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my local restaurant served me recently some wild salmon (slice) from the grill. It tasted delicious, but was pretty dry.

I'm aware that wild salmon has much less fat. So I'm wondering, is there any preparation or cooking technique for barbecuing wild salmon on the grill to avoid that the fish gets dry?

note: Placing the grill a bit higher, is not an option for a restaurant, where they grill several kind of fish at the same time

P.S.: there is a similar question here, but the answers focus on how to cook farmed salmon

Vickel
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  • I think [this answer](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/4726/45339) from the question you link to applies to your question--probably moreso than it applies to that other question. With fish that are less fatty, they are also less forgiving to being overcooked. – AMtwo Jan 04 '22 at 15:38
  • @AMtwo I'm asking specifically for barbecuing (see tag charcoal), so you cannot just *take off a few degrees* – Vickel Jan 04 '22 at 15:40
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    "take off a few degrees" refers to the final internal temperature of the cooked salmon(125-135°F), not the temp over which they are cooked. That said, you certainly can adjust the temperature of a charcoal fire. How you "build" the fire is a key factor in grilling. – AMtwo Jan 04 '22 at 15:56

2 Answers2

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The answer to "how do I grill plain wild salmon without it being dry" is both simple and hard: don't overcook it.

Wild salmon fillets are thinner, with less fat, than farmed salmon. As such, They go from "done" to "overcooked" in less than a minute. For a thin tail piece, for example, time on the grill should be only around 3-4 minutes. If you're not sure it's completely done, it's already done.

For this reason, I only order wild salmon at restaurants that are specifically seafood-focused, because I know that more general restaurants will overcook it.

Above is based on my experience as a resident of the US Pacific Northwest with a grill and a subscription to a wild salmon CSA.

FuzzyChef
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  • thanks for your answer, which is my experience as well. It's just that I'm at this local seafood restaurant, every second day and would like to give them something new to try out, since they only do sardines, salmon, mackerel, sea-bass, bream or cod. And all at the same time. And the poor salmon suffers each time overcooking – Vickel Jan 04 '22 at 22:19
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    Yeah, leaves or cedar planks per the other answer are going to be more reliable, specifically because they give the cook more error time on the grill, and it's something they can do which isn't "learn how to cook wild salmon properly". I posted my answer mainly for posterity, because your question is likely to get referenced for other, future, wild salmon questions. – FuzzyChef Jan 04 '22 at 22:24
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    The other way to manage this is to cook it at a specific (much lower) temperature. If you _had_ a sous vide circulator you could cook all your salmon to 120 and then finish it on the grill before serving. Brief research suggests 120f to be an excellent midpoitn. – Chris Pfohl Jan 05 '22 at 21:57
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    Chris: that's really a separate answer ... add it, for posterity? – FuzzyChef Jan 06 '22 at 00:08
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Cedar planks.

enter image description here

https://www.thespruceeats.com/cedar-plank-salmon-4140628

So easy, so delicious and it works great.

  1. Get cedar planks. You can pay big bucks for cedar planks intended for this use. Or you can buy cedar planks intended for use as siding or building cedar closets for very cheap. I have done both.

  2. Soak plank. If you are a planner aheader, soak it over night. Weigh down the planks with a coffee cup of water. If you are a non planner aheader, microwave the plank and glass pan full of water and the coffee cup for a few minutes. You get the same result.

  3. Put salmon on plank on grill. Salmon does not lose juice from below. It stays moist. And great plank flavor.

  4. Discard plank. Usually this uses up the plank because it is all burned on the bottom. But if you grill on charcoal the fish-grease soaked plank makes great kindling for next time!

My psychic powers saw a comment in the future saying planks for use in construction contain poison and persons should buy the $3 each planks. Yes: do not cook on treated lumber. Part of the thing about cedar is that it does not need preservative. I could not determine that there was anything but cedar in any of the cedar. A 20 lb box of planks from the big box hardware store costs the same as a plastic wrapped set of 4 planks from the fancy cooking store. Do what you are comfortable doing.

Willk
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  • Thanks a lot for this great idea, sounds really nice. I've not accepted your answer yet, since I hope some more delicious ideas will pop up and don't want to discourage other users to post more answers – Vickel Jan 04 '22 at 18:21
  • I've just talked to a friend, who uses banana leaves for that effect, he also said in the Madeira islands the banana leaves are often used to cook a variety of dishes in the oven – Vickel Jan 04 '22 at 19:04
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    also what about oak planks? Those are easier to get in Portugal, since there are tons of oak trees due to the cork industry. How about the thickness of the planks, it looks like 1/2inch (1cm) to me? – Vickel Jan 04 '22 at 20:34
  • Banana leaves steam the food inside, so a different deal. Re other wood types: an interesting idea but I have only ever seen or heard of salmon being planked on cedar. Cedar is sweet. I worry oak might be bitter., But you could definitely try: principle of moist fish should be the same. 1 cm is what the fancy stores cell. I have used thinner; cooks faster. – Willk Jan 04 '22 at 20:54
  • yes you are probably right with oak, it might add some bitter taste. I'll try the banana leave as it was a plank. My friend said, no soaking needed, since the leave has enough liquid in it, when it is used soon after cutting it off. He'll bring some tomorrow, excited :) – Vickel Jan 04 '22 at 20:59
  • Speaking from extensive personal experience, banana leaves, as well as grape leaves and fig leaves also work, provided that you coat the salmon in a fatty marinade (e.g. flavored olive oil, mayonnaise, coconut-based dressing etc.). The leaf makes sure that the marinade sticks to the salmon. – FuzzyChef Jan 04 '22 at 22:07
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    Also: NOT oak (or pine). Substitute woods that would be OK would be alder, birch, maple, or cherry. Oak and pine are way too strongly flavored and would ruin the fish. – FuzzyChef Jan 04 '22 at 22:27
  • _"3. Salmon does not lose juice from below. [...] 4. ... the fish-grease soaked plank makes great kindling for next time!"_ - This is contradictory ;) – marcelm Jan 06 '22 at 14:34
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    @marcelm - crushed in the jaws of cold logic. Salmon loses less juice from below because plank is in the way. Still loses some. – Willk Jan 06 '22 at 23:38