We love catching salmon each year. Making a fresh lemon dill sauce is a great way to make a one-pot dinner of Dutch Oven Salmon!
Are you always looking for new ways to serve up fish? I know sometimes kids get tired of trying new things - but I love how healthy salmon is for us, especially when they've caught it themselves!
Adding a sauce is a great way to get kids cooking because they can easily whisk it up for you and pour it on. Plus a creamy sauce helps them eat up whatever is under it! So grab that fresh dill from your garden and get cooking.
Serve this up with a fresh Garden Salad - it's so easy to go gather the ingredients while the fish is in the oven. I'm still playing around with our bread machine, but I also still love a good Rustic Sourdough Loaf, which will let you get every last drop of sauce from your plate.
Key Ingredients
Salmon - Sometimes we leave the skin on when processing, sometimes not. But I think it helps the fish hold together while cooking, and of course there's bonus nutrition in it!
Onions and garlic - This is a great base for our fish to cook over, and it adds a ton of flavour as well! They cook down so soft that even your onion haters might be won over.
Dairy - Heavy cream is less likely to curdle due to the high fat content, so I combine it with sour cream for a really sturdy sauce base.
Seasonings - Dill and lemon go together like PB+J, so stir those on into the cream sauce.
How to Make Lemon Dill Salmon
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Set the onions and garlic to sauté in butter while you prep the sauce.
Step 2: Prepare the lemon and dice up fresh dill.
Step 3: Remove the pot from the heat and lay the salmon over the onions.
Step 4: Whisk up the sauce and pour it right on top of the fish.
Step 5: Bake until done!
Tips and Tricks
- Always zest your lemon before juicing so you have something to hold on to.
- Fresh dill has the best flavour, but if you don't have any then dried works just fine.
- Don't worry if the sauce curdles ever so slightly. It still tastes great!
FAQs
I don't think you'll be having leftovers as it's so darn good! I don't recommend storing leftovers though, because reheated fish just never smells good. You also definitely risk curdling the sauce when it is reheated.
No need to have a unitasker in your drawer like a zester. There are so many great options! A microplane is the perfect tool to have on hand for zesting fruit. You can also use the very small "star-like" side of your box grater. Then go ahead and juice it with a reamer or the other types that squeeze it for you.
The best way is when it flakes under the pressure of a fork. It also will have turned opaque all the way through. The USDA advises 145°F as the internal temperature, but that will often result in a very dry texture. Especially if you are using wild salmon and you're sure of how it was handled, removing from the oven at a 125°F internal temperature is perfectly safe. It will also rise a bit more from residual cooking while you let it rest as you set the table and fill water glasses.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
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Dutch Oven Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh salmon fillets skin on or off
- 1 large white onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sour cream or plain yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill or 1 tablespoon dry
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Slice onion and dice garlic finely and add to the Dutch oven with butter, on medium heat, and add a pinch of salt and dash of pepper. Sauté until onions and garlic are tender and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Zest and juice lemon. Finely chop dill.
- Take Dutch oven off the heat, and add your salmon fillets on top of the onions. Add a dash of pepper and sprinkle salt over fish.
- Mix dill with cream, sour cream, lemon juice, and zest. Pour over the fish.
- Place the lid on Dutch oven and bake for 10-15 minutes (depends on fillet thickness) until internal temperature of fish is 120-125°F.
- Gently scoop salmon out of Dutch oven into a serving dish.
- Garnish with lemon slices and some reserved dill.
Notes
- No need to cut the salmon in smaller fillets before cooking.
- Always use a thermometer to check for doneness.
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