The Best Salmon Marinade requires just a handful of ingredients to bring out the best flavor in your salmon. It’s the best marinade for salmon whether you are making grilled salmon or oven-baked.
This salmon marinade can be used with the two most common cooking methods for salmon: baking and grilling. Baking is a super easy method for cooking salmon that locks in flavor and helps cook salmon evenly. Grilling adds a lot of additional flavor to salmon which is a natural benefit of cooking over an open flame. No matter which method you use, this marinade is going to take your salmon over the top with flavor!
This marinade is an orange-honey-ginger based sauce. Each ingredient is important and offers something different to create the best tasting salmon. Soy provides seasoning on our fish rather than salt. Salmon always needs an acid, and orange is the perfect complimenting flavor. The honey works to balance out the acidity. Garlic and ginger add a complexity of flavor, with a touch of red pepper flakes for a little bit of heat. It’s the best salmon marinade for perfect salmon every time.
Spice Level in The Best Salmon Marinade:
The red pepper flakes in this recipe give it a nice warmth, without much heat. You can increase or decrease the amount of red pepper flakes according to your own spice tolerance and taste preferences.
Skillet Cooking Instructions:
Salmon is a forgiving fish that is easy to cook. Salmon is most commonly baked or grilled, though you can also cook it on the stovetop in a pan. This method works best for salmon portions and not large salmon filets. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the salmon skin-side down (if there is skin) and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, until golden brown. Flip and continue cooking for 4 to 6 minutes until salmon flakes easily with a fork.
Baking Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Season your salmon with desired seasonings. Wrap in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until salmon easily flakes with a fork. The aluminum foil will trap in steam and help cook your fish evenly.
Grilling Instructions:
To grill salmon, preheat an outdoor grill to approximately 400 degrees. Place your salmon onto aluminum foil or a pre-soaked cedar grilling plank. Close the grill, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish easily flakes with a fork.
Storage and Reheating Instructions:
Salmon is always best served fresh. If you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit until warmed through.
If you like this recipe you may be interested in these other delicious salmon recipes:
Can you cook this salmon in an air fryer instead of the oven?
You sure can! https://thestayathomechef.com/air-fryer-salmon/
I love and trust your recipes.
The salmon turns out cooked perfectly, but bland (all the effort with the marinade seems wasted). However, the marinade is fantastic! We just need to have a a more pronounced effect on the salmon from th marinade. I made a few alterations (using the marinade) in an attempt to remedy this, which succeeded to a degree. [These steps assume using orange slices (thinly sliced – no more than 2mm thick) to cover the salmon during the initial bake]
* Pour off the marinade into a small saucepan after removing the salmon from the fridge in step 2.
* Baste the salmon with the marinade (several teaspoons) after placing it on the baking sheet and before closing the foil (step 4). Some liquid will pool in the bottom of the baking sheet.
* Bake for 10-12 minutes in step 4, then open the foil and return to the oven for the remainder of the time to bake off some of the excess liquid.
* Meanwhile, after using the marinade to baste the salmon, heat the marinade on medium-low heat, until slow-boiling.
* Reduce heat on the marinade to maintain a strong simmer for the duration of the salmon bake in the oven. Stir occasionally.
* Remove salmon from oven and heat broiler.
* Remove and discard the orange slices, and return salmon, uncovered, to oven for about 5-7 minutes (watch carefully).
** Serve with the reduced marinade – but be aware that the reduced marinade will be salty, depending in the amount of soy sauce used
Always love salmon 😊this looks sooo delicious thank for recipes 👍
I made the orange ginger brown sugar marinade, and it was FAN TAS TIC ! I’ll write it down to use for salmon forevermore.