This Grilled Salmon seasoning blend is our 2nd salmon seasoning blend, with the first being our Wild for Salmon, that we created for our friends at Wild for Salmon, a commercial salmon business that for seven weeks each year travels to Bristol Bay, AK to catch and flash freeze wild salmon. They're located in the same home town as we are and have been in business for about 6 years. Their fresh wild salmon is nothing short of remarkable!

For those that are looking for the best quality salmon you need to understand that not all salmon is created equal. The best salmon is wild, West Coast salmon, preferably king or sockeye. In your favorite local supermarket you're most likely getting farm raised salmon which has a well earned reputation as not being all that healthy and it is now frequently remarketed as "ocean-raised". This new yet old style of raising salmon in ocean pens is typically loaded with antibiotics (to keep the fish from dying in these close quarters) and food colorings (to give the meat the pink color that is natural in wild salmon)  - certainly not as healthy as wild salmon. Genuine wild salmon only accounts for about 33% of all salmon sold in the US.

Salmon is not difficult to prepare and it's a wonderful fish for the grill, loaded with flavor and readily available. Salmon is tasty all by itself, but is also perfect for everything from salmon tacos to salmon burgers.

Unlike some of the other popular fishes salmon is super easy to grill if you following these 4 simple rules:

 

How to Choose

Select skin-on salmon filets from the head end of the fish. Good, thick filets are best. You can also take advantage of the tapered nature of filets to suit the tastes of your guests. Cook the thick cuts and thinner cuts for the same amount of time, serving the thinner filets to your guests who like their fish "cooked all the way" and the thicker cuts to the salmon lovers who want their fish cooked to medium.

 

How to Marinate and Season

As a general rule of thumb, season and marinate for no more than 10 to 15 minutes. While beef, chicken and pork often do best when seasoned for 8-24 hours salmon is much more delicate and quickly absorbs the flavor. Seasoning for longer than 20 minutes and the flesh of the salmon begins to break down. We recommend using about 1-2 teaspoons of our Grilled Salmon season per lb of fish filet and this works especially well when paired with a top grade olive oil (we especially like to pair an infused blood orange olive oil with our Grilled Salmon seasoning blend).

Just like steak or chicken it's best for the salmon filets to be brought to room temperature before grilling. Place on the kitchen counter seasoned, for about twenty minutes while the grill is heating up.

 

The Grill Must Be HOT

Some prefer to use a grill set to medium-high heat (about 325°) but we prefer a hot heat of about 500º. We also like to use a non-stick spray designed specifically for the grill to pre-coat your grill racks before grilling our salmon filets.

 

How to Grill to Perfection

Salmon is sturdy enough to not fall through the grill rack-but if you prefer, you can wrap the rack in heavy-duty aluminum foil for extra protection. Don't forget to brush the top of the foil with oil before putting your salmon on it.

For salmon filets that are about 1" thick, we grill for a total of around 8 minutes over a 500ºF fire. We've found that this cooks the salmon to medium (thicker cuts) to medium-well (thinner cuts).

Place the salmon filet skin-side up on the grill directly over the fire. At about 5 minutes the edges of the fillet will begin to lift up from the grill. You'll know that your salmon is ready to turn over when it "releases" from the grill. If you start with your salmon at room temperature, a hot grill and a little oil, the salmon should not be sticking to the grill at this stage.

Flip the salmon over using a stainless steel spatula. Grill the second side for about 3 minutes. At this point your salmon should be cooked medium to medium-well. You'll know your fish is done as the meat will flake easily under gentle pressing with your finger. Gently slip the spatula between the meat and the skin separating the fish from the skin. Remove the fish from the grill and discard the skin.

Your salmon should be opaque in color and flaky with a slightly crispy layer on the outer edges.

 

What's in It

Hand blended from brown sugar, orange zest, black pepper, sea salt, coriander, anise, cumin and fennel.

 

Flavor Profile

The flavor is a bit sweet with hints of citrus and anise.

 

Helpful Hints

If you're a fan of unique fish seasonings then you might be interested in our Citrus Seasoning, Adobo Lime Rub, Honey Chipotle Rub, Mediterranean Dry Rub, Bristol Bay Salmon Seasoning and of course our original Wild for Salmon.

 

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