Trust me…you’ll thank me later for this easy recipe! The BEST Grilled Salmon has a slightly sweet and smoky flavor and is grilled to perfection in just 20 minutes!
Grilling is practically a year-round thing at our house. Early Spring until late Fall, you’ll find John flipping burgers, chops, steaks—well, just about anything, really—at least two or three times a week. Lately, we’ve been adding this recipe for slightly sweet and smoky Best Grilled Salmon to our regular grilling rotation.
What’s surprising about that is that John believed that he didn’t like salmon until we tried this recipe! That’s a big win for me because I love salmon and now he’s the one who suggests we pick up salmon for the grill…happy wife, happy life!
It’s EASY to prepare and delicious!
This recipe is not only delicious, but it is extremely easy to prepare. Start by combining the marinade ingredients in a single gallon-size zip lock bag (no need to dirty up a bowl), add the salmon, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Grilling with NO clean up!
After soaking up all that flavorful marinade, the salmon fillets are grilled in little aluminum foil “boats”. I use heavy duty non-stick aluminum foil and just fold up the sides a couple of times to make a lip. The best part is that after grilling, you just toss the foil—there is literally no clean-up required for this recipe.
The salmon is perfectly cooked after just 18-20 minutes on the grill and is very flaky and moist with just a slightly sweet and smoky flavor. Be careful that you avoid overcooking or the salmon will become too dry.
It really is the BEST salmon!
During cooking, the marinade creates a nice glaze and the salmon filets end up with a slightly crisp outside and light flakiness inside. We first made this recipe over two years ago (thanks to Honey Bear Lane for the original post!) and my family whole-heartedly agrees that this truly is the BEST salmon they’ve ever eaten.
That’s quite the compliment, especially coming from my hubby who thought that he didn’t like salmon. Who knew that after 30-plus years of marriage I could finally convince him to try salmon? And guess what? He loves salmon now! In fact, it’s usually John who suggests grilling salmon for dinner—haha!
Perfectly grilled salmon with a slightly sweet and smoky flavor.
- 2 - 4 salmon fillets
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lite soy sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1-2 cloves minced garlic
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Place all marinade ingredients into a gallon size zip lock bag and seal. Squeeze gently to combine ingredients, then add salmon fillets. Seal and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours to allow flavors to penetrate the fish.
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Preheat grill to medium high heat. For each salmon fillet, take a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and fold into a "dish" with sides. Place a salmon fillet into each dish skin side down. Add a little of the marinade on top and place the entire dish on the grill.
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Grill for 18-20 minutes with the lid closed. Flip the salmon onto the grill to sear the top, about 1-2 minutes. Carefully scrape off the skin (it should lift right off) and serve.
Original recipe by Honey Bear Lane
Did you make this recipe?
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Can you grill salmon without the skin? Would you just shorten the cooking time?
Thanks!
Hi, Paula. You can grill the salmon without the skin, but I think leaving it on helps to hold the fish together. Adjust cooking times, with or without the skin, depending on your preference for the fish temperature/doneness. I always test with a fork to make sure it flakes easily.
This marinade makes delicious grilled salmon. I grill the salmon pieces directly on the grill, skin side down for 18 minutes. Flip it. Pour marinade over it and grill it for 2 minutes more. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
delicious recipe!! We grilled the salmon on the BBQ. Thanks for sharing
So glad you loved the salmon!
Could you bake the salmon and turn on the broiler at the end to “sear” the top? If so, what temperature would you bake it and how long?
Terri, I would try baking the salmon at 425 – 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes and very carefully turn on the broiler at the end of cooking, but personally I think grilling is best.
Hi! My husband also loved this, thanks! I was hoping for it to turn out with more of a glaze on it… it was still great, but any advice to help achieve that? Thanks!
Hi, Kate. Because of this cooking method, I think it would be difficult to get a really thick glaze going on. You could try preparing a little extra marinade to use as a basting sauce. Brush it on just before you flip the salmon during the last step when you sear the fish. Let me know if you try that – thanks!
When placing the salmon into the foil “dish” what side goes down? Skin side or the fish side?
Rose, it starts out with the skin side down. Enjoy!
Delicious! We loved the salmon tonight!
Suzy, I am so glad you did!
I just tried this recipe but instead I baked it for 13 mins and then grilled them on medium/high heat for 40-50 secs using a grill pan It was AWESOME!
That’s a great indoor solution! Thanks for sharing.
We just tried this recipe. We subbed coconut aminos in place of soy. It came out perfect. Best i have done so far. Thank you for posting your recipe.
Best grilled salmon I’ve ever had! Family loved it!!
Oh my! So good! Made extra marinade reduced it, and served it on the side! Wow!
Could you leave the salmon to marinating all day while at work?
Brandi, with fish it’s not necessary to marinate all day. If time after work is an issue, it would be ok to reduce the marinating to just 30 minutes instead.
Thank you! I am going to fix this tomorrow evening! We love salmon and are always wanting to try new recipes!
This was really good! We make salmon often and I’ve used a soy-maple marinade in the past, but really liked this combination of soy-brown sugar-lemon. Will use again. We grilled this time but we bake often. I used a dark soy sauce and didn’t add salt.
This salmon recipe is by far the best I’ve had! 5 stars for sure!
Me and my wife are in love with this salmon recipe. We can’t have it any other way now!
My daughter even loves it and she has never been that much of a salmon lover. Thanks for the recipe!