Lemon Garlic Salmon

Name: Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 skin-on salmon fillets (approximately 180g each); 2 tablespoons neutral oil; Flaky sea salt; Coarse black pepper; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; 4 cloves garlic, finely grated; Juice of 1 lemon; Zest of 1 lemon; Small handful fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped; Pinch of chili flakes (optional); Lemon wedges; Extra fresh parsley; Flaky sea salt

June 4, 2026|HALO

Here's a lemon garlic salmon recipe that makes cooking fish on an outdoor griddle look completely effortless. Crispy skin, flaky interior, and a garlic butter finish that makes it the best salmon you've made at home.

Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

American

Author:

HALO

Servings

4 people

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Calories

412

Crispy skin, flaky interior, and a lemon garlic butter baste that finishes the whole thing in 90 seconds. This is the salmon recipe that makes cooking fish on a flat top look completely effortless and taste like a restaurant did it.

Cook Mode

Ingredients

Salmon

4 skin-on salmon fillets (approximately 180g each)
2 tablespoons neutral oil
Flaky sea salt
Coarse black pepper

Lemon Garlic Butter

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Small handful fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Pinch of chili flakes (optional)

To Serve

Lemon wedges
Extra fresh parsley
Flaky sea salt

Directions

Remove the salmon from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking. Pat each fillet completely dry with paper towels on both sides, including the skin. Dry fish sears well. Wet fish steams.
Season the flesh side generously with flaky salt and coarse black pepper. Leave the skin side unseasoned for now. Salt draws moisture out and you want the skin as dry as possible before it hits the steel.
Heat the Elite Griddle to medium-high on the primary cooking zone. Add a thin film of neutral oil and allow it to come fully to temperature, a drop of water should evaporate almost instantly. A properly heated surface helps prevent sticking.
Place the salmon fillets skin-side down on the griddle. Press each fillet gently but firmly with a spatula for 10 seconds to ensure full contact between the skin and the steel. This stops the fillet curling away from the surface as the skin contracts from the heat.
Leave completely alone for 4–5 minutes. Do not move, press, or check the fillets. The skin is crisping against the steel and any interference breaks the crust you're building. The fillet is ready to flip when the flesh has turned from translucent to opaque approximately two thirds of the way up the side.
While the salmon cooks skin-side down, make the lemon garlic butter. Add butter to a low heat zone of the griddle. Once melted and foaming, add the grated garlic. Cook for 60 seconds until fragrant. Add the lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine. The butter will bubble from the acid. Add chili flakes if using. Keep warm on the low zone.
Flip the salmon once. The flesh side needs only 60–90 seconds depending on thickness and your preferred doneness. Spoon the lemon garlic butter over each fillet continuously for the entire time it's flesh-side down. The butter bastes the fish and the garlic catches slightly against the hot steel.
Remove from the griddle when the internal temperature reads 52°C (125°F) for medium, slightly translucent at the very center. For well done, cook to 60°C (140°F). Rest on a board for 2 minutes.
Finish with fresh parsley, a final pinch of flaky salt, and a wedge of lemon squeezed directly over the top at the table. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Note

Skin-on fillets are best for this recipe. The skin acts as a natural barrier between the delicate flesh and the direct heat of the griddle. It protects the fish from overcooking and produces the crispy texture that makes this dish what it is. Skinless fillets are significantly harder to cook on a flat top without breaking apart.
The dry surface is non-negotiable. Pat the fillets dry immediately before they go on the griddle.
Medium doneness at 52°C produces salmon that is still slightly translucent at the center Fully cooked salmon is at 60°C+.
The lemon garlic butter can be made ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently on a low zone before basting.
This recipe is part of the How to Cook Salmon on an Outdoor Griddle guide.