5 Best Grilling Tips for Fish with Tomato-Basil Salmon Recipe

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Fish is a delicate protein and prone to overcooking over the dry heat of a grill.

Follow these 5 Best Fish Grilling Tips for greater success when cooking fish with fire.

We include recommended equipment too!

Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Basil Butter Sauce is a combination of two of our grill class recipes. I created the Grilled Tomato-Basil Compound Butter for Grilled Herb-Buttermilk Chicken and with a splash of dry white wine, it finishes this salmon just as beautifully.

Versatility is one of the things I love about having compound butter in my freezer for any flavorful whim (or wild hair, as my mom would say). It is a staple in my kitchen and is easy to make ahead to quickly dress up any roasted, pan seared, grilled meat or fish.

Need an instant sauce for your grilled salmon?

• Create a simple sauce by adding a splash of wine, lemon juice or red wine vinegar to melted compound butter. This is a quick way to thin and balance the richness of the butter.
• Include homemade chicken stock along with any of these acids (use a combination of chicken stock and lemon juice as a sub for wine) to stretch it to cover more servings.

How much you’ll need will be determined by your own taste.

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5 Best Tips for Grilling Fish

Fish is a delicate protein and prone to overcooking quickly. Following these tips will provide greater success when cooking fish with fire.

1. Start with a clean, oiled grill grates. The best way to clean grill grates is high heat for at least 15 minutes to burn off any residue and follow up with a good grill brush. Fish is easier to turn and keep intact if it doesn’t stick. Neat Trick: Trim 1/2-inch off the bottom of an onion, stab with a fork to create a handle, dip the sliced side in oil and use it to spread the oil over the grates.
2. Brine the fish before it hits the grill. Brining the salmon enhances its natural flavor, helps keep it moist, and diminishes the white albumin film that forms as it cooks. Use care when adding acids like lemon juice so it doesn’t “cook” the fish before it gets to the grill.
3. Protect the fish with a barrier between it and the fire with wood planks, sliced citrus, or skin-on cuts. These barriers also add flavor and enhance finished presentation.
4. Watch it closely (don’t leave the grill). Fish goes from perfectly tender and moist to dry and overcooked in less than a minute. It is so easy to get distracted or try to do too much at once. NOTE: It’s best to get side dishes or sauces ready before it meets the heat.
5. Use a timer and an instant read thermometer for accurate doneness. A rule of thumb is 10 minutes of cooking time for every inch of thickness. You can pierce the flesh with a sharp knife to peek inside to make sure it’s barely translucent, but a thermometer is faster and more reliable.

The Best Tools for Grilling Fish

• A wide spatula with a thin, tapered edge like a fish turner is the only special equipment you will need to make grilling fish a breeze. Fancy fish baskets might make it slightly easier to turn the fish but they don’t prevent sticking and are a mess to clean.
• Cedar planks placed directly on the grill grates under the fish form a barrier for the fish provides protection and adds flavor as it cooks.
• An instant-read thermometer is the ONLY way to really know when the fish is done and prevent over-cooking.
• Glass dish with lid for brining.

Get More Smoke Flavor When Grilling Fish

Not long ago, I discovered Mo’s Smoking Pouch Kit with Natural Wood Chips Smoking Pouch Kit with Natural Wood Chips and it’s been worth every penny. I’m not big on cooking or grilling gadgets, but this has proved to be the real deal.

It’s a stainless steel pouch you can throw on any charcoal or gas grill for added smoke without risking flare-ups like you can get with bare wood chips.

The pouch is small, producing smoke for 15-20 minutes, so it’s ideal for quick-cooking foods like steak, chops, fish, burgers, and vegetables.

Now you’re ready to make this Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Basil Butter Sauce Recipe!

Print Recipe

Grilled Salmon with Tomato-Basil Butter Sauce

Grilled tomatoes and fresh basil create a compound butter for an easy sauce over tender grilled salmon.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 Servings

Author: Judy Purcell

Ingredients

For the Grilled Tomato-Basil Compound Butter Sauce:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil -- plus 1 tablespoon for grilling , plus 1 tablespoon for grilling
• 6 ounces grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• Pinch sea salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine

For the Salmon:

• 4 salmon fillets or steaks
• 4 cups water
• 4 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Compound Butter Sauce:

• Heat the grill to 400°F. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the oil to coat and place on skewers, or use a vegetable grill pan. If using a grill pan, place on the grill while preheating so it is hot when the tomatoes go on it.
  
• Grill the tomatoes until blistered and charred in places, about 8 minutes. Remove from grill and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and coarsely chop (careful, they can squirt a little).
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Combine with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, basil, and softened butter until well mixed. Spoon compound butter onto a piece of wax paper in a long, narrow shape, about 2 inches wide by 9 inches long.
• Carefully fold the wax paper over the butter to create a somewhat rounded cylinder shape--this will make it easy to cut slices off of when ready. Gently place the butter on a flat surface in the freezer.
  
• The butter can also be made well in advance and kept in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. Once the butter is firm, it can be sliced and used to top the salmon, or added to a skillet with wine or chicken broth to create a sauce.
• To make the sauce, place approximately 4 tablespoons of the compound butter in a small, non-reactive skillet over medium heat. Once the butter starts to bubble, whisk in the wine to create a simple sauce. Taste, and add more wine or compound butter, as desired. Remove from heat and set aside while preparing the salmon.

For the Salmon:

• Heat the grill to 400°F. While the grill is heating, mix 4 cups of water with 4 tablespoons sea salt and stir to dissolve salt. Place salmon in the brine in a container just big enough to allow the brine to cover the salmon in a single layer (don't stack the salmon)--brine for 10 minutes.
• (If not using the brine, salmon with salt and pepper then drizzle with olive oil.)
• Once the grill reaches temperature, reduce heat and oil grates where salmon will rest or use sliced lemon under salmon to protect it from sticking.

  Remove the salmon from the brine and dry with paper towels. Brush with olive oil on both sides. Place the salmon on the grill over med-high heat (about 375°F), skin-side up. Cook for 4 minutes and gently turn over to finish cooking skin-side down, about 6 more minutes.
• At 4 minutes after turning, check the temperature and remove from the grill when the thickest part of the salmon is between 120-125 degrees. Note: If you've used cedar plank or lemon slices under the salmon, transfer it lay directly on the grill grates the last minute or so of cooking to produce grill marks.

  Tent the salmon with foil and return the sauce to the stove to reheat. Spoon sauce over the salmon to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 588kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 7269mg | Potassium: 944mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1210IU | Vitamin C: 6.1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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