Lemon Butter Salmon With Dill

By Genevieve Ko

Updated September 4, 2025

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
35 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(1,346)
Comments
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Glossed with a tangy blend of honey and lemon, this salmon caramelizes around the edges while staying juicy and tender. Dill, lots of it, brings freshness, green as cut grass. Wild salmon works especially well here because the butter in the sauce gives the lean fish richness. (Fatty farmed salmon will simply taste even richer, not a bad thing at all.) Quick-pickled cucumbers and mustard seeds offer a cool, crunchy pop to this dish, but the salmon is also tasty on its own. Serve this with rice, potatoes or a tray of asparagus roasted alongside the salmon.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 1 whole (2 to 2 ½-pound) salmon fillet

  • Salt and black pepper

  • ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon honey

  • 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

  • 1 lemon

  • 3 Persian (baby) cucumbers, scrubbed and thinly sliced

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus fronds for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

17 grams carbs; 42 milligrams cholesterol; 219 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 465 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the salmon on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan and sprinkle all over with salt (see Tip). If you'd like, refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour (or up to 4 hours) to draw out excess moisture and intensify its savoriness.

  2. Step 2

    Combine 1 tablespoon honey, the vinegar, mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Zest the lemon over the mixture and whisk until well combined. Add the cucumbers and stir to coat well. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve (up to 4 hours).

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees about half an hour before you’re ready to serve. If you've refrigerated the salmon, remove it from the refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels. Wipe away any excess liquid from the pan as well.

  4. Step 4

    Squeeze the juice from the zested lemon and whisk with the butter, dill and remaining ¼ cup honey until well blended. Season the salmon generously with black pepper, then spoon the lemon-butter sauce on top.

  5. Step 5

    Roast until a thin paring knife inserted into the thickest part slides in easily and comes out quite warm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Spoon any sauce around the pan over the fish, which will continue to heat through just past medium-rare.

  6. Step 6

    Sprinkle with dill fronds and serve with the pickled cucumbers.

Tip

  • Because the same weight of a salmon fillet comes in a range of dimensions, there isn’t a specific amount of salt called for here. Instead, cover the entire surface evenly. If you’re using a light, flaky kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal, which is less salty, be a bit more generous with your sprinkle, coating the fish more densely. For all other types of salt that are saltier — coarse kosher salt, any grind of sea salt, and fine table salt — season more sparingly while still covering the fillet.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,346 user ratings
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Comments

Mama Liz

This was delicious! My only complaint was that the sauce was too sweet for my taste; next time I will cut the honey in half and add a salty element, perhaps miso? The cucumbers, however, were perfect. My husband and I cleaned our plates! Served with asparagus, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, then roasted along with the salmon.

JimP

Thermoworks says: "The USDA says that salmon needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 140°F (60°C) for food safety. If you have any immunity issues, that’s a good idea, but for the tastiest salmon, most chefs call for a pull temp of 125°F (52°C). "

Henry Graves

I cooked this late on a Friday night for my 35 week pregnant wife. To call it a rapturous experience for her would be an understatement. After scarfing down this Succulent Salmon dish, as well as some buttery rice that I served on the side, the young woman recounted that “her perception of time was altered, 5 minutes could have been an hour, an hour could have been 5 minutes. My mind was consumed with salmon.” She was completely incoherent for a good half hour, consumed as she was with gluttony for the flaky, rich flesh of the noble fish. I thought it was pretty good, I put less honey in the glaze than was called for.

CLB

@James Alb Cilantro lime rice sounds perfect!

CLB

Excellent recipe. I substituted maple syrup for honey, a bit less than the recipe called for. Outstanding!

Denise Arnold

Marinated cucumbers were delicious. Used a different marinade for the fish.

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