Lemon Butter Sauce For Fish

Name: Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce; 1 teaspoon lemon zest; ½ cup fresh lemon juice; 1 clove garlic (grated)

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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.

zesting lemon into sauce with microplane

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

What fish do I put the sauce on?

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.

Can I use Garlic Powder?

Yes, you may substitute garlic powder for raw garlic.

Why is this sauce so thin?

Don’t let this thin sauce fool you; it is thin but rich! Use it sparingly.

Can you make this sauce ahead?

Yes, we encourage you to do so. Follow the tips above for refrigeration and reheating.

How come the sauce isn’t seasoned with salt and pepper?

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!

basting lemon butter sauce on grilling fish

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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!

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings

Calories 122kcal

Author David & Debbie Spivey

Useful Equipment:

Microplane for zesting lemon

Ingredients

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

Did you try this recipe? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Give it a star rating and leave a comment below to let us know how it turned out for you. If you’d like, share a photo of your dish on Instagram, don’t forget to mention @TheMountainKitchen or use #TheMountainKitchen!

Updated recipe from September 2014.