Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce

… that crispy skin!

… that juicy salmon!

… that flavorful, buttery, citrus sauce!

All of that can be yours in just about 20 minutes. This is such a delicious, simple salmon dinner off the grill, it would make a beautiful weekend meal the whole summer long.

I can’t decide which part is my favorite, the crispy skin on salmon or the delicious buttery sauce. When it comes to fish, getting crispy skin is not something that is achieved every time but when you do, it makes a beautiful texture and flavor. Add the smoked flavor from the grill with a beautiful citrus sauce, and you got a winning dinner that’s ready in less than 30 minutes.

Tips For Grilling Salmon

• Grill temperature to cook salmon: high 425°F-450°F,
• Prepare two temperature zones so you can move the salmon filets over to the cooler side.
• Start to grill over direct heat.
• 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° at the thickest part and let it rest. (USDA recommends salmon safe temperature to be 145° but some people feel that it is overdone.)
• Approximate time for salmon to cook: 8-12 minutes for thinner salmon filets but exact times depends on the thickness of the meat. (Large and thick salmon can take 18-20 minutes.)
• Cedar, 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.

Grill Veggies At The Same Time

• 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.

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Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce

Super easy and out-of-this-world delicious grilled salmon. This salmon is made on the grill and then topped with an amazing, 10-minute brown butter citrus sauce.

4.84 from 6 votes

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Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 549kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb salmon with skin
• ▢ 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 zone fire (just in case you will need to move salmon over).

Prepare salmon:

• Rub salmon skin with some oil and season salmon with salt and pepper all over.
• Place salmon in the grill skin down and cook it, with the lid closed, just until it’s opaque and firm to the touch. Depending on the thickness of salmon, it will take from 8 to 12 minutes.

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: 8-12 minutes for thinner salmon filets but exact times depends on the thickness of the meat. (Large and thick salmon can take 18-20 minutes.)
• Cedar, 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

Calories: 549kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 185mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 1222mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 905IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg

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More Salmon Recipes To Try

• 4 Ingredient Orange Salmon
• Salmon Recipes
• Creamy Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Salmon
• Grilled Salmon Burgers
• Pecan Crusted Salmon

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2017.