This Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade is not only an easy weeknight meal but elegant enough to impress guests. Caramelized, healthy, and delicious! The soy sauce recipe is an easy way to prepare delicious fish. Your grandkids would love it!
Delicious Soy Sauce And Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade Recipe
Growing up, I never liked any seafood of any kind. After living in Maryland for a year and a half, I learned to love crab. But I never like shrimp. And I know some of you will give it to me good over this, but I never like lobster.
However, I branched out to other types of fish and recently fell in love with Salmon fish. Deeply in love with Salmon fish. Head over heels in love with Salmon fish.
I am enjoying trying out methods of preparing and cooking this wonderful fish. So when I came upon this pin, it just called to me. The pin says Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade. Wrap it in foil and bake at 425° for approx. 15 minutes. Moist and delicious.
Ok! On to the recipe!
If you don’t like fish or seafood generally, this recipe will surely win you over.
Here Is What You Will Need
- 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
- lemon pepper to taste
- garlic powder to taste
- salt to taste
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Step 1: Season Salmon
Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
Step 2: Prepare And Stir Soy Sauce Mixture
In a small bowl, add;
- Lemon Pepper
- Garlic
- Salt
- Soy Sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Water
- Oil
Stir the entire mixture together until sugar is dissolved.
Step 3: Place Salmon Fish In A Resealable Plastic Bag
Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag, pour soy sauce mixture over the fish, seal, and turn to coat. Marinate for at least 2 hours. This means that you will leave the fish soaked in the soy sauce mixture for two hours.
Step 4: Preheat The Grill To Medium Heat
Turn on the grill to let it warm up while you get the fish ready. This is a very important step and should not be overlooked.
If you don’t preheat, it’s impossible to impart the signature grill marks onto your fish. It also allows the fish to have the best taste, texture, and browning. And it prevents the fish from sticking to the grill.
Step 5: Oil The Grill Gate
Lightly oil grill grate. This ensures the best cooking result. It also prevents fish from sticking to the grill thereby making your grill last longer.
To oil the grill gate, dip a wadded paper towel in a little oil. Using tongs, wipe the oil evenly over the grill grate. Be careful not to use too much oil, because that’s a sure-fire way to start a good flare-up—a little goes a long way here.
Step 6: Place Salmon On Preheated Grill
Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
The easiest way to see if your salmon has finished cooking is to gently press down on the top of the fillet with a fork or your finger. If the flesh of the salmon flakes—meaning, it separates easily along the white lines that run across the fillet (strips of fish fat)—it’s finished cooking.
Step 7: Wrap Salmon In Foil And Bake At 425° For Approx. 15 Minutes
Finally, wrap the fish in foil and bake at 425° for approximately 15 minutes.
Bake Or Pan Fry Salmon – Which Is Better?
I usually bake mine. It’s wonderful both ways. But it all boils down to what you want. If you want to have it easy then baking is your best option. If you want it crispy then pan-frying is better.
For optimal tender, flaky moistness, brush fillets with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and bake until just slightly under-done and let rest under foil to finish cooking.
What You Can Serve With Soy Sauce And Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade
Here is a list of my top 10 side dish you can serve with salmon. They taste perfect. You can get more side dish inspiration here.
- Grilled Asparagus
- Herb Roasted Potatoes
- Farro Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Bacon Pea Salad
- Oven Roasted Carrots
- Pesto Spaghetti
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Brocolli and Sesame Rice
- Sesame Cucumbers
Other Flavors That Taste Great With Salmon
The Sweet brown sugar salmon recipe shown here is just one of the few flavors that taste great with salmon. You may also use honey, maple syrup, orange juice, or zest in place of the brown sugar.
If your dietician requires you to cut down on sugar, then honey, maple syrup, orange juice, or zest is a better alternative to achieve the sweet flavor in your fish.
Here are some other flavors you can try out. If you don’t consume a lot of sugar or you prefer greens in your diet then you might find these flavors interesting.
- Salty: lower-sodium soy sauce, capers, miso, olives
- Sour: fresh lemon, fresh lime, vinegar
- Pungent: onion, shallot, garlic, ginger, horseradish, sesame
- Creamy: cream cheese, yogurt, crème fraîche, butter
- Smoky: chipotle chiles, smoked paprika, cumin
- Green: fresh herbs (especially dill, chives, and mint), cucumber, asparagus
How To Make Salmon Taste Better
To make your salmon taste better simply follow the recipe provided on this blog. Even if you are a beginner in doing this, following it would help you achieve a caramelized, healthy and delicious fish. You don’t need to have ever cooked a piece of fish in your life to make this recipe with success.
Trust me. Just go for it! The grandkids would love it!
How Long Should You Bake Salmon In The Oven?
The amount of time varies depending on the thickness of the filet. But the average time is 15 minutes.
If you’re using an exceptionally thin filet, it could be finished baking in as little as 10 minutes. On the other hand, if it’s very thick, it could take up to 25 minutes.
Mistakes To Avoid When Preparing Salmon
Leaving the Pin Bones In It
Pin bones are hard to spot physically until they get stuck in one’s throat. To prevent this scenario, it’s worth taking a few extra minutes to run your hands over the fillet to locate and gently remove them before cooking.
Tweezers come in handy in helping you remove the pins. Or better yet, if you plan to buy fresh salmon, ask your fishmonger to remove the pin bones for you.
Removing the salmon skin before cooking (with one exception).
If you’re poaching salmon, then yes, it’s okay to go ahead and remove the skin — this is your one exception. Otherwise, if you’re baking, roasting, broiling, pan-searing, or grilling, that tough, fatty skin is one of the best protection against overcooking.
Leaving the fish in the heat for too long.
Make this error and the telltale signs will be in your face — the super-fishy aroma, dry, flaky texture, and white albumen oozing out the sides. Overcooked simply isn’t enjoyable, but the good news is that you can easily avoid it.
Cooking the fish skin-side up.
It doesn’t matter how you place the fish in the pan, right? Wrong! This matters big time and can be the difference between a well-cooked and overcooked piece of fish.
Whether you’re pan-searing, roasting, or grilling, always start by cooking the salmon skin-side down. The skin works to protect the more delicate flesh from overcooking. And depending on the cooking method, most, if not all, of the cooking will happen this way.
Preparing My First Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade
When I made this Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade, I was a little disappointed when I opened the foil packet after baking and could understand wanting to grill it. It was sort of pale and icky looking.
It kind of baffled me because the pin said to wrap it in foil but the salmon in the picture had grill marks. Maybe it was grilled after baking? Then I flipped the salmon over and found that each slice had a beautifully caramelized crust on the bottom.
The time for baking depends on how big a slice of salmon you are using. My whole family liked it and felt there was not enough. So next time, I will have made bigger slices and MORE of them!
The original pin is from allrecipes.com and calls for grilling. Baking it in a foil packet is an idea that came from one of the comments. I am confident it would be delicious either way.
If you are looking for an easy to prepare and cook salmon, this Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Salmon Marinade is a solid recipe. It is simple and its presentation is elegant. Give it a try!
This Pin Rocks!
Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Marinade
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
- lemon pepper to taste
- garlic powder to taste
- salt to taste
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
- Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag, pour soy sauce mixture over fish, seal, and turn to coat.Marinate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat grill for medium heat.
- Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Or
- Wrap it in foil and bake at 425° for approx. 15 minutes.
Love this recipe? Here are other tasty recipes that would interest you!
- Roasted Chickpeas Recipe
- Polyjuice Potion Recipe
- Monkey Butter
- Paula Deen’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
- Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos
This is a recipe I know my family will love! It looks delicious. I’ve pinned it to my board!
Thanks for pinning Jen!
Love this as well! Everything that I have looked at for how long to marinate salmon though is only 30-60 minutes. Why 2 hours?
I used orange juice in place of water.
This sounds and looks amazing! Thank you for sharing on Simple Supper Tuesday.
Thanks for dropping by Cindy.
This sounds super tasty! I’m going to pin it for later!
Thanks for pinning Emily. We love our Pinterest friends!
Looks delish! I love fish dishes but am never brave enough to make them myself… besides shrimp. 🙂
toddlindsey.com
I am confident anyone could handle this recipe. Thanks for coming by Lindsey.
Do you bake with skin still on? Skin side up or down?
I did without skin. I would guess skin side down. Let me know how it goes, Amanda!
I am always looking for new salmon recipes, and this one look delicious!!!
Enjoy!
Do you think marinading it for a long time would hurt anything? I have to work until 4 every day and we like to try to eat no later than 5.
I think it should be fine. If you try it, let us know!
Just curious – what do you think it would do to substitute coconut oil for the vegetable oil?
As far as I know coconut oil does not stay liquid when refrigerated. I am not sure it would work. Let me know if you give it a try. We would love to hear your results.
Did you put any extra marinade in the foil pack to get it carmelized?
I did have a bit of marinade in there. Maybe a spoonful? Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we did.
My daughter is a fabulous cook and often prepares seafood, to include salmon. This recipe is going to be great for surprising my girl! Mom can cook pretty good still! Thanks for posting it. I’m pinning it right now!!
Don’t you just love it when we can show our kids we still got it? Me too! Thanks for pinning Debbie and enjoy the recipe.
I Made this and replaced soy sