Flaky, pan-roasted sea bass fillets topped with an easy lemon garlic butter sauce.
There is nothing more wonderful than perfectly seared, tender fish fillets with crispy skin. This foolproof recipe cooks sea bass to perfection, then builds a lemon-garlic butter sauce right in the same pan for easy clean-up.
To get the skin nice and crispy, start with a very hot pan coated with ghee. While the pan is heating up, take a butter knife and scrape down the skin side of the fish fillets to remove any excess moisture, then pat the whole fish dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper and place the fish skin-side down on the hot pan. Turn the heat down to medium-high, and use a metal spatula to press for 30 seconds to brown the skin evenly, as the fish tends to arc when heated.
The majority of the cooking is done with the skin side down, so let the fillets cook for 4-5 minutes without flipping it. This allows the skin to crisp up. Then, carefully turn the sea bass over, being careful not to break apart the fish. It will only need a minute or two on the other side.
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Remove the fish from the pan, but leave the heat on to make the sauce. Add a tablespoon of grass-fed butter to the pan and swirl so it melts quickly, then add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Turn off the heat before adding the lemon juice and immediately pour the sauce over the fish.
Try pairing your seared sea bass with simple green salad, sautéed vegetables, or mashed cauliflower for a simple and elegant dinner.
Easy Sea Bass Recipe with Lemon Garlic Butter
Easy Sea Bass Recipe with Lemon Garlic Butter
Dina HassanTools
- Cast iron or stainless steel pan
- Metal spatula
Ingredients
- 1 T ghee
- 4 sea bass fillets, skin-on and scaled
- Salt and pepper
- 2 T grass-fed butter (or ghee)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Juice of one lemon
- Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat the ghee in a cast iron or stainless steel pan on medium-high heat.
- Pat the fish dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Place skin-side down on the hot pan and let it cook without flipping for 4-5 minutes, pressing down with a metal spatula to cook the skin evenly.
- Flip the fish and sear on the other side for an additional minute or two. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the grass-fed butter to the pan, swirl to melt then add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the fish, garnish with chopped parsley and serve at once.
Tips:
- If possible, get fresh fish instead of frozen. If you can’t find sea bass you could use a similar white fish with firm meat instead, such as cod, haddock or pollock.
- This cooking technique works with skinless fish too, just sear the side the skin used to be on first.
Looking for a Paleo ingredient? Here’s what we recommend:
Ghee (Pure Indian Foods)
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