Marinated Grilled Salmon

It often feels like the husband and I eat nothing but chicken and ground turkey. Mainly because when we eat at home, we eat pretty much nothing but chicken and turkey. :) We made a conscious decision some months ago not to buy red meat anymore (though we do every once and awhile, like the birthday filet mignon) for a variety of reasons, and we don't really eat fish (other than sushi), since I am not a fan. The husband doesn't eat pork (other than some occasional bacon and baby back ribs) and while we like lamb, I never think to pick any up at the store.

So once you look at those self-imposed restrictions, we really are left with poultry as our only non-veggie option. But the husband recently mentioned that he misses eating fish, so since I like to keep him happy, I picked up two wild Alaskan salmon fillets on my next trip to the grocery store. I googled "grilled salmon" and found an appealing marinade on Allrecipes.com.

Well, I am glad I agreed to adding some fish into our meal plan again! This salmon turned out perfectly! The brown sugar gives a hint of sweetness to the fish and the grill infuses a smokey flavor throughout the flaky flesh. This was nothing like the mushy, fishy-tasting salmon I remembered from the last time I cooked up some fish. It definitely helped that I bought high quality fish, rather than the big bag of frozen fillets at Costco. I told the husband I would definitely eat this dish again, so it looks like fish will be making a more regular appearance on our weekly menus in the near future.


Marinated Grilled Salmon
Source: adapted from Allrecipes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 Wild Alaskan salmon fillets, about 1.5 pounds
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
freshly ground black pepper
sprinkle salt

Directions
Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir until the sugar is fully incorporated.

Place the salmon fillets in a large ziplock bag and pour in the marinade. Turn to fully coat. Refrigerate and let marinade for 2 hours.

Soak a handful of wood chips in cold water while the fish marinates.

Heat a charcoal grill. Once the coals are white hot, sprinkle the wet wood on top of the coals. Grill the fish, with the lid on to trap the smoke from the wood chips, for about 4-6 minutes per side, depending on thickness.