From the America's Test KitchenThis recipe works best with salmon fillets but can also be used with any thick, firm-fleshed white fish, including red snapper, grouper, halibut, and sea bass (cook white fish to 140 degrees, up to 2 minutes longer per side). If you are using skinless fillets, treat the skinned side of each as if it were the skin side. If your fillets are thicker than 1 inch, increase the cooking time on the second side in step 3 until the center of the fillet registers 125 degrees (or 140 degrees for white fish).
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on salmon fillets, 3/4 to 1 inch thick (6 to 8 ounces each) (see note)
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Place fillets skin-side up on rimmed baking sheet or large plate lined with clean kitchen towel. Place second clean kitchen towel on top of fillets and press down to blot liquid. Refrigerate fish, wrapped in towels, while preparing grill, at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, following photo 2 in Keys to Nonstick Grilling below, loosely cover cooking grate with large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until very hot, about 15 minutes. Remove foil with tongs and discard. Use grill brush to scrape cooking grate clean. Lightly dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe grate. Continue to wipe grate with oiled paper towels, re-dipping towels in oil between applications, until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times (see photo 3 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below).
- Brush both sides of fish with thin coat of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place fish skin-side down on grill diagonal to grate (photo 4 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below), reduce heat to medium, cover grill, and cook without moving until skin side is brown, well marked, and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. (Try lifting fish gently with spatula after 3 minutes; if it doesn’t cleanly lift off grill, continue to cook, checking at 30-second intervals until it releases.) Using 2 spatulas, flip fish to second side (photo 5 of Keys to Nonstick Grilling below) and cook, covered, until centers of fillets are opaque and register 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 2 to 6 minutes longer. Serve immediately with lemon wedges or Almond Vinaigrette, Rouille, or Olive Vinaigrette (see Serve With recipes).
Keys to Nonstick Grilling
- DRYING fillets prevents moisture on their surface from cooking on the cooking grate, which can lead to sticking.
- SUPER-HEATING grill by covering it with aluminum foil ensures that all stuck-on debris disintegrates.
- SEASONING cooking grate with multiple layers of oil builds nonstick surface.
- POSITIONING fish diagonally on cooking grate creates attractive grill marks and makes flipping easier.
- DOUBLING UP on spatulas supports fish from two sides while it's being flipped.