Grilled Salmon Marinade

Hey everybody! I wanted to share my recipe for my mouth-watering grilled salmon marinade. Anyone who has ever had it assures me it’s the best they’ve ever eaten. I mean, I don’t really know a lot of people, and because of the pandemic that number is about five…but darn it, it makes those five people very happy! Also, I know it’s great because when my 103-year-old grandmother eats it, she makes the Happy Gramma noises (think Peter Boyle in “Young Frankenstein”) and you don’t get those for any old thing.

I came up with the marinade after a visit to a restaurant that had some of the best grilled salmon I had ever tasted. I wanted to replicate it, but all the recipes I found online weren’t quite up to snuff, so I took bits from several sources and began to experiment until I arrived at the recipe I’m going to share with you now. You obviously don’t have to use the same brands as me, and I’m kinda guessing on the measurements because I don’t really use any, so use these increments as a starting point and add things as needed.

GRILLED SALMON MARINADE INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Olive Oil
• 1oz low salt Soy Sauce
• A few drops of Walnut Bitters
• A good squirt of Lemon Juice
• 1 tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp Celery Seeds
• 1 tbsp Cracked Pepper
• 2 tbsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 tbsp Parsley
• ¼ cup Chopped Green Onions
• 3 heaping tbsp Brown Sugar

Sometimes I’ll also throw in a splash of cola just for kicks.

Note that I don’t use salt or garlic.

I don’t use salt because even with low salt soy sauce, it’s still pretty salty, and I prefer to let people salt to their individual taste.

I don’t use garlic because I’m a vampire. No, seriously, garlic gives me the worst heartburn, so I unfortunately cannot ingest it. But go ahead and add those things if you are so inclined. It certainly can’t hurt! Unless you’re me, which you’re not. Wait, are you? Sometimes it’s hard to tell… Stupid malleable reality!

Anyway, stir the marinade vigorously, then find something to soak the fish in. I find a simple baking pan works fine.

Pour the marinade into the pan, coating the entire bottom. Lay the salmon skin side up, then use a tablespoon or similar to lightly coat the back and sides. Cover with cling wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least one hour, preferably two.

TO THE GRILL!

When you’re ready to start cooking, fire up your grill to medium heat (around 350 – 400 degrees) and place the salmon on it skin side up. I like to move them around immediately after setting them on the grill to help keep them from sticking. Let them sit there and think about what they’ve don’t for seven and a half minutes, flip them over and give them another seven and a half minutes (a total of 15 minutes). Heat them to at least 145 degrees, but not over 160 if you can help it. You don’t want them to dry out.

When they are at the desired temperature, it’s time to get them off the grill. You’ll want to be careful so they don’t break apart. I use a really cheap, very thin spatula because that seems to work the best. It’s a messy cleanup, but I actually prefer if they leave the entire skin stuck to the grill, because then you know you have cooked them to perfection!

Voila! Beautiful, juicy, delicious fish every time! Serve with your favorite sides and enjoy! It goes excellently with Variable’s Roasted Butternut Squash!

Great, now I’m all hungry after talking about all this delicious food. I hope you find this as yummeh as I and my five friends do, and may it bring you Happy Gramma noises, too! Cheers!