Gas-Grilled Salmon Fillets
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 5, 2013
Time
40 minutes, plus 20 minutes chilling
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This recipe works best with salmon fillets but can also be used with any thick, firm-fleshed white fish, including red snapper, grouper, halibut, and sea bass (cook white fish to 140 degrees, up to 2 minutes longer per side). If you are using skinless fillets, treat the skinned side of each as if it were the skin side. To ensure uniformity, we prefer to purchase a 1½- to 2-pound center-cut salmon fillet and cut it into four pieces.
Instructions
- Place fillets skin-side up on rimmed baking sheet or large plate lined with clean kitchen towel. Place second clean kitchen towel on top of fillets and press down to blot liquid. Refrigerate fish, wrapped in towels, while preparing grill, at least 20 minutes.
- Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until very hot, about 15 minutes. Use grill brush to scrape cooking grate clean. Lightly dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe grate. Continue to wipe grate with oiled paper towels, re-dipping towels in oil between applications, until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times (see photo 3 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below).
- Brush both sides of fish with thin coat of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place fish skin-side down on grill diagonal to grate (photo 4 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below), reduce heat to medium, cover grill, and cook without moving until skin side is brown, well marked, and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. (Try lifting fish gently with spatula after 3 minutes; if it doesn’t cleanly lift off grill, continue to cook, checking at 30-second intervals until it releases.) Using 2 spatulas, flip fish to second side (photo 5 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below) and cook, covered, until centers of fillets are opaque and register 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 2 to 6 minutes longer. Serve immediately with lemon wedges or your choice of sauce. (see related recipes).
Time
40 minutes, plus 20 minutes chillingYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The biggest challenge in perfecting our grilled salmon recipe was figuring out how to remove the fillets from the grill in one piece. To prevent sticking, we first super-heated the grill, then brushed it very clean, and finally coated it with five to 10 layers of oil to build up a thick layer of polymers that prevent the protein in the fish from bonding with the grill grates.
Before You Begin
This recipe works best with salmon fillets but can also be used with any thick, firm-fleshed white fish, including red snapper, grouper, halibut, and sea bass (cook white fish to 140 degrees, up to 2 minutes longer per side). If you are using skinless fillets, treat the skinned side of each as if it were the skin side. To ensure uniformity, we prefer to purchase a 1½- to 2-pound center-cut salmon fillet and cut it into four pieces.
Instructions
- Place fillets skin-side up on rimmed baking sheet or large plate lined with clean kitchen towel. Place second clean kitchen towel on top of fillets and press down to blot liquid. Refrigerate fish, wrapped in towels, while preparing grill, at least 20 minutes.
- Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until very hot, about 15 minutes. Use grill brush to scrape cooking grate clean. Lightly dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe grate. Continue to wipe grate with oiled paper towels, re-dipping towels in oil between applications, until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times (see photo 3 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below).
- Brush both sides of fish with thin coat of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place fish skin-side down on grill diagonal to grate (photo 4 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below), reduce heat to medium, cover grill, and cook without moving until skin side is brown, well marked, and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. (Try lifting fish gently with spatula after 3 minutes; if it doesn’t cleanly lift off grill, continue to cook, checking at 30-second intervals until it releases.) Using 2 spatulas, flip fish to second side (photo 5 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below) and cook, covered, until centers of fillets are opaque and register 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 2 to 6 minutes longer. Serve immediately with lemon wedges or your choice of sauce. (see related recipes).
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