We must be grilling our salmon! It takes less than 10 minutes, it comes off the grill with a crackling, golden skin. The salmon is flaky and cooked to perfection! The lemon butter sauce combined with the creamy dill sauce is a duo that will have your summer meal dreams coming to life!
I serve my salmon with my Eat Them Straight Out of the Pan Green Beans because they are also studded with fresh lemon. It is a perfect pairing!
Why the Grill Changes Everything
Here’s what the grill does that your oven simply cannot: it creates contrast!
When salmon hits a hot grate, two things happen at once: the skin (and you always, always keep the skin on) makes contact with the heat and immediately begins to render and crisp. The fat in that skin bastes the flesh from the outside in.
Meanwhile, the inside of the fish stays protected, steaming gently, staying tender. You end up with two completely different textures in one bite: crispy on the outside, butter-soft on the inside.
The grill also adds something the oven can’t manufacture: smoke. Even just a little. Just enough to give the salmon a depth that makes people ask, “Wait, what did you do to this?” And the answer is: you put it on a grill. That’s it.
Start With the Brine (Don’t Skip This)
I know. You just want to season the fish and put it on the grill. I understand. I’ve been there. And every time I’ve skipped this step, I’ve regretted it.
Here’s the problem with salmon (especially previously frozen salmon) on the grill: moisture loss. As the fish cooks and the proteins tighten, they squeeze out liquid. That liquid shows up as the white, chalky stuff (it’s called albumin) that appears on the surface of cooked salmon. It doesn’t taste bad. But it’s a texture you didn’t ask for, and it signals that your fish cooked a little too fast and lost more moisture than it needed to.
A 15-minute brine in salted, slightly sweetened cold water stops all of that (it’s in the recipe below!).
The salt seasons the fish all the way through, not just on the surface, and restructures the proteins just enough that they hold onto moisture under heat. The tiny bit of sugar helps with caramelization on the grill. The fish comes out of the brine like a different creature entirely. Moist. Seasoned. Ready.
Pat it completely dry after. This is not optional. Wet fish does not sear. Wet fish steams. You want a sear.
I mean, look at this crispy skin!
This dish is deceivingly so satisfying! It’s insanely quick! It’s what all my summer Tuesday nights beg for. I can’t wait for you to make this!
Lemon Butter Grilled Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
For the Salmon:
4 salmon filets, skin-on, thawed overnight in the fridge if frozen
4 Tbsp butter
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
For the Creamy Dill Sauce:
1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp sour cream
3 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
For Serving:
Lemon wedges
Instructions
Quick-Brine the Salmon
Even if your salmon filets thawed overnight in the fridge and look perfectly thawed, a quick brine makes ALL the difference! Dissolve 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 tablespoon sugar in about 4 cups of cold water in a large bowl or baking dish.
Submerge the salmon filets and let them sit for 15-20 minutes. (This seasons them all the way through, prevents that white albumin from oozing out on the grill, and keeps everything incredibly moist. Pat completely dry with paper towels after.)
Make the Creamy Dill Sauce
While the salmon brines, whisk together 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt, 3 Tbsp sour cream, 3 Tbsp finely chopped dill, 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives, and the juice of 1/2 lemon in a bowl. Season with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate until serving (it gets better as it sits!).
Make the Lemon Butter
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt 4 Tbsp butter. Stir in the zest of your lemon and the juice. Add 2 of your minced garlic cloves, and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the smell of garlic hits your nose!
Remove from heat and set aside; you’ll brush this over the salmon as it grills and again right before serving.
Preheat the Grill
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat (around 400-425°F).
Skin Side Down First: Put half of the lemon butter sauce in a separate small dish. Brush the skin side of your dried salmon filets with lemon butter and season generously with 2 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper.
Place skin-side DOWN on the clean, oiled grill grates. Close the lid and do not touch them for 4-5 minutes. The skin will act as a natural barrier and protect the flesh. After 4-5 minutes, brush the flesh generously with your lemon butter sauce.
Flip Once and Finish with Butter
Carefully flip the salmon using a wide spatula; if it resists, give it another 3 minutes. It will release when it’s ready.
Cook flesh-side down for just 2-3 minutes, depending on thickness (you want an internal temp of 125-130°F for medium, 145°F for fully cooked).
The second it comes off the grill, hit every filet with another generous brush of lemon butter (from the other half portion that was reserved). Let the butter melt and pool.
Dish and Serve
Plate the salmon filets. Spoon some of the cold dill sauce on the plate or serve it in a ramekin alongside. Add 4 lemon wedges to the plate for serving. Drizzle any remaining lemon butter over everything.
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