This Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon recipe is delicious for a summer meal, with dinner on the table in fifteen minutes!

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

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Enjoy this week of summer, Friends! The days are long and beautiful, and should be celebrated with good friends and good food! Our family enjoy this Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon recipe this past week—the perfect summer meal!

Unless it’s a holiday that forces us to slow down, even on the weekends we tend to be so busy, from the second our antsy toes slap the ground in the morning, to that moment when we fall like timber into beds at night. Which reminds me of a book that my husband asked me to read years ago (probably 20 years ago, we’ve been married 26 now), when my life was spinning out of control.

The booklet was called Tyranny of the Urgent, written by Charles Hummel. A busy soccer mom of 3, I was scheduled to the max (to say the least), and needed some help with prioritizing my schedule. It actually became a source of contention in our marriage because being social, I had a hard time saying no. I finally learned to take things off my plate that were less important (that I thought were urgent), and focus on more important things (marriage, family, finances, spiritual matters, neighbors).

Urgent vs. important is still a tug-o-war, and I bet it is with you as well.

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

As we get older, we learn to prioritize and manage our schedules differently! Of course the urgent matters look different now that my kids are all in their 20’s, a completely different season of life for us.

Right now, high priority for our family this summer has been to eat dinner together every night. My day is more manageable with grown kids.

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

Abby’s been cooking up a storm (I love to watch my daughter in the kitchen), and this time she made this delicious Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon.

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

The skin is crispy and sooooo good.

A delightful summer meal. I get a lot of emails from readers asking where we buy our salmon.

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

Mostly we buy fresh salmon at Costco. Frozen just isn’t as good (unless it’s my Dad’s salmon that he caught on the Rogue River – wink, wink).

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

And have you tried my Baked Pistachio Lemon Salmon recipe (you can watch the video!)

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

Today I’m sharing 2 tips to help start your day!

1. Set a timer for 2-5 minutes in the morning, to dream, wish, give thanks, and pray.
2. If you have a nearby park bench (we’ve found 3 so far since moving here), go there. Silence your phone, and be present in the moment at least once during the day.

Being more present with our beautiful surroundings here in central Oregon, I’ve been able to set priorities and see things more clearly, with some great surprises.

Our mountain home, surrounded by lodge pole and ponderosa pine, became a haven for weekend guests eager to flee city life for a few days, and share some great meals around the table.

I wouldn’t trade mealtime for anything. It’s a priority, a very important season in our life, as we spend time with our kids and get to know them more as adults.

Bye-bye tyranny of the urgent! You are not going to WIN over mealtime!

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

More salmon recipes: Honey Lime Salmon Tacos, Sweet & Spicy Orange Salmon, Salmon Spring Rolls Recipe, Skinnytaste’s Slow Cooker Poached Salmon.

Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon
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Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon

Cook 2 or 4 fillets at a time. We use two cast iron skillets to cook four fillets at a time—two in each pan—and serve as quickly as possible.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 8
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Ingredients
 

  • 8 5 oz. salmon fillets, 40 oz
  • Salt & pepper
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 large sprig of fresh thyme
  • Fresh thyme
  • Fresh lemon

Instructions
 

  • Wash and dry fillets. Salt and pepper each side.
  • Heat skillet on high. When hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Lay fish skin side down. With spatula, press fish into pan for 15-20 seconds, to sear bottom and avoid edge curling.
  • Reduce heat to medium/low and allow fillets to cook for 2-4 minutes (depending on thickness of fillet), letting the edges caramelize. Flip fillets, add 2 Tbsp butter and 1 sprig of thyme. Allow butter to melt, but not burn. Tilt pan and spoon butter onto fillets. Continue cooking and basting fillets with butter for 1-2 minutes. Remove fillets when fully cooked, and garnish with fresh thyme and fresh  lemon juice.
  • The perfectly crispy skin complements the tender fillet perfectly.
  • Remove excess oil before cooking next pair of fillets.
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Pan Seared Lemon Thyme Wild Salmon