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Grilled Salmon with Maple-Soy Glaze

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on December 3, 2012

Yield

Serves 4

Grilled Salmon with Maple-Soy Glaze

Ingredients

Maple-soy Glaze

2 tablespoons soy sauce ¼ cup maple syrup

Salmon

⅓ cup soy sauce ⅓ cup maple syrup 4 salmon fillets (about 8 ounces each), each about 1 ½ inches at thickest partground black pepper vegetable oil for grill gratelemon wedges for serving

Before You Begin

Scraping the grill grate clean will help prevent the salmon from sticking. Also be sure to oil the grate just before placing the fillets on the grill.

Instructions

  1. Stir together soy sauce and maple syrup in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Measure 2 tablespoons glaze into small bowl and set aside.
  2. Whisk 1/3 cup soy sauce and 1/3 cup maple syrup in 13- by 9-inch baking dish until combined; carefully place fillets flesh-side down in single layer in marinade (do not coat salmon skin with marinade). Refrigerate while preparing grill.
  3. Using chimney starter, ignite about 6 quarts (1 large chimney, or 2 1/2 pounds) charcoal briquettes and burn until covered with layer of light gray ash, about 15 minutes. Empty coals into grill; build two-level fire by stacking two-thirds of coals in one half of grill and arranging remaining coals in single layer in other half. Position grill grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until grate is hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grill grate clean with grill brush.
  4. Remove salmon from marinade and sprinkle flesh liberally with pepper. Using long-handled grill tongs, dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and wipe hot side of grill grate. Place fillets flesh-side down on hot side of grill and cook until grill-marked, about 1 minute. Using tongs, flip fillets skin-side down, still on hot side of grill; brush flesh with glaze and cook until salmon is opaque about halfway up thickness of fillets, 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Again using long-handled grill tongs, dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and wipe cooler side of grill grate. Brush flesh again with glaze, then turn fillets flesh-side down onto cooler side of grill; cook until deeply browned, crust has formed, and center of thickest part of fillet is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer fillets to platter, brush with reserved 2 tablespoons glaze, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Grilled Salmon with Maple-Soy Glaze

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

Maple-soy Glaze

2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup maple syrup

Salmon

⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup maple syrup
4 salmon fillets (about 8 ounces each), each about 1 ½ inches at thickest part
ground black pepper
vegetable oil for grill grate
lemon wedges for serving

Ingredients

Maple-soy Glaze

2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup maple syrup

Salmon

⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup maple syrup
4 salmon fillets (about 8 ounces each), each about 1 ½ inches at thickest part
ground black pepper
vegetable oil for grill grate
lemon wedges for serving

Ingredients

Maple-soy Glaze

2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup maple syrup

Salmon

⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup maple syrup
4 salmon fillets (about 8 ounces each), each about 1 ½ inches at thickest part
ground black pepper
vegetable oil for grill grate
lemon wedges for serving

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a glazed grilled salmon recipe that would allow the glaze not only to form a glossy, deeply caramelized crust, but also to permeate the flesh, making the last bite of fish every bit as good as the first. Marinating the fish in soy sauce seasoned it through and through, but we needed to add a viscous sweetener, either honey or maple syrup, to help the marinade cling to the fish rather than drip through the bars of the grate. Searing the marinated salmon over high heat, then brushing it with some of the glaze, and finally pulling it to the cooler side of the grill to cook through gave us the best grilled glazed salmon recipe we had tried.

Before You Begin

Scraping the grill grate clean will help prevent the salmon from sticking. Also be sure to oil the grate just before placing the fillets on the grill.

Instructions

  1. Stir together soy sauce and maple syrup in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Measure 2 tablespoons glaze into small bowl and set aside.
  2. Whisk 1/3 cup soy sauce and 1/3 cup maple syrup in 13- by 9-inch baking dish until combined; carefully place fillets flesh-side down in single layer in marinade (do not coat salmon skin with marinade). Refrigerate while preparing grill.
  3. Using chimney starter, ignite about 6 quarts (1 large chimney, or 2 1/2 pounds) charcoal briquettes and burn until covered with layer of light gray ash, about 15 minutes. Empty coals into grill; build two-level fire by stacking two-thirds of coals in one half of grill and arranging remaining coals in single layer in other half. Position grill grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until grate is hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grill grate clean with grill brush.
  4. Remove salmon from marinade and sprinkle flesh liberally with pepper. Using long-handled grill tongs, dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and wipe hot side of grill grate. Place fillets flesh-side down on hot side of grill and cook until grill-marked, about 1 minute. Using tongs, flip fillets skin-side down, still on hot side of grill; brush flesh with glaze and cook until salmon is opaque about halfway up thickness of fillets, 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Again using long-handled grill tongs, dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and wipe cooler side of grill grate. Brush flesh again with glaze, then turn fillets flesh-side down onto cooler side of grill; cook until deeply browned, crust has formed, and center of thickest part of fillet is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer fillets to platter, brush with reserved 2 tablespoons glaze, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

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