Grilled Lemon Garlic Salmon
This easy grilled lemon garlic salmon recipe uses an easy lemon garlic honey paste and simple seasoning for a bright citrus-flavored salmon. It's a family favorite!
Servings: 4 people
Cost: $30
Equipment
- 1 Instant Read Thermometer Avoid overcooking the salmon with a quality instant read thermometer. We use the Thermoworks Thermapen One.
- 1 Fish Spatula It's easier to transfer salmon to and from the grill using a thin fish spatula.
- 1 Pin bone tweezers To remove pin bones from the salmon.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds salmon (You can use a whole filet or individual salmon steaks)
Lemon Garlic Paste
- 3 cloves garlic, very finely diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (Avoid the concentrated version)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat Grill: Prepare the grill for indirect grilling or two-zone grilling. Target the internal temperature of the grill at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. We prefer lump charcoal for flavor.
- Make Lemon Garlic Paste: In a small bowl, combine the paste ingredients and stir to combine.
- Season Salmon: Brush the paste evenly on the top of the salmon (the flash side). You do not need the paste the skin side.
- Grill Indirect: Gently place the salmon filet on the grill grates over indirect heat. Close the lid. Continue grilling indirectly until the internal temperature of the salmon at the thickest part reaches 135 degrees Fahrenheit using a good instant-read meat thermometer.
- Rest and Serve: Remove salmon from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes, allowing carryover cooking to happen. After it rests, immediately serve with your favorite sides.
Notes
Buying Tip: If all you can find is thinner pieces of salmon, then lower the cooking times. For sockeye salmon as an example, it will only take up to 6 minutes total because of how thin it is compared to Chinook (King) or Atlantic.
Salmon Preparation: Have your fishmonger remove the pin bones, or be sure to remove them yourself before grilling.
Grilling Tip: To avoid the salmon sticking to your grill grate, your grate needs to be clean of any creosote or grease. Be sure it's clean, and then lightly oil the grate with olive or vegetable oil before putting the fish on it. Otherwise, it might stick to the grates.
Wine Pairing: When buying wine to pair with this lemon garlic salmon the citrus flavor is the main pairing profile. Look for a Sauvignon Blanc or an un-oaked Chardonnay. If you want red a Beaujolais. The citrus flavor can mute the flavor of richer red wines.
Salmon Temperature: We enjoy salmon cooked to medium rare because we trust our fish sources, which is why we recommend 135 degrees. Carry over cooking will happen and the internal temperature will come up to 140 degrees. If you like medium then cook it to 140 degrees and carry over cooking will take the Lemon Garlic Salmon to medium. We don't recommend any higher or it will dry out.
Nutrition
Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 1134mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg
