Grilled Salmon Recipe with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce

cutting into the grilled salmon in a skillet with a fork and citrus sauce on top.

4.84 from 6 votes

Grilled Salmon Recipe with Brown Butter Citrus Sauce

This is not your ordinary grilled salmon. Crispy skin and juicy salmon come together with a rich, citrus brown butter sauce loaded with lemon, orange, and fresh basil, and you'll have the whole dinner on the table in about 30 minutes. It tastes like a special occasion, but it comes together fast enough for a weeknight dinner.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings:

Calories: 549kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

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

US Customary - Metric

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