Learn how to make a simple lemon butter sauce that goes great with fresh fish and more. It’s a quick and delicious sauce in 5 minutes or less!
David makes this special sauce to baste fish fillets with when grilling them. Only four ingredients, butter, lemon, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic, make a grilled fish taste like a million dollars! But that’s not all; this basting sauce is universal and can be used on any seafood you’d like to mop it onto. You could use it on rice, pasta, vegetables, chicken, or pork.
This sauce for fish has been around for a long time. When David and I were “courting,” he liked to impress me with his cooking. One night he whipped up a batch of this lemon butter sauce for some grilled rockfish. I grew up on fried fish and had never eaten grilled fish before. When I asked David what he called the sauce, he said he didn’t know.
Turns out, David “stole” this recipe from an old fishing buddy of his. “Al’s Stolen Fish Sauce.” is named after David’s late friend and fishing buddy, Allen.
Over the years, we’ve modified this fish sauce enough that, technically, it’s not Al’s sauce anymore. It’s ours, and we are going to share it with you!
What is Lemon Butter Sauce?
Lemon butter sauce is a lemon and garlic-infused butter that adds delicious flavor to all your fish and seafood dishes. This sauce can be used for basting fish on the grill, in the oven, or on the stovetop. You can use it on rice, pasta, vegetables, chicken, or pork.
You Only Need Four Ingredients! (and Substitutions)
The recipe card at the end of this post provides a detailed list of ingredients.
- Butter: unsalted so you can control the sodium in your dish. But you can use salted butter; adjust the seasoning on your fish.
- Lemon: we use lemon zest and lemon juice to give this sauce freshness and zing. Always use fresh lemon juice!
- Worcestershire Sauce: adds rich umami to the sauce. You can use soy sauce or Asian fish sauce.
- Garlic: Grated garlic adds savoriness to the sauce without a toothy bite.
How to Make Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish?
This simple and delicious sauce comes together quickly! Detailed instructions are provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Combine: Use a whisk to mix the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir well.
- Heat: Do not boil. Only heat until the butter melts and the sauce is thin. It only takes a few minutes.
- Baste: Baste onto fish with a brush while grilling.
Other Uses For Lemon Butter Sauce
- Baste: Baste onto fish and scallops, chicken, or pork.
- Toss: Toss it into rice and pasta.
- Drizzle: Add a drizzle over veggies like asparagus, broccoli, artichokes, potatoes, or green beans.
- Dip: Use as a dipping sauce for shrimp, lobster, chicken, or pork.
Tips for Making this Sauce
- Make the lemon butter sauce before you start cooking the fish. This way, the fish doesn’t overcook or burn while you are making the sauce. If the lemon butter sauce solidifies, warm it back up. It doesn’t take long.
- Discard any unused sauce that has basted fish.
- Store fish sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week in a bowl wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or in a jar with a lid.
- The refrigerated sauce becomes thick. Reheat the sauce in a saucepan over low heat to melt it down, and it becomes thin again.
- This sauce for fish can benefit from fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, fresh dill, or thyme.
FAQ’s
Any white fish you want. We’ve put this one about any fish you can think of. Rockfish, Red Snapper, Grouper, Cod, Halibut, and Swordfish, to name a few.
Yes, you may substitute garlic powder for raw garlic.
Don’t let this thin sauce fool you; it is thin but rich! Use it sparingly.
Yes, we encourage you to do so. Follow the tips above for refrigeration and reheating.
We usually season our fish, so additional salt and black pepper are not needed. Always taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
We love this sauce and know you will too. It is simple goodness!
Making lemon butter sauce for fish? We’d love your feedback. Leave us a comment and a star rating below. We value your opinion and appreciate your time.
See ya on the mountain!
Check out our other sauce recipes HERE!
Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish
Useful Equipment:
- Microplane for zesting lemon
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic grated
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Warm until the butter melts and the sauce is thin.
- Brush the sauce over fish a few times on both sides while cooking on the grill, oven or stovetop.
Notes
- Make the lemon butter sauce before you start cooking the fish. This way, the fish doesn’t overcook or burn while you are making the sauce. If the lemon butter sauce solidifies, warm it back up. It doesn’t take long.
- Discard any unused sauce that has basted fish.
- Store fish sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- The refrigerated sauce becomes thick. Reheat the sauce in a saucepan over low heat to melt it down, and it becomes thin again.
Nutrition
Updated recipe from September 2014.
"Cheffie Cooks" says
Simple, good tasting, loveeeeee Seafood! Yeah Al!!! Cheryl.
"Cheffie Cooks" says
Simple, good tasting, loveeeeee Seafood! Yeah Al!!! Cheryl.
Debbie Spivey says
Simple is right! It enhances the flavors without masking it. Hope you can use this recipe sometime, Cheryl. Have a good day! 🙂
Dana Fashina says
Niiiice!!
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks, Dana!
Dana Fashina says
Yep, I’m really diggin your blog over here.
Dana Fashina says
Niiiice!!
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks, Dana!
Dana Fashina says
Yep, I’m really diggin your blog over here.
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks, Dana! Hope you can find a recipe to try sometime 🙂
David says
That’s the way life works….the sauce is so simple because catching the fish is SO HARD!!!
…says the world’s worst fisherman 🙂
Debbie Spivey says
Lol, David! So true!!
David says
That’s the way life works….the sauce is so simple because catching the fish is SO HARD!!!
…says the world’s worst fisherman 🙂
Debbie Spivey says
Lol, David! So true!!
Al says
Oh, it’s not stolen! Anything as good as this deserves to be circulated!!!!!!!!!!!
Debbie Spivey says
Well that’s good because a few more people have it now. Thanks!
Al says
Oh, it’s not stolen! Anything as good as this deserves to be circulated!!!!!!!!!!!
Debbie Spivey says
Well that’s good because a few more people have it now. Thanks!
Al says
It was first designed to be used with Rock (Striped Bass) because I don’t like baked Rock… The easy fish preparation is the best part. No scaling – just whack his head off, remove guts and split him down the middle. Cook for 5 minutes with the meat side down. Then turn it over to scale side and cook until done, basting with sauce! I always go heavy on the Worchestershire sauce.
Debbie Spivey says
Makes me want fish and it is 5:46 a.m.!
Al says
It was first designed to be used with Rock (Striped Bass) because I don’t like baked Rock… The easy fish preparation is the best part. No scaling – just whack his head off, remove guts and split him down the middle. Cook for 5 minutes with the meat side down. Then turn it over to scale side and cook until done, basting with sauce! I always go heavy on the Worchestershire sauce.
Debbie Spivey says
Makes me want fish and it is 5:46 a.m.!