Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce
Hello! My husband and I made this a few nights ago while trying to switch up our dinner offerings during this long quarantine. We happened to have all the ingredients, and I was able to get the fresh basil from my window herb garden! This dish did the trick and will now go into our regular rotation. It was simple, delicious, and IMHO, restaurant quality. Thank you so much! ~D
Quick Look: Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 15 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 25 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 2
- 📊 Calories: 549 kcal/serving
- 🔥 Cook Method: Grilled, then finished with a stovetop pan sauce
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Smoky, buttery, and bright with citrus
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
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Table of Contents
Why Is My Grilled Salmon Recipe So Good!
- Hot grill, crispy skin. A hot, grill flame is what crisps the skin (whether it’s direct or indirect) since heat comes from below. The same principle as in my crispy skin salmon on the stovetop.
- Many layers of flavor, not one. Most grilled salmon recipes stop at a squeeze of lemon. I build a smoky char from the grill, then pour a nutty, citrus-bright sauce on top, so you get many flavor notes, instead of just one.
- Restaurant technique, weeknight timeline. Browning butter is a classic French technique that usually feels fussy, but it only takes a few minutes on the stove while the salmon is cooking, so you get that elevated flavor without adding real time to dinner prep.
- A sauce that works on more than just salmon. Once you’ve made this brown butter citrus sauce, you’ll want to spoon it over chicken, scallops, or roasted vegetables too.
Key Ingredient Notes
Ingredient list in this recipe is short and sweet, you are very likely to already have all the ingredients on hand!
- Salmon: Use skin-on filets. The skin protects the flesh from the direct heat of the grill and crisps up beautifully, plus it helps keep the filet from falling apart.
- Shallot: it is milder and slightly sweeter than onion, which is exactly what this delicate sauce needs. Need to substitute? Use a sweet onion, like Vidalia and use about half.
- Unsalted butter: unsalted gives you control over the seasoning instead of guessing how salty the butter already is.
- Lemon and orange zest and juice: Zest first, then juice. The zest carries most of the citrus oil and aroma, so don’t skip it even if you’re short on time.
- Fresh basil: fresh basil is a wonderful aromatic addition to citrus and salmon. If needed, you can use another herb like parsley or dill weed. Although, it will give you a different flavor profile.
How to Make Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce
- Preheat the grill to 425°F to 450°F and set up two heat zones, direct and indirect, I prefer to start my salmon right on indirect if my grill grate is close to the heat source. If you have a lot of room between the grate and charcoal/fire, you can start on direct, then move it over to finish at the end.
- Rub the skin with a little oil and season the filets all over with salt and pepper. Place them skin-side down, close the lid, and walk away. Fish naturally releases from the grates once it’s about 50 to 60% cooked, so resist the urge to check or move it early or you’ll tear the skin.
- It’s ready once it turns opaque and feels firm when you press it, usually 12-18 minutes depending on thickness. (Very thick filets can take up to 20 minutes.)
- Prepare the sauce: While the salmon cooks, preheat a pan over medium heat. Thinly slice the shallot and add it to the pan along with the butter, stirring as it melts. Keep an eye on it as it simmers, the butter will foam, then quiet down, then turn golden brown with a nutty aroma. That scent is your queue! A stainless steel pan makes this go faster and lets you see the color change clearly.
- Once the butter is browned, stir in the lemon and orange zest, the minced basil, a pinch of salt, and the lemon and orange juice. Let it simmer for just a minute or two, then pull it off the heat. Pour the warm sauce over the grilled salmon right before serving so it melts into the fish.
Ways to Serve It
This salmon pairs naturally with something light and vegetable-forward, since the sauce already brings plenty of richness on its own.
- Italian roasted asparagus or a tray of Italian grilled vegetables are both easy to throw on the grill at the same time, especially since some vegetables take longer to cook through than the fish does, so start them first.
- For something heartier, a bowl of rice like coconut rice, or couscous, soaks up any extra sauce beautifully. Of course, homemade fluffy mashed potatoes with it a heavenly.
- It’s also perfect with a simple salad like simple Greek salad, Asian cucumber salad or the classic caprese salad.
