Grilling salmon (other methods also allowed for discussion) - your go-to recipes and techniques

Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
I am definitely a meat fisherman.. I think that's becoming pretty well-known around these parts. I have two large freezers in the garage that get loaded with salmon, albacore, halibut, and various other species I harvest through the year. I tend to end up with quite a lot of salmon as one Columbia chinook goes a long ways, and I usually end up with a few. But the bulk of my salmon meat tends to come from the October hatchery coho season on the Columbia where I really stack them up.

I had a very good year last year. Noticing I still have a significant amount to make use of before the next season starts. I always find ways to use 100% of what goes in my freezer, but always looking for inspiration. Especially since one of the ways I may make use of some of these hatchery coho is to take some to the Swap & Shop here in about 2-ish weeks.

Personally, I'm a charcoal grill maximalist. I tend to steer away from the popular methods I see most people using: We've owned a pellet grill which we got rid of after about 6mo, and I literally gave away our gas grill because I found it boring. I just find charcoal to take it to another level, and I don't find it to be particularly inconvenient.

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(some halibut fillets with some chinook tail fillet)

My charcoal grill method

I get the briquettes going in the chimney (no lighter fluid here). Dump out and let them breathe/heat up for a bit. I tend to wait on covering them up as that stops the heating.

Meat prep: I like to rub in some umami sea salt (I mix shitake mushroom powder with sea salt that I keep in a mason jar), then baste with a thin layer of mayo. The mayo typically mostly runs off, but it really helps keep the outer layers from drying out. But that's usually it. I don't do a whole bunch of anything else as a well-cared for piece of fish shouldn't need much.

I like a relatively hot grill - start with skin side up to get the meat side started. After a couple minutes, flip over, cover, and let it cook for a few minutes. Covering up will often bring up some extra smoke from the briquettes for that added "something" you can't get on gas.

Now the part most seem to mess up: DON'T OVERCOOK IT! I pull it off when I do a fork test and the thickest part is ALMOST cooked. Take it off the heat at that point and let it rest: Under foil if you prefer, for about 5mins. This is when the cooking finishes. Leaving it to cook all the way through on the grill will leave you with a tougher, dryer, less flavorful chunk of salmon (this is even more true for something like halibut).


That's my base method. Interested to see what others do, even if it goes against my way of thinking ;)
 
Olive oil with salt and pepper for pretty much every type of fish I grill. Lower heat, low and slow. I like to taste the flavor of the fish and not enhance it with lots of seasonings, with one exception. Grilled halibut with McCormick's lemon pepper seasoning just goes together (tip from a chef friend).
 
100% agree on the don’t overcook it. I once went to a party where the host cooked a whole sockeye wrapped in foil on the grill for over an hour. Driest, worst salmon I’ve ever attempted to eat. Cardboard would have had more moisture and flavor.
SF
 
I use charcoal as well. I prefer it because there are less flair ups when cooking fatty meats. I also don't find it inconvenient. When starting coals in the chimey I use to use newspaper but it's rare that we have it around anymore since no one prints newspapers anymore. I often use cotton balls impregnated with petroleum jelly or alchohol in the chimney. I find that his does not impart any flavor into the coals like starter fluid does. It's also far more dependable in starting the coals on windy days than paper.

As far as recipe's go, I will sometimes use just salt and pepper on good salmon or I will use any number of rubs that I have around.

For subpar, old or poorly packaged frozen salmon, I have found that the following to be a way to make it pretty good:

Butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper
red pepper flakes, garlic powder or any other spices that you would like

Season the fish, put the pats of butter on the middle of the fillet, throw brown sugar over it. The butter will melt and much of the brown sugar will run off with it. There is something about the butter and brown sugar that really helps with fish that otherwise should be smoked. In some ways using it makes the fish much like smoked salmon due to the sweetness.

I cook the fish skin down without flipping it on indirect heat until cooked but not overcooked. Smaller fillets (sokeye/small coho) can be cooked on direct heat.

You can also use this recipe on good, fresh salmon. People who are otherwise ambivalent salmon consumers have asked me to make it and even brought salmon over. It's also a pretty good recipe for salt water slimers every other year. I got the recipe years ago from the Hannegan Fish Market and the brown sugar method was my introduction to grilled salmon.
 
This is from the commercial, banquet world. Your fillet should be skinned. Heat up your flat top griddle or pan, get it good and hot. Sprinkle a fair amount of kosher (thick grained) salt on the pan then a thin skim coat of oil. Place filet skin side down and sear on a crust. Flip over and do the other side. You’re not trying to fully cook it, just putting a crunchy crust on it. Remove and hold until needed. To finish, place on a sheet pan and into a 425 degree oven until your preferred doneness. On removal, place a pat of your favorite seasoned butter (compound butter) on it to melt, as your sauce. I like a butter with sun-dried tomato, garlic, and Italian seasoning, an old Anthony’s style, but just plain butter is fine..

I also just grill it then add the butter most of the time..
 
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Wetswinger said:
This is from the commercial, banquet world. Your fillet should be skinned. Heat up your flat top griddle or pan, get it good and hot. Sprinkle a fair amount of kosher (thick grained) salt on the pan then a thin skim coat of oil. Place filet skin side down and sear on a crust. Flip over and do the other side. You’re not trying to fully cook it, just putting a crunchy crust on it. Remove and hold until needed. To finish, place on a sheet pan and into a 425 degree oven until your preferred doneness. On removal, place a pat of your favorite seasoned butter (compound butter) on it to melt, as your sauce. I like a butter with sun-dried tomato, garlic, and Italian seasoning, an old Anthony’s style, but just plain butter is fine..

I also just grill it then add the butter most of the time..
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When you say it should be skinned, do you mean it should still have the skin, or skin should be removed? At first I thought skin-removed but then you say "skin side down."
 
Evan B said:
When you say it should be skinned, do you mean it should still have the skin, or skin should be removed? At first I thought skin-removed but then you say "skin side down."
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Skin removed. In culinary language, the the skin side is just that, the side the skin is or was on. Same with poultry..
 
Salmon: Sea salt, pepper, olive oil, diced garlic rubbed on fillet

Skin side down. Placed on grilling foil. Cover with another piece of foil to seal in moisture.

Add moist apple or cherry wood chips to the charcoal coals for a little smoke. Cover and cook until fillet just begins to harden or split in the thinner section. Never over cook fish!

Halibut need more flavor in an olive oil marinade. Citrus, basil, garlic, rosemary or whatever herbs you dig. Lightly cooked halibut is far better to the hardened chunk that occurs once over cooked.

Salmon caught in saltwater away from river estuaries are the best. River coho lose the oils in the fillet muscle quickly and will need more attention before cooking.
 
DimeBrite said:
Salmon: Sea salt, pepper, olive oil, diced garlic rubbed on fillet

Skin side down. Placed on grilling foil. Cover with another piece of foil to seal in moisture.

Add moist apple or cherry wood chips to the charcoal coals for a little smoke. Cover and cook until fillet just begins to harden or split in the thinner section. Never over cook fish!

Halibut need more flavor in an olive oil marinade. Citrus, basil, garlic, rosemary or whatever herbs you dig. Lightly cooked halibut is far better to the hardened chunk that occurs once over cooked.

Salmon caught in saltwater away from river estuaries are the best. River coho lose the oils in the fillet muscle quickly and will need more attention before cooking.
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Halibut: I always thought I didn't like halibut. Turns out everyone overcooks it. Once I started getting my own, my whole opinion changed on it.

River salmon: Columbia River fish are on a whole other program. Those fish come with so much extra fat, that I get them 90mi from the salt just absolutely loaded with the good stuff. I get plenty of coho in the salt each year - it's pretty easy to grab a few on the way in from tuna/halibut fishing. I find the fall Columbia River fish to be every bit as awesome.
 
Evan B said:
Halibut: I always thought I didn't like halibut. Turns out everyone overcooks it. Once I started getting my own, my whole opinion changed on it.

River salmon: Columbia River fish are on a whole other program. Those fish come with so much extra fat, that I get them 90mi from the salt just absolutely loaded with the good stuff. I get plenty of coho in the salt each year - it's pretty easy to grab a few on the way in from tuna/halibut fishing. I find the fall Columbia River fish to be every bit as awesome.
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Yeah, Columbia and Fraser salmon need to retain oils in the fillet much longer for the journey.
On coastal rivers coho fillet turns over to untasty dry protein within hours of staging in the estuary 😟
 
DimeBrite said:
Yeah, Columbia and Fraser salmon need to retain oils in the fillet much longer for the journey.
On coastal rivers coho fillet turns over to untasty dry protein within hours of staging in the estuary 😟
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I definitely don't take having these guys down the street for granted. (and zero of these October fish are on the troll ;) )
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In culinary school they constantly stress, tender meat=high temp, fast cooked. If your fish is dry, you need higher temp, less time. A 1” thick salmon filet should take less than 7 minutes. 4 on the skin side 3 on the other..or less.
 
I like a quick salt/sugar cure before grilling. The cure forms tacky pellicile, helping firm up the flesh, create a nice crust when cooking, concentrate flavor (be careful if you're smoking) and inhibit that white albumin from forming on the surface of the fish.

I apply a kosher salt/sugar rub to the fish and place it on a baking sheet, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes. Then remove from the fridge, rinse, and thoroughly dry the meat. Proceed with your preferred method of seasoning/cooking/grilling. With most of my salmon, especially spring kings, I typically grill the quick-cured fish over indirect charcoal with no other seasoning.
 
I like to place the fillet on aluminum foil, then stir up a Mayo, crushed garlic, chopped onion and Parmesan cheese mixture and coat over the top of the fillet. Develops a nice brown crust and complements the flavor of the fish. Agreed on don’t overcook.
 
Cook to 122⁰...
Was told that by a former chef at Anthony's

I just cook it till it's 'set' just short of the thickest part of the filet, the thickest part will cook as it hits the plate.

Prefer most salmon smoked these days.
 
I bought a wild sockeye fillet from Costco yesterday. I let it come to room temp while I preheated the oven to 375. I put it in a glass dish, skin side down and skin on. I topped it with a pesto-butter mixture and thin slices of lemon. Then baked it, checking with an instant read thermometer frequently, until the thickest part hit 120 degrees, then pulled out of the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. It was pretty damned tasty!
 
I've grilled A LOT of fish over the decades. Year round, almost daily in So CAL. I've owned a ton of grills, starting with a Hibachi Grill in the early 1970s. I have alway preferred the briquet taste, but a gas grill is so much "easier". ..But here is where I finally found BBQ Nirvana... The Charbroil Infrared technology. It's a game changer. Ruth Chris Steakhouse uses the same technique...not charcoal ..for a reason.
 
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