Marinated Grilled Salmon – A Healthy and Delicious Recipe

Do you have someone in your family that doesn’t like salmon? My marinated grilled salmon is guaranteed to make salmon lovers out of them!

What are some of your favorite foods to grill?

Everyone brings out the chicken, burgers and dogs when it’s time to grill, but you rarely find seafood on the grill.

Whether it’s the higher price that seafood commands or the fear of ruining those more expensive items, too many people shy away from cooking all those delicious treats from the sea.

Is Salmon difficult to grill?

Seafood really isn’t difficult to grill; it just requires more of a watchful eye so it doesn’t overcook and dry out. Salmon is one of my favorite fish to grill because of the higher fat 

Wouldn’t you like to sit down to this delicious platter of marinated grilled salmon? I know your friends and family would.

Let’s start by gathering our ingredients together to make my marinated grilled salmon. In Chef Speak this is referred to as the Mise en Place, which translates to everything in its place. 

It’s really a good idea to get into the habit of getting your ingredients ready. It speeds up the cooking process and ensures you’re not missing an ingredient you need to make the dish. 

Remember that recipes are guidelines, feel free to add your own special touches to the marinade.

Do you like ginger, or maybe some shallots would be a nice touch? Whether you use my recipe or make adjustments all you have to do is mix the ingredients together in a bowl and get ready to marinate the salmon.

What type of Salmon is best to Marinate?

I used King Salmon  (Chinook) for my recipe and always try to find Pacific Salmon for my recipes.

You can, of course, use any salmon you have available in your markets. Sockeye (red) and Coho (silver) are two of my other favorites.

Atlantic Salmon is more plentiful and usually less expensive and can also be used. I prefer wild-caught fish to farmed seafood.

*Farmed salmon is much higher in fat, containing slightly more omega-3s, much more omega-6 and three times the amount of saturated fat. It also has 46% more calories — mostly from fat. Conversely, wild salmon is higher in minerals, including potassium, zinc and iron.

What fish would be a good substitute for salmon in this recipe?

Not all fish are good for marinating. Firm steak-type fish marinate well. My choices are Tuna, Swordfish, Halibut and Mahi.

*Fish and seafood are most easily influenced by marinades because of their light density. These foods typically shouldn’t marinate for more than 30 to 60 minutes.

Salmon is more forgiving as are the fish I mentioned above as substitutes. Marinating them a little longer is OK.

Place the salmon in a baking dish (or zip-top bag) and pour the marinade over the fish, covering as much as possible.

Refrigerate the salmon and let it marinate for 1-2 hours. You can turn the salmon over halfway through the process.

I like to serve wilted spinach with salmon. Not only does it add color to the plate, the flavors are a nice compliment to the marinated grilled salmon.

Wilted spinach is pretty easy to prepare, just don’t cook the spinach fully. You can also heat olive oil seasoned with your choice of spices and aromatics. When the oil is hot enough just toss the spinach with the heated oil. This is a great way to add additional flavors to the dish.

For me, it’s all about the flavors. Using fresh herbs, spices and aromatics can turn an ordinary dish into a culinary masterpiece. And there’s nothing worse than cooking all these delicious dishes and not being able to eat them because of heartburn….sigh.

If you love Salmon, you might also like these recipes:

• Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon
• Mediterranean Style Salmon
• Blackened Salmon Salad
• Stuffed Salmon with Cream Cheese and Crabmeat