Storing Your Leftover Grilled Salmon
- Salmon is best fresh off the grill, but leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat gently in a pan over medium-low heat to keep the skin from getting soggy, or enjoy it cold flaked over a salad.
Brown Butter Citrus Grilled Salmon Recipe FAQs
To make your dinner complete, you can throw some veggies on the grill.
Some veggies will take longer to cook through than grilled salmon, so you may need to start grilling veggies before the fish.
Asparagus will go beautifully here or you can make a zucchini and summer squash mixture.
Depending on how soft you like your veggies, asparagus and zucchini shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to cook. Season veggies with salt and pepper and run them with oil before adding to the grill.
I use touch first, if it feels firm in the center and not squishy, it’s done. Being opaque throughout is another indication. For most accurate, use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the filet. Pull it at 135°F for a moist, medium result, and keep in mind it’ll continue cooking a little from residual heat as it rests. The USDA’s recommendation is 145°F, but at that point the salmon tends to taste dry and overdone to a lot of palates.
I do not recommend it! The skin protects the delicate flesh from the direct heat of the grill and is what gives you that crispy texture. It is also very likely your filet with break apart without skin and fall between the grates. If you only have skinless filets, perhaps use a fine mesh grill basket and grease it well.
This almost always comes down to moving the fish too soon. Fish releases naturally from the grates once it’s about half cooked, so give it time before checking on it, and make sure your grill grates are clean and salmon skin is well-oiled beforehand.
More Salmon Recipes To Try
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Grilled Salmon Recipe with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon with skin on
- Salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- Oil to rub the salmon skin
Brown Butter Citrus Sauce:
- 1 large shallot
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 5-6 large basil leaves minced
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium heat (about 425℉- 450℉) with a two-temperature fire zones.
Prepare salmon:
- Rub salmon skin with some oil and season salmon with salt and pepper all over.
- Place salmon in the grill skin down. I recommend placing it over indirect heat in case your grate is close to the heat source. Close the lid and let it cook 12-18 minutes, just until it's opaque and firm to the touch. Exact time will depend on the thickness of the filet.
Brown Butter Citrus Sauce:
- While salmon is cooking, preheat a cooking pan over medium heat.
- Slice shallots thinly and add them to the pre-heated pan. Add butter to the pan and stir as it melts. Let butter simmer and get browned. It won’t take long, especially in a stainless steel pan.
- Once butter is browned and gets a beautiful nutty aroma, add lemon and orange zest, minced basil, pinch of salt, and lemon and orange juices. Stir and let is simmer for just a couple of minutes. Take off heat.
- Once salmon is cooked, pour sauce over the whole grilled salmon.
Video
Notes
- Be patient and DON’T mess with the fish once you place it on the grill. Fish and other meats naturally release off the grill once it’s 50-60% cooked. So if you try to tug at it or move too soon, it will break apart. So just place on the grill and leave it alone. (Unless it’s cooking too fast or burning, then you can carefully move it. But by that time, it should be more than half done.
- Temperature of salmon when done: use a meat thermometer and remember to take the temperature at the thickest part of the fillet. Take salmon off the grill when it reaches 135°F at the thickest part and let it rest. (USDA recommends salmon safe temperature to be 145°F but some people feel that it is overdone.)
- Approximate time for salmon to cook: 12-18 minutes for thinner salmon and medium thickness filets. (Large and thick salmon can take 18-20 minutes.)
- Cedar and alder are good wood to use with salmon. You can use a smoke box and add some wood chips into it. Place the wood box right with the charcoal on your grill.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2017.
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Backyard BBQ Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Salmon Dinner Recipes, Sauce Recipes, Seafood Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Delicious recipe
Hello! My husband and I made this a few nights ago while trying to switch up our dinner offerings during this long quarantine. We happened to have all the ingredients, and I was able to get the fresh basil from my window herb garden! This dish did the trick and will now go into our regular rotation. It was simple, delicious, and IMHO, restaurant quality. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the sweet comment and taking the time to write it! I am so glad you liked it!
Spot on delicious!
Thank you, Robert!