How to Cook Buttery Fish with Crispy Skin (2024)

Learn how to cook Buttery Fish with Crispy Skin in under 15 minutes. This easy pan-searing method results in restaurant-quality succulent fish with browned, perfectly crisp skin. Use your favorite fish fillet and serve with sides or on top of salads and bowls.

Pan-searing fish is our favorite method to make fish fillets because the meat comes out tender and buttery, and the skin turns golden and crispy. This particular recipe is applicable to most common fish fillets and shrimp! It takes just a few minutes, minimal cleanup, and a frying pan.

We make this recipe for a quick and delicious weeknight meal. It pairs deliciously with easy sides, like Sautéed Broccolini and Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan. It can also be served on top of a fresh salad or a quinoa, grain, or rice bowl. The sky is the limit!

Here's Why this Recipe Works

• Taste - The buttery fish have a light yet rich flavor.
• Texture - The fish has a flaky, tender texture. When cooked per the instructions, the fish will be moist and succulent with a crispy outside.
• Effort - This buttery fish recipe is easy! All you have to do is pat the fish dry, season it, then cook it on the stove.
• Time - This is one of the quickest weeknight meals you can make. It takes about 5 minutes to prep the fish then less than 10 minutes to cook.

Best Fish for this Recipe

While this recipe will work for any saltwater or freshwater fish, we found that it works best for white fish such as:

• Black cod (aka Alaska Cod or Sablefish) - Black cod's high fat content gives it a unique silky texture and naturally buttery flavor. This is why it is considered the fillet mignon of Alaskan whitefish. It also has the highest omega-3 content of any white fish.
• Cod - Cod is a white fish like black cod, but it is leaner and firmer. It is also a much cheaper.
• Halibut - Halibut is a lightly sweet and mild tasting white fish. Because the flavor is so gentle, it pairs well with sauces and seasonings like pesto sauce or lemon juice. It's also thicker and even firmer than cod.
• Tilapia - Tilapia is a white fish with an even milder taste than halibut. Like halibut, Tilapia is a low calorie source of lean protein, but is not quite as nutrient rich.
• Butter Fish - Butter fish are buttery! They are delicately flavored and often sold whole due to their small size. However, they aren't very bony and their meat is easy to pick off.

Ingredients

• Fish fillets - Black cod, cod, or halibut work best for this recipe because pan searing the fish will make the skin crispy, but the inside buttery.
• Sea salt or kosher salt - Salt accentuates the flavors of the fish.
• Freshly Ground Black pepper - Black pepper adds spice.
• Neutral Cooking oil- We recommend a neutral cooking oil like avocado oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil for this recipe. All of these oils have a high smoke point so they won't burn or smoke while cooking the fish. You also want the oil to be somewhat flavorless so you can season the fish and easily control the taste.
• Parsley - Parsley adds a fresh herb flavor to the fish.
• Lemon wedges - Lemon juice brightens the dish.
• Butter - Butter adds fat and flavor to the dish.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

• Prepare fish- Gently pat both sides of the fresh fish fillets dry with a paper towel. Then, season each side with sea salt or kosher salt and black pepper. Use your fingers to gently pat the seasoning into the fish.
• Cook fish fillets- Heat oil in a large skillet or braiser over medium-high heat. Once the pan gets hot, place the fish skin side down. Gently press down on the fish with a spatula or your knuckles for 10-20 seconds to prevent curling. Cook untouched for about 3-4 minutes.
• Turn over fish - Once the side of the fish shows it is cooked about about two thirds of the way, use a fish spatula to carefully turn the fish over. Lower the heat to medium and cook the other side for an additional 3-4 minutes. The fish will be caramelized around the edges. Add about a tablespoon of butter to the pan and baste the fillets as the butter melts.

• Serve and garnish- Serve the fish fillets immediately and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon slices.

Pro tip: Be sure the oil is really hot before you add the fish. The oil should sizzle when you add the fish.

What to Serve with Buttery Fish

This fish recipe is a simple, quick weeknight dinner. Serve it with these delicious side dishes:

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Store leftovers in an air-tight container or wrap in foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To reheat leftovers, heat the oven to 350˚F, remove the fillets from the refrigerator, and allow the fillets to reach room temperature (about 15 minutes). Once at room temperature, place the fillets on a baking sheet and heat for 7-10 minutes. These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top tips

• For tender fish, don't overcook the fish! Cook only until just cooked and use a fork to check the doneness. Overcooking the fish can result in very dry, tough fish.
• For easy cleanup, line the baking sheet or baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
• Shrimp - You can also cook shrimp with the pan searing method used in this recipe. It's a great low maintenance way to cook shrimp.

Did You Like This Recipe?

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