Grilled teriyaki salmon recipe
This teriyaki salmon recipe is perfect for summer. It is full of flavor and cooks in under 10 minutes, making it perfect for weeknight cooking. Skewers of sweet and spicy grilled salmon served with pineapple, peppers, and onions makes a delicious, low effort meal.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my grilled lemon herb shrimp and my simple grilled corvina recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my grilling recipes in one place.
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Grilled teriyaki salmon
This grilled teriyaki salmon is perfect for nights when you want something easy that doesn’t skimp on flavor. For us, summertime is all about grilling. And, while burgers and chicken are great, sometimes we want something different. Grilled fish, or really almost any seafood, is fantastic on the grill.
This teriyaki salmon recipe is one that I make again and again, because it is low effort and big on flavor. Meaty fish, like salmon, can hold up to the heat of the grill, and a little bit of char on the flesh means a ton of flavor.
What you need to know
Making these pineapple salmon skewers does require planning ahead. You’ll need to marinate the salmon for 3 – 4 hours before grilling.
If you’re using wooden skewers, you’ll need to soak them for at least 30 minutes, so they don’t burn up on the grill. I use these stainless steel skewers, because I can wash them and reuse them, and they don’t require soaking.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this grilled salmon teriyaki recipe are easily available, and you probably already have most of it. The only item that might not be in your pantry is the mirin. Many grocery stores carry it, but you can find many options in an Asian grocery store or online.
- Salmon – I bought a side of skin-off salmon and cut it into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
- Substitution: Another fish option would be mahi mahi or corvina. You need a “meaty” fish, nothing too thin or delicate.
- Pineapple, bell pepper, and red onion – Grilled fruit and vegetables are served with the salmon. Most people serve grilled pineapple in a sweet recipe, but it is delicious in a savory recipe.
- Mirin – Mirin is a slightly sweet Japanese rice wine. It is absolutely worth seeking out.
- Substitution: Replace mirin with rice wine vinegar plus a teaspoon of sugar to balance the tartness.
- Ginger – Fresh ginger is preferable, but “squeeze ginger” as I call it, is also a good option if the hands of ginger at the store look less than ideal.
- Soy sauce – This is the base of the marinade, along with brown sugar, garlic, and pineapple juice.
How to grill salmon skewers
Grilling fish can be tricky, because it is more delicate than say, a steak or a piece of chicken. It tends to stick, and it can easily start to flake on the grill. However, once you do it, you’ll see how easy it is. As with any protein, it will naturally start to release when it’s ready. Plus, I have a few tips for success that will help you grill like a pro.
First, we’ll marinate the salmon for 3 – 4 hours. Then, remove it from the marinade and pat the fish dry.
Before placing anything on the grill, make sure the grates are relatively clean. Heat the grill to 400°F / 200°C. Grab a few layers of paper towel, drizzle them with a high heat oil, like canola, grapeseed, or avocado. Holding it with tongs, run it along the grill grates to coat. You want to apply a thin layer, too much and it will smoke.
Thread the pieces of salmon onto the skewers, and place on a moderately hot grill for 4 – 5 minutes, then flip over and cook on the second side for another 4 minutes.
Helpful tips for success
Once the fish is down, don’t mess with it. You’ll notice that the fish will let you know when it’s ready to flip. It will naturally release, most of the time. If you have to coax it off the grate, be gentle.
Make sure you pat the salmon dry before placing it on the grill. Too much moisture will lead to sticking to the grates, especially because the marinade has sugar in it, which can also cause a problem.
Lastly, make sure you have clean, lightly oiled grill grates. Oiling the hot grates will help create a barrier so the fish won’t stick.
Teriyaki sauce for salmon
This marinade has only a handful of ingredients, and comes together in about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, minced garlic, mirin, and ginger. Whisk to combine. This will be the marinade for the salmon.
After the fish has been marinated, the teriyaki sauce will be heated on the stove and cooked down, then used to brush on the salmon.
Teriyaki salmon recipe FAQ’s
You can marinate and skewer the teriyaki salmon a day ahead of time, but I wouldn’t recommend any longer. Fish has a relatively short shelf life.
You can store the leftover cooked salmon in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Variations and substitutions
- Spicy – Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the teriyaki marinade to give it a little kick.
- Mirin – Most markets carry this Japanese rice wine, and it is available online, but a good swap for this ingredient is rice wine vinegar with a little sugar added to it.
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Teriyaki Salmon Recipe
Equipment
- Skewers
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs. salmon skin-off, cut into 1½ inch (4 cm) pieces.
- 1 medium pineapple peeled, cored, and cut into 1½ inch pieces
- 1 large bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow) cut into 1½ inch pieces
- 1 large red onion peeled, and cut into 1½ inch pieces
Teriyaki Sauce
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 2 tbsp. mirin
- 1 tbsp. grated ginger
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Make the marinade – Place all of the ingredients for the marinade, except the cornstarch, in a small bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Marinate the salmon – Add salmon to a medium sized dish, like a glass baking dish, and pour the marinade over the salmon pieces. Toss to coat, and gently press the salmon down to make sure it is covered by the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 – 4 hours.
- Thread the skewers – Remove the salmon from the marinade, and gently pat dry. Thread the pieces onto skewers. (Do not overcrowd them. The pieces should not be tightly packed together.)On separate skewers, thread the pineapple, onions, and peppers. (It is ok for these to be packed a little tighter.)
- Cook the teriyaki sauce – Add the marinade to a small pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk cornstarch with 2 tbsp. of water and add to the simmering sauce. Let the sauce cook for about 10 minutes, until it is slightly thickened and glossy.
- Heat – Preheat the grill to 400°F / 200°C. Fold a few layers of paper towel and dip it in oil, or drizzle oil on the paper towels. Holding it with tongs, run it lightly along the grill grates to coat.Leave one burner on the lowest heat, or no heat, so you can move skewers over as needed.
- Grill the salmon – Place the salmon skewers and the pineapple/onion/pepper skewers on the grill. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes. Flip over, baste the skewers with the sauce, and cook for an additional 4 minutes. *Use the burner with low heat to hold skewers that are done, or those that need indirect heat to finish cooking through, without getting any more color on the outside (i.e. – burning).
- Remove from the heat – Remove salmon skewers from the heat and let the fish rest for a couple of minutes before removing it from the skewers. Brush the salmon with sauce once more while it's resting. Serve salmon and grilled vegetables over rice, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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