Learn the best way to cook salmon on the grill and it will quickly become a favorite meal at your house. Hubs and I have made this grilled salmon many, many times and love it.
We will throw some salmon on the grill even if it’s 30 degrees outside. It’s that good…and good for you too! Read on to learn how to cook salmon on the grill.
Ingredients
- 1 – 1/2lb Salmon Fillet
- 1/4c Soy Sauce
- 1/4c Brown Sugar
- 1/4c Olive Oil
- 1/4c Lemon Juice
- 3 Garlic Cloves, crushed
- 1tsp Black Pepper
Make a marinade by combining all the ingredients except for the salmon itself in a gallon zipper bag.
Add the salmon filet and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Heat your gas grill to medium heat and spray the grate (not the fish itself, but the grate) with cooking spray.
How Long to Grill Salmon
Grill salmon flesh side down first* for about 6 minutes. This will vary somewhat depending on the thickness of your filet, but 6 minutes per side is a good general guideline.
*Grilling salmon flesh side down (skin side up) is key. Cooking the skin last allows the salmon fillet to hold together during the cooking process instead of falling to pieces when you try to flip it. It also helps keep the flesh from drying out.
Flip and grill the salmon for another 6 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Hubs forgot to spray the grill. See what happens? 🙂
This turns out so yummy including the skin! It’s the best way to cook salmon on the grill that we’ve tried. I troll the meat department at Kroger weekly looking for salmon fillets that are at their sell-by date.
This allows us to enjoy our grilled salmon recipe a couple of times per month. I hope you like it as much as we do!
FAQ
The FDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 145° at the thickest part of the salmon fillet. Use a meat thermometer to be certain.
Technically yes, but you’re going to wind up with a mess. If you don’t have time to thaw a frozen salmon fillet, you’re better off baking it in the oven rather than using the grill.
Yes. If your salmon fillet is skinless, follow the same directions. The olive oil in the marinade and spraying your grill grate will keep it from sticking. Use a meat thermometer to prevent overcooking as salmon without skin can dry out more easily.
Perfect Grilled Salmon
Ingredients
- ½ lb Salmon Fillet
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
- 3 Garlic Cloves crushed
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for the salmon itself in a gallon zipper bag. Add the salmon filet and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Heat your gas grill to medium heat and spray the grate (not the fish itself, but the grate) with cooking spray.
- Grill salmon flesh side down first* for about 6 minutes. This will vary somewhat depending on the thickness of your filet, but 6 minutes per side is a good general guideline.
- Flip and grill the salmon another 6 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
Notes
The gas grill used in the photos above has seen better days so we recently upgraded. Since we have a tiny porch (tiny house, tiny everything!) we opted for this gas grill model and have been happily using it for the last year. It’s compact and portable but still gets the job done. Highly recommend!