Cowboy Butter Baked Salmon
“Cowboy butter salmon! Seasoned baked salmon brushed with a tangy, spicy, addictive butter spread!”
Watch me make this Cowboy Butter Salmon from start to finish!
My husband would probably pass up his favorite Israeli meal of garlic couscous, Israeli salad and rosemary roasted rack of lamb for this cowboy butter salmon. Paired with some roasted potatoes and asparagus, it makes one hearty, flavorful meal. And thank heavens and Moses it’s way easier (and quicker) than a roasted rack of lamb!
Cowboy Butter is the brainchild of The Pioneer Woman. Don’t you just love Ree Drummond and her smiley, happy face? I can’t help but smile when I watch her. She makes a lot of “cowboy friendly” dishes and cowboy butter has become a favorite in our house! I make it a bit differently to suit my families taste buds, but we’re still going to call it cowboy butter because my gosh, I really love the sound of it.
This cowboy butter is garlicky, tangy and spicy! Taste as you go and tweak it to your liking if desired. I decided to leave out the lemon juice that many cowboy butter recipes called for. I wasn’t too fond of how butter and lemon juice separated. Â This butter is so full of herbs and seasonings.
I used dried herbs in this recipe but I’m sure fresh would give it an even bolder flavor! And salmon, bless its heart, needs all the character and boldness it can get, IMO. I’ve had cowboy butter on chicken and steak, but there is just something about it on salmon! It just soaks in all of that buttery goodness and is downright addictive!
Garnish it well and don’t forget to add a side of cowboy butter! You’ll want to slather this butter on with every bite!
Get the Recipe: Cowboy Butter Salmon
Ingredients
- 12 oz wild-caught salmon, room temperature, washed and dried
- olive oil, about 2 teaspoons
SEASONSING MIX
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
COWBOY BUTTER
- 4 tablespoons sweet cream unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons thyme, ground
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil paper. (I used an oiled grill pan)
- In a bowl, combine cowboy butter ingredients.
- Remove about 2 tablespoons of the cowboy butter and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together seasoning mix.
- Place salmon on baking sheet and coat very lightly in olive oil (top and bottom)
- Sprinkle seasoning mix evenly over salmon (top and bottom).
- Pat on half of the reserved cowboy butter.
- Bake salmon on middle rack for 6 minutes (or until halfway done)
- Remove from oven and brush salmon generously with remaining reserved cowboy butter.
- Return to oven and bake for another until the fish flakes very easily with a fork (do not overcook or salmon will be dry. My thin fillets only needed 5 more minutes)
- When fish comes out of the oven, garnish with parsley, paprika, red pepper flakes and fresh lemon zest.
- Serve salmon with the remaining cowboy butter on the side.
Video
Notes
Feel free to double the spice and butter mixture if desired.
Baking times will vary depending on how thick your salmon is. Mine was thin and cooked perfectly in 11 minutes. Perfectly cooked salmon is moist and flakes very easily with a fork.
Can hardly wait to make this!!!!!
This looks so good!! I’m making this recipe today. The video states that you used chives, but I didn’t see it listed in the ingredients. Does your recipe include chives?
Cowboy butter?
I was confused too. She should probably remove the bullet from the word “Cowboy Butter”. I thought it was something sold in stores. I’m going to try this tonight.
I don’t know where they came up with this whole “Cowboy butter” thing, must be the hipsters. Never called it that working as a cowboy.
What it IS called everywhere else in the world is either “Hotel” or “Matre’d” butter.
Hotel butter has been used in restaurants and hotels, etc. for a great many years.
A “Matre’d” is the fancy name for the lead waiter/kitchen and management liaison at a fine restaurant/hotel. Traditionally a he but can be a she, this is the person who would greet and treat you well, make sure your needs were met and act as representative if there was an issue or a complaint to be made. They are not just fancy waiters. They are highly trained people able to handle most any job in the place,
How do I know this silliness? My dad was one, at the fanciest hotel in Toronto. They can prepare certain dishes at your table. It was the hotel business that came up with this special butter/herb and sometimes spice mix to speed tableside preparation by having it premixed and also to accentuate flavors of steak and fish, among other foods, which became a standard in restaurant cooking.
It was common to be able to pick your steak and have it prepared tableside, finished with a nice piece of herby butter. Yum. Then have a flaming desert like cherries jubilee or bananas Foster prepared tableside, as well.
Aahhh… The good old days.
But “cowboy butter?!?” Beats me. LOL
This is a great idea and I’ll definitely be trying this. Looks very easy and a great way to spice up my salmon because I usually eat it pretty plain
Sounds delicious, can’t wait to make it!! ?
Made this for picky family tonight. Usually when I do salmon I just do a brown sugar rub with smoked paprika, salt, and liquid smoke. Half enjoy, the other half turn their noses up. The cowboy butter recipe made fans out of everyone. Thank you!