tsp Italian seasoning and a pinch of garlic powder
Fresh cracked black pepper and flaky sea salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425. Pat the salmon completely dry, drizzle with olive oil, and season generously on all sides with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and a pinch of dried minced onion. Arrange skin-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Roast for 8-10 minutes depending on thickness, until the salmon flakes easily but is still moist in the center. For the juiciest results, pull it at 125-130 degrees internal; it keeps cooking while it rests.
While the salmon bakes, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until golden brown and nutty. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then whisk in the hot honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Simmer 30-60 seconds and remove from the heat.
For the sourdough, mix the olive oil, garlic, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper. Brush both sides of each slice, bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes flipping halfway, then broil 30-60 seconds until golden. Sprinkle immediately with flaky salt.
Rest the salmon for 2 minutes, spoon the warm brown butter hot honey sauce generously over each fillet, and serve immediately with the bread.
AJ's tip: wild sockeye cooks much faster than Atlantic salmon, so start checking at 8 minutes, and brown the butter slowly. It should smell nutty, not burnt.
Brands We Used and Love
Mike's Hot Honey (plus a 100% organic hot honey option in the kit)
Organic smoked Spanish paprika
Frontier Co-Op organic Italian seasoning
Caraway non-toxic baking sheet (Nordic Ware makes a great budget version)
If You Care unbleached parchment paper
Maldon sea salt flakes for the bread
Browse everything in our cooking shop: https://shopmy.us/ajdillon/cooking
The Dillon Scorecard
AJ: 4 / 5
Gab: 4.5 / 5
Trey: 4 / 5
What We'd Change Next Time
Honestly, not much. Next time we would double the sauce, because the sourdough kept finding reasons to need more of it. A little extra lemon zest right before serving keeps the finish bright. If you can only find Atlantic salmon, it works, just give it 2-4 more minutes in the oven since the fillets run thicker and fattier. Leftover salmon flakes beautifully into a salad the next day.
FAQ
No hot honey? Whisk regular honey with a pinch of red pepper flakes into the brown butter. It builds the same sweet heat in about 30 seconds.
How do I know the salmon is done? It flakes easily with a fork but still looks moist in the center, or reads 125-130 degrees on a thermometer. Pull it there and let it rest 2 minutes; carryover heat finishes the job.
Estimated Nutrition
Per serving (1 of 6, salmon with sauce plus a slice of garlic sourdough): roughly 460 calories, 36g protein, 24g carbohydrate, 24g fat. Honest estimates, not lab numbers.
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