Grilled salmon is a classic dish that’s always a crowd-pleaser, but why not add a little kick to the recipe? This spicy grilled salmon recipe takes your fish to the next level!
With its rich, buttery texture and bold flavors, salmon is a versatile fish that pairs perfectly with a range of spices and seasonings. Whether you prefer a fiery, tongue-tingling heat or a milder flavor your salmon won’t be boring!
Serving food that is good for you doesn’t have to be complicated and time consuming!
Spicy Grilled Salmon Marinade
The marinade for this grilled salmon recipe takes only about five minutes to put together. First, I juiced a lime and then minced some garlic and ginger. Then, I combined the corn oil, fresh lime juice, low sodium soy sauce, hot sauce, honey, garlic and ginger in a small bowl and stirred it.
I poured the marinade over the wild salmon fillets in a shallow container. The salmon needs to marinate for anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours. So it is easy to put this recipe together early in the day and then be ready to grill when it is time for dinner. Flip the salmon so the skin side of is on top in the marinade and the salmon absorbs lots of flavor.
Grilling the Salmon
When it was dinner time, I heated up the grill to a low/medium heat and sprinkled a little bit of salt and pepper on top of the salmon fillets. I don’t have a grill basket for fish, but salmon is a firm enough fish that it can go directly on the grill. There is enough corn oil in the marinade that you don’t need to oil the grill rack.
I put the salmon skin side down on the grill, shut the cover and let it grill for about 7 minutes. Then, I flipped it over so it could finish cooking and the top side would brown up a little bit. My salmon fillet was done after about 10 minutes of total grilling time.
Of course, your grilling time could vary based on how thick your salmon is and how hot your grill gets. Salmon is done when it is around 140 degrees F internally. It is also done if it flakes easily with a fork.
Always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature, don’t try to cook based just on time. A thermometer is not expensive and the peace of mind they give you is priceless. Food poisoning is not fun! This is my favorite inexpensive meat thermometer, which you can buy on Amazon.
What to Serve with Grilled Salmon
I served this grilled salmon with some fresh zucchini and summer squash from the farmer’s market. I also added some extra lime slices. This recipe is so quick and easy that it just needs one or two simple sides like rice, grilled garlic scapes or a green salad that will enhance the flavor but let the salmon shine as the star of the recipe.
The marinade made this salmon just a bit spicy. You can taste the spiciness from the hot sauce, but the salmon is not overwhelmingly hot by any means. If you really want it to be spicy, you can add even more hot sauce!
I usually serve fish with lemon, but I loved the difference I got by using lime in this recipe. I squeezed out the extra lime slices onto the salmon and it made it even tastier. Lime gives you the citrus taste that goes so well with fish, but it tastes fresh and different. So this summer, make some fresh and easy marinades for all your summer grilling!
Spicy Grilled Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 1 lime
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 1 ½ pounds salmon fillets
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Juice the lime.1 lime
- Mince the garlic and grate the ginger.1 clove garlic, 1 inch piece ginger
- In a small bowl, combine the oil, juice of one lime, soy sauce, hot sauce, honey, minced garlic and grated ginger.2 Tablespoons oil, 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons hot sauce, 1 Tablespoon honey
- Put the salmon fillets in a flat dish and pour the marinade over the top. Make sure the fillets are skin side up so the marinade can soak in.1 ½ pounds salmon fillets
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 8 hours.
- Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper if desired.Salt and pepper to taste
- Grill the salmon on a grill set on low. Put the salmon skin side down if you aren’t using a grill basket for the fish. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping after 7 minutes.
- The salmon is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F or flakes easily with a fork.
- Let the fish rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
Just a quick question. The recipe says to make sure to have the skin side up when pouring the marinade over the top. That doesn’t sound right. Plus in the picture the salmon is clearly skin side DOWN.