Blackened Grilled Salmon

Name: Blackened Grilled Salmon
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: PT-470997H19M13S
Total time: PT-470997H19M13S
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ½ tablespoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon ground black pepper; ¼ teaspoon dried basil leaves; ¼ teaspoon dried oregano leaves; ¼ teaspoon dried thyme; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; 4 4-ounce filets fresh salmon, skin-on; 1 tablespoon olive oil

By Julie Andrews

This omega-3-packed recipe for blackened grilled salmon will knock your socks off! The flavor from the homemade (and SUPER easy to make) blackened seasoning is so delicious, and goes so well on grilled salmon. Serve with a green salad and you’ve got yourself an amazing meal.

I shared these tips a few years ago when I posted my recipe for Pesto Grilled Salmon, but I figured why not include them here as a nice reminder?! These are my best tips for making perfectly cooked salmon:

You can cook salmon with the skin on or off! It just depends on your preference, but the skin is edible. It really only tastes good if it’s browned and crispy, though, so make sure to “set it and forget it,” meaning leave it on the stove or grill or under the broiler until it’s nice and crispy without fussing with it. Sometimes we play with our food a bit too much when cooking, making it difficult to achieve that perfect crust. But if you’re just not into the skin, you can have the butcher remove it or use a filet or boning knife to remove it yourself.
Salmon can be cooked in filets or smaller pieces, or you can throw the whole slab on the grill, in a saute pan (just be sure it’s large enough) or under the broiler. It just depends on how you want to present it and what you’re serving it with.
Salmon is a quick-cooking protein, so it works well to grill, saute or broil it. It is also delicious poached in broth or olive oil. It pairs well with a crisp salad or grilled, sauteed or roasted vegetables.
And last but not least, the million dollar question: how can you tell when it’s done? Well, there are two best practices: 1) use an instant-read meat thermometer; when the thickest part of the flesh reaches 140 degrees, take it off the heat source and let it sit five minutes. Most proteins carryover cook about five degrees, so temp it again after five minutes and be sure it reaches 145 degrees. You don’t want to overcook it, so that’s why it’s important to take it off the heat before it reaches 145 degrees. 2) use the back of a fork to test the doneness; if you press down on the flesh and it springs back, it isn’t quite ready. If it starts to flake apart, it’s perfect! The time it takes to cook will depend on the cooking method and how thick the pieces are, which is why it’s more important to pay attention to the thermometer and flakiness versus the cooking time.

Hopefully these quick tips will help you feel like a salmon cooking rock star!

A few other salmon recipes you might enjoy:

A few side dishes that go well with salmon: