Marinades for salmon

Salmon is one of the best fish you can eat. It's high in protein and healthy fats, it lends itself well to a variety of cooking methods, and its buttery, flaky texture is simply unmatched. One of the best ways to add flavor and a "wow" factor to your salmon is to marinate it!!

How long to marinate salmon?

Salmon, like most fish, is easily overcooked. It only takes seconds to turn your tasty salmon fillet into a dry, bland meal. However, when you marinate salmon and cook it properly, you end up with a tender, moist piece of fish with lots of flavor.

Indeed, marinating is a great preparation and seasoning method because it not only adds flavor, but it also helps retain moisture in the meat. This means your food is less likely to dry out when cooking.

You can determine the salmon marinating time depending on the size of your salmon. Smaller pieces of salmon like fillets can marinate for 30 to 60 minutes. On the other hand, a normal-sized piece of salmon can marinate for up to 2 hours. We recommend always marinating your fish for less than 2 hours, as this can break down the fish's delicate proteins, resulting in a mushy, tasteless texture. It's best to just check the fish every thirty minutes. If the texture of the fish is affected by the marinade, it's time to stop marinating and start cooking.

Another factor to consider is your choice of marinade ingredients. If your marinade has no (or only few) acidic, salty, or dairy-based ingredients, you can marinate the salmon longer. A good rule of thumb is that the absence of tenderizing ingredients means you can extend the marinating time by 50%: a 30 minute marinade can now be 45 minutes.

Additionally, the maximum marinating time for salmon is 6 hours if you use an acid-based marinade like vinegar or lemon juice.

How to choose a marinade?

Salmon is a wonderfully diverse fish. Therefore, it offers more flavor pairing options than virtually any other fish species. Choosing a marinade for your salmon is pretty easy, as long as the marinade has a well-balanced flavor. Marinades have a few key categories to consider.

You can choose from salty, sweet, tangy, creamy, smoked, green (fresh), or tangy marinades. Each of them will have a different effect on your salmon and will bring completely diverse flavors!

Savory marinades typically include ingredients such as soy sauce, miso, olives, capers, anchovies or Worcestershire sauce.

If you have a sweet tooth, consider marinades that include ingredients like honey, sugar, molasses or agave nectar, all naturally sweet.

You can also choose from fresh, sweet ingredients such as a variety of berries (cherries, blueberries or raspberries), citrus fruits (clementines and oranges) or peaches and nectarines. Some wines will also add a touch of sweetness and acidity.

A tart flavor profile is pretty easy to achieve, as you don't need much to get that pleasant tartness. Lemon, lime and vinegar are classic ingredients for tangy marinades. Any naturally acidic and sour fruit like grapefruit is helpful, as are acidic white wines often used for cooking.

Do you like smoky flavors? You can incorporate smoked products such as smoked paprika, chili flakes and toasted spices into your marinade.

For a creamy marinade, you can't go wrong with ingredients like yogurt, crème fraîche, butter, cream cheese, or sour cream. Be aware that sour cream will also add some acidity to your salmon.

Zesty marinades are those that contain strongly flavored ingredients such as garlic, onions, seed oils and sriracha.

Green, fresh marinades are usually made from a combination of herbs and greens, such as dill, fennel, tarragon, parsley, basil, sage, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and coriander. Cucumber, asparagus and snow peas are also great.

Here are some examples of marinade choices:

How long can you keep marinated salmon in the refrigerator?

Always marinate salmon in the refrigerator. No exceptions. Marinated salmon will keep in the refrigerator for 6 hours, keeping in mind that you should adjust this time depending on the size of your fish and your ingredient choices.

How to cook marinated salmon?

You can pan fry, bake, air fry, grill or sear your marinated salmon. Before cooking it, decide if you need to remove the marinade before cooking. Baking with the right baking dishes usually allows you to preserve the marinade. However, frying or searing salmon in a pan or on a griddle often requires removing the marinade. Otherwise, the usual rules for cooking salmon, such as using a meat thermometer and letting it rest, still apply. In fact, the internal cooking temperature of salmon, which is usually 70°C (158°F), remains the same when the salmon is marinated!

All you need to do is test the marinade recipes to find out if you have a penchant for salty, sweet, tangy, creamy, smoked, green or spicy marinades. We have several salmon products on our online store to make these recipes! Enjoy your food!!