Name: Easy Sauteed Rockfish with Lemon Caper Butter
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 12 oz rockfish fillets (or about 2 fillets); salt to taste (for me this is 1/3 tsp of pink salt); 3 tsp olive oil (extra virgin or regular) (separated into 2 tsp and 1 tsp); 2 Tb capers (roughly chopped); 3 Tb butter, cold (or non-hydrogenated margarine); 1/2 tsp lemon zest; 1 Tb lemon juice; 1 Tb chopped parsley; lemon wedges; freshly ground black pepper

This simple but classic recipe for rockfish is sure to please most palates with its combination of lemon juice, capers, and fresh parsley swirled into a creamy butter sauce. Make from start to finish within 15 minutes.

filet of sauteed rockfish with a side of roasted potatoes on a white plate

If you need a quick, high protein and inexpensive meal, this recipe definitely checks all boxes. It does not use flour to coat fish, making it gluten free, and it can be made dairy free by using non-hydrogenated margarine.

Keep the meal low carb and serve with a dairy free salad such as fig and beet salad, rainbow salmon salad, or strawberry salmon salad.

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Ingredients
What is rockfish?
Instructions
Best skillet for fish
Top Tips
Recipe

Ingredients

These are the classic ingredients for searing fish or even chicken. What makes this recipe a little bit different is the combination of butter and olive oil and the healthy dose of capers that get chopped into a butter sauce.

Rockfish - Rockfish are a small, firm filet white fish found in the Pacific Ocean.
- Substitute with snapper, trout, halibut, ling cod, or other mild white fish.
Lemon - An unwaxed lemon is preferred to obtain the lemon zest with a microplane grater or very fine holes from a box grater.
Capers - These come packed in water or salt. Rinse well, if they are packed with salt.

See recipe card for quantities.

filet of sauteed rockfish with a side of roasted potatoes on a white round plate

What is rockfish?

Rockfish are a group of over 100 species found mostly in the Pacific Ocean, known for their variety of sizes, colors, and markings.
Their coloration ranges from bright reds, oranges, and yellows to more subdued blacks and grays, depending on the species.
They have distinctive features such as large eyes, a jutting lower jaw, a large mouth, and spiny dorsal fins.
They typically inhabit rocky reefs or seafloors and can be found both near the bottom (demersal) or schooling higher in the water.
Rockfish are sometimes called “Pacific snapper” in markets, but they are not true snappers.

Instructions

Unlike a 'picatta' preparation, this recipe does not involve coating the fish in flour first, which helps thicken the lemon gravy pan sauce. However, the ingredients and technique are similar, sans the flour.

2 raw filets of rockfish in a black nonstick pan

Step 1: Saute the rockfish filets skin side up in a hot, preferably nonstick pan.

2 filets of sauteed rockfish in a black nonstick pan

Step 2: The filets are fairly thin, so it should take just about 3 minutes per side to cook.

Capers and 2 pats of butter in a black nonstick pan

Step 3: In the same pan, fry the capers and swirl in cold butter.

caper butter sauce with parsley in a black nonstick pan

Step 4: Finish the sauce with parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Hint: Use very cold butter. This swirls into the hot pan to make a smooth, creamy butter sauce, rather than a greasy, separated one.

2 filets of sauteed rockfish with caper butter sauce in a black nonstick pan

The rockfish filets I've seen are typically around 6 oz each. Two filets will fit in a 10 inch saute pan. Cook the filets in batches of two or three, if you have more than two filets.

Best skillet for fish

I've used a nonstick skillet in this recipe because it heats up quickly to saute the fish and then cools down quickly so the butter sauce doesn't burn.

If you don't like nonstick surfaces, try these other options:

Carbon steel - This very thin pan that becomes naturally nonstick as you use it, is similar to a wok. You can sear the fish in it, but do not add the lemon juice, since it will react with the surface. Squeeze on the lemon table side instead.
Cast iron - This pan stays hot for a long time, so the butter can burn. Take care to cool down the pan before adding the butter.
Stainless steel - Add more oil when sauteeing the fish as an insurance policy against sticking. Also, wait for the fish to naturally release from the pan. Don't force it, otherwise the filet will break apart.

filet of sauteed rockfish with caper butter sauce on a blue plate with a fork

Top Tips

Roughly 1 lemon will give you ½ teaspoon of lemon zest. ½ a lemon will yield 1 Tb of lemon juice.
I've tried this recipe with both fresh and previously frozen rockfish. Fresh fish is always a little bit juicier, but this sauce makes up for any deficiencies with the copious butter and lemon.
Try this recipe with snapper, trout, ling cod, or halibut.
If you have leftovers, make this creamy rockfish salad.

Recipe