Plus, my very simple tips for cooking salmon on the BBQ – no more burnt salmon, and how to stop salmon from sticking to the grill!
Grilled Salmon
I feel like a lot of people are intimidated at the thought of cooking salmon on the BBQ. Fear of it sticking to the grill, of flaking into bits when handling it. Or of the sugar in marinades causing it to burn into a black bitter mess. Ditch the fear! Cooking salmon on the BBQ is easy when you know a couple of simple tips that make all the difference. With THIS grilled salmon recipe, your salmon will be: ✅ caramelised but not burnt on the outside ✅ it won’t stick to the grill ✅ cooked to juicy perfection on the inside ✅ has extra insurance from a marinade just in case you cook it a bit over 😇 You’ll love how the Salmon Marinade is also used to baste the salmon AND as a sauce for serving! (PS I totally manufactured the flare up you see below. Just cause I thought it looked cool! 😂)
Secrets to the best Grilled Salmon ever!
So here are my tips for perfect grilled salmon.
Use skin on salmon fillets. The skin holds the salmon together much better when handling on the grill. Serve the salmon with the skin peeled off, or serve as is and let people decide for themselves! Drain excess marinade off the flesh side – set it aside for 10 minutes or so to really make the marinade drip off. (Skin side doesn’t matter as much because it’s not as fragile). This tip is especially relevant when you have sugar in the marinade. Drizzle with oil just before cooking. 🌟Key tip!🌟 Brush grills generously with oil before heating BBQ Grill salmon on medium – or even medium low, if you know your BBQ is very strong. It is safer to cook on a lower rather than higher temperature. You can always cook for longer – but can’t undo a burnt mess! 🌟Key tip!🌟 Put the flesh side down first – because you just oiled it, and it’s the more fragile side so it’s just safer to cook that side perfectly first. The skin side is hardier and can take longer cooking if needed. Plus, it’s a general rule to cook the presentation side first. Do not move the salmon once you put it on the grill.🌟Key tip!🌟 It will initially stick to the grills, then it will release once cooked (and don’t forget, we have extra insurance from oiling the flesh!)
If you’re a pro griller, you might feel confident enough to skip some of these. But for ordinary folk like myself you don’t want to risk the salmon, follow these for grilled salmon success every. Single. Time!!
How you know the salmon is cooked
The Salmon Marinade
And here’s what goes in the Salmon Marinade. It adds a savoury-sweet-garlic flavour to the salmon and makes it beautifully caramelised. Soy sauce is the key ingredient here. Because it’s salty, it acts as the brine, injecting flavour and juiciness into the salmon flesh. It does not make the Salmon taste Asiany! Plenty of subs available, I’ve listed them in the recipe card.
What to serve with Grilled Salmon
If I’m cooking something non-Asian on the BBQ, it’s pretty much inevitable that grilled corn makes an appearance too. Add a garden salad tossed with French Vinaigrette, Italian Dressing or a cooling German Cucumber Salad, plus some crusty bread rolls for a perfect warm weather BBQ dinner. Or try one of these big-batch sides that keep great for days and days (and take some of the leftovers to work!):
Macaroni Salad Bacon Potato Salad with a creamy mayo dressing Lemon Potato Salad (no mayo!) Coleslaw – or try this no mayo Cabbage Salad (I make this a LOT!) Broccoli Salad with Lighter Creamy Dressing A big juicy Greek Salad – or try this Greek Lemon Orzo Salad (Risoni)
Please try to ignore the top left corner of the salmon in the photo below. You know full well I went to eat the salmon before I finished taking all the photos I needed. I suppose my limited Photoshop skills are sufficient enough to have patched that up. But then I decided to leave it so I could sign off with this vision: that split second when my mouth was wide open and the fork was just about to go in, when I realised that I’d forgotten to take the photo below. Putting the fork down in a huff, pushing the piece of salmon back into place, climbing a little ladder, taking this photo, then 2 seconds later, that piece was gone. (And minutes later, so was that whole piece of salmon) 😂 ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More great things to grill
Life of Dozer
This weekend: Me – lying on the sun lounge, soaking up the warm sun. Dozer – standing over me, not only blocking the sun but also showering me with his slobber. Eeewww! Go away Dozer, leave me alone!
