Salmon Marinades

Salmon is one of the best fish you can eat. It is rich in protein and healthy fats, versatile in various 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 by marinating it!

How long to marinate salmon?

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

Indeed, marinating is an excellent method for preparation and seasoning, as it not only adds flavor but also helps retain moisture in the meat. This means your food is less likely to dry out during cooking.

You can determine the marinating time for salmon based on its size. Smaller salmon pieces like fillets can marinate for 30 to 60 minutes. On the other hand, a regular-sized piece of salmon can marinate for up to 2 hours. We recommend always marinating your fish for less than 2 hours, as it can break down the delicate proteins in the fish, resulting in a mushy and tasteless texture. It's best to 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 little or no acidic, salty, or dairy-based ingredients, you can marinate the salmon for a longer time. 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.

Furthermore, the maximum marinating time for salmon is 6 hours if you are using an acidic-based marinade like vinegar or lemon juice.

How to choose a marinade?

Salmon is a wonderfully diverse fish, offering more flavor pairing options than almost any other fish species. Choosing a marinade for your salmon is relatively 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, smoky, green (fresh), or spicy marinades. Each of them will have a different effect on your salmon and bring completely diverse flavors!

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

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

You can also choose from fresh and 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.

Acidic flavor profiles are quite easy to achieve, as you don't need much to get that pleasant tanginess. Lemon, lime, and vinegar are classic ingredients for tangy marinades. Any naturally acidic and tart fruit like grapefruit is useful, as are the acidic white wines often used for cooking.

Love smoky flavors? You can incorporate smoky products such as smoked paprika, chili flakes, and grilled spices into your marinade.

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

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

Green and fresh marinades are usually composed of a combination of herbs and green vegetables, such as dill, fennel, tarragon, parsley, basil, sage, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and coriander. Cucumber, asparagus, and sugar snap peas are also excellent choices.

Here are some examples of marinade choices:

How long can you store marinated salmon in the refrigerator?

Always marinate salmon in the refrigerator. No exceptions. Marinated salmon can be stored in the refrigerator for 6 hours, keeping in mind that you should adjust this duration based on the size of your fish and your choice of ingredients.

How to cook marinated salmon?

You can pan-fry, bake, air-fry, grill, or sear your marinated salmon. Before cooking, decide whether you need to remove the marinade before cooking. Baking with the right baking dishes usually allows you to keep the marinade. However, frying or searing the 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. Indeed, the usual internal cooking temperature of salmon, which is usually 70°C (158°F), remains the same when the salmon is marinated!

Now all that's left is to try out the marinade recipes to see if you have more of a preference for salty, sweet, tangy, creamy, smoky, green, or spicy marinades. We have several salmon products available on our online store to make these recipes! Enjoy!