About this Dish
Australia's most prized fish — a large, silver-scaled freshwater and estuarine fish found across northern Australia and Southeast Asia. Mild, sweet and buttery in flavour with large, moist flakes. Grilled, pan-fried or baked, barramundi is the fish that defines Australian coastal cooking. Indigenous Australians have fished barramundi for thousands of years.
IngredientsServes 4
🐟Barramundi fillets, 4 x 180g skin-on
🍋Lemon, 1 zested and sliced into rounds
🧄Garlic cloves, 3 minced
🌿Fresh dill, small bunch roughly chopped
🧈Unsalted butter, 60g
🫒Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
🧂Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to season
🌶️Dried chilli flakes, 1/2 teaspoon
🥗Baby capers, 1 tablespoon rinsed
Method
1
Pat the barramundi fillets completely dry with paper towel — this is the key to getting crispy skin. Score the skin side lightly with a sharp knife two or three times, then season generously with sea salt and cracked black pepper on both sides.2
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the fillets skin-side down and press each one firmly with a spatula for the first 30 seconds to stop the skin from curling up.3
Cook the fillets skin-side down for 4–5 minutes without moving them, until the skin is deeply golden and crispy and the flesh has turned opaque about two-thirds of the way up the sides. Flip carefully and cook for just 1–2 minutes on the flesh side — barramundi overcooks quickly so trust the timing.4
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, garlic and chilli flakes to the pan. As the butter melts and foams, tilt the pan slightly and spoon the fragrant buttery juices continuously over the fillets for about a minute.5
Scatter in the capers and lemon zest, give the pan a gentle swirl, then squeeze half the lemon over everything. The sauce will sizzle and smell incredible.6
Remove the fillets from the pan and rest them skin-side up for 2 minutes so the skin stays crispy. Spoon all the pan juices and capers over the top, scatter with fresh dill, and serve with lemon rounds on the side alongside steamed rice or crusty bread to soak up the butter sauce.User Reviews
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