Pan-Roasted Swordfish Steak was always a big hit in my restaurant days and I always found different ways to serve this delicious sportfish.
My ginger garlic topping is as flavorful as it is aromatic, and I could count on orders coming in when this dish was served to a nearby table.
One of my latest requests was what to do with swordfish? Swordfish can be a disaster if overcooked and is really a fairly bland fish (if it’s fresh), so you can have fun adding in very flavorful ingredients. Marinating is always an option, but it takes a little more thought and time.
I always have friends ask me, what’s the best way to cook fish? While my favorite way is the simplicity of Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice, there are times that I add additional flavors to spice things up a bit! After all, Variety is the Spice of Life.
What Ingredients do I need to make Pan Roasted Swordfish?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Pan-Roasted Swordfish with Compound Butter. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
You only need a few ingredients to make this delicious swordfish steak. Butter, fresh Italian parsley, garlic, ginger, lemon peel, red pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and of course swordfish steaks.
How do I make Compound Butter?
Before you start cooking the swordfish, prepare the compound butter you’ll be using at the end of the preparation.
Compound butter is made by mixing additional elements, such as herbs, spices or aromatic liquids, into softened butter. For my compound butter, I used minced garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, chopped Italian parsley, grated lemon peel, and freshly grated ginger.
You can easily swap out ingredients to change up the compound butter, make it your own and have fun experimenting with the flavors.
Can I save compound butter for later use?
Yes, you can. One of the ways to save compound butter to use in other recipes is by reforming the butter into logs using plastic wrap or parchment paper. That way you can store it until needed. You can also place it into serving crocks for table use.
Remember recipes are guidelines. Add your favorite flavors to make your signature compound butter. Have fun and experiment with the flavors.
**Compound butter can be kept in the refrigerator for up 5 days. Compound butter can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.
What are Compound Butters good for?
Using compound butter is a great way to spice things up with your cooking. You can use compound butter on fish, chicken, pork, or beef, adding another layer of flavor to your dish.
Compound butter is also a wonderful addition to vegetables, rice, noodles and they taste great on bread.
How do I make Pan Roasted Swordfish Steak?
Now it’s time to get the Swordfish ready. Rinse and pat dry the swordfish with paper towels. Salt the swordfish generously using your favorite sea salt (kosher salt can also be used).
- Place an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and when hot add one tablespoon of olive oil and the swordfish, salted side down. Sear the swordfish for 1-2 minutes or until the seared swordfish has a nice color.
- Turn the swordfish over, and drain out any excess oil from the pan. Carefully add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and place the pan in a preheated 400-degree oven.
**Roast the swordfish until just cooked through, about 6-8 minutes or until desired doneness.
How do I know if the swordfish is thoroughly cooked?
The easiest way to tell if the swordfish is done is by using an instant-read thermometer. The temperature should read 130°F for medium, 135°F for medium-well or 140 to 145°F for well-done.
Another way to tell if your swordfish is thoroughly cooked is by inserting the tines of a fork into the thickest portion of the swordfish at a 45° angle. Gently twist the fork and pull up some of the fish. If it flakes easily, without resistance, the fish is done.
- Transfer the seared swordfish to a serving dish. I like serving my swordfish with wilted spinach, but feel free to use your vegetable or grain.
- Add seasoned butter mixture to the same skillet. Allow it to cook slightly over medium-high heat until melted and bubbling (1-2 minutes).
Spoon the seasoned butter over top of the cooked swordfish and serve with your favorite side dishes. My Pan-roasted swordfish is seared in a pan and finished in the oven just like we did in the restaurant!
*You can do this fish in the oven for the entire cooking process, but I do like to sear the swordfish before finishing in the oven. You can also add the butter directly to swordfish before it goes in the oven instead of cooking the compound butter in a pan.
**This swordfish can also be prepared on the gas grill. Use a saute pan on the grill to cook the topping and add the grilled swordfish to the pan to serve.
What other fish can I use instead of Swordfish?
Compound butter is a wonderful way to enhance any fish that may be on the drier side. Tuna, shark, mahi-mahi, and red snapper are also good choices. But truth be told compound butter is a delicious way to dress up your favorite fish. My wife loves it with flounder.
Who’s ready for dinner? My pan-roasted swordfish is perfect for date night or entertaining.
Recipe FAQ’s
Overcooking any fish is an easy way to ruin it. Swordfish is not as forgiving as salmon, so it’s important to cook swordfish to medium well, cooked to the point where it is just cooked through but still remains juicy.
Swordfish is an excellent source of selenium, a micronutrient that offers cancer-fighting and heart health benefits. It’s protein-rich and loaded with niacin, vitamin B12, zinc and Omega-3. It’s also low in fat and calories which makes swordfish a guilt-free choice. when it comes to seafood.
My thoughts are a quick rinse for any fish under cold running water is always a good thing to do. Pat the rinse fillet dry with paper towels before seasoning and cooking.
More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love!
Ginger-Garlic Swordfish
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger grated
- ⅕ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon lemon peel grated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces swordfish fillets should be 6-7 ounces each
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl blend together the butter, parsley, garlic, ginger, red pepper and lemon peel.
- Season the swordfish to taste with sea salt.
- Place an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and when hot add one tablespoon of olive oil and the swordfish, salted side down.
- Pan sear the swordfish for 1-2 minutes or until it has a nice color.
- Turn the swordfish over, and drain out any excess oil from the pan. Carefully add a few tablespoons of water to the pan and place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven
- Roast the swordfish until just cooked through, about 6-8 minutes or until desired doneness.
- Transfer swordfish to a serving dish
- Add seasoned butter mixture to the same skillet. Allow it to cook slightly over medium-high heat until melted and bubbling (1-2 minutes).
- Pour butter sauce over swordfish and serve with your favorite side dishes
Anna Lynn
Quick, easy and delicious! My teenagers loved it. I substituted cilantro for the parsley only because I didn’t want to go to the market to get parsley, and it tasted great also.
Ania
Hi, this looks wonderful! Can I ask – sorry probably really daft question – when you say ‘add the butter to the same skillet’ – does this mean you take the skillet with the fish out of the oven once done, put it back on the stove and add the butter to it, with fish still in the pan – or – do you take the fish out of the pan before doing the butter heating till melted and bubbling bit and then pour butter over the fish? (Don’t want to ruin what looks a scrummy feast!)
Chef Dennis Littley
take fish out of the pan first so it doesn’t continue cooking. Heat the seasoned butter, pour it over the fish and enjoy!
Alan Babbitt
Very easy and very tasty. As always, the quality and freshness of the fish is paramount, so it’s worthwhile to splurge and get the best fish you can from a source you trust. This recipe gives a subtle seasoning and allows the flavor of the fish to shine. I paired this with roasted smashed Yukon gold potatoes and steamed broccoli that was stirred briefly in the last bit of sauce left in the pan after the fish was removed and dressed. Outstanding!
Randall Morrison
One trick I learned with cooking Swordfish is you need to marinate the fish in the fridge for 3 or 4+ hours. I use Almond milk. It provides a creamy texture to the Swordfish and the fish takes on hints of the Almond milk flavoring.
After I do the marinating I rinse off the fish and then follow Dennis’s recipe. My only change to this is I add fresh lemon juice in the iron skillet while it’s searing and finish it off after I have added the compound butter with a drizzle of lemon juice.
David K
Most swordfish I’ve eaten were dry and overcooked–I thought it was a fish I didn’t like. This delightful and very easy recipe showed me that, no, it’s easy to cook them so they’re moist, tender, and flavorful. Next time I might use a bit more ginger in the butter–with the other flavors, it got a little lost.
Roberta Herman
Loved the recipe
Daddy cooks
You the fucking man Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley
thank you!
Diane L Yarid
My new favorite for swordfish. Delicious! Had a friend over who had never tried swordfish, he was blown away by the flavor! So easy to make! Thank you Chef Dennis!
Georgia
Wonderful flavor!!!
Natassa
Amazing recipe. I just made it, so juicy and tender. Thank you chef 🌷
Kim Hale
Absolutely love this recipe! Have used it a lot! I just noticed the red pepper though. Is that chilli pepper or normal red pepper? Because I have been using normal pepper. Would hate to think I’ve missed out on chilli! Thanks chef !
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Kim
it is crushed red pepper, but you could use red bell pepper. Now that you know how to make this kind of topping, you can adapt it with favorite seasonings, add heat if you like and even use it on other seafood, chicken, beef or pork.
Shona
Was a perfect recipe for my MIL’s first introduction to swordfish! I grated the garlic because I prefer the texture and the flavor distribution of grated vs. chopped, and doubled the compound butter because my swordfish steaks were HUGE., but otherwise followed the recipe. DELICIOUS!!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Shona, and adapting the recipe to better suit your needs is what cooking is all about!
Bruce Babbitt
Best swordfish recipe I’ve tried in quite a while.
Nancy Quinn
I found your recipe for Ginger-Garlic pan roasted swordfish while randomly looking for an easy recipe for swordfish. I was drawn to your recipe first because of your name “Dennis” and then because of the simplicity of the recipe. My family was extremely pleased with how the swordfish turned out. It was very tasty!!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear that Nancy. Thank you for the great review and I hope you find more recipes on my blog to try for your family!
Nancy
This was both easy and incredibly delicious. And it is company worthy. My new favorite swordfish recipe. Didn’t bother putting it in the oven; I just cooked it on the stove until is was cooked through (around 130 degrees).
Katie
I cooked swordfish for the first time tonight and my family really enjoyed it! My middle son had asked for it and when I searched for a recipe I found this one and the butter sounded SO good, I just HAD to try it. Even my youngest son, who never enjoys eating fish enjoyed this. Thank for sharing it!!
Susan E Howe
This recipe is absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Trish
My first time making one of your recipes and my family loved it!!! The swordfish was perfectly cooked and the sauce gave it a restaurant quality flavor! Really amazing. Thank you Chef Dennis.
Wanda McHenry
Absolutely delicious!
Annette
This recipe was delicious. We grilled the swordfish and topped it with the melted ginger garlic butter. Scrumptious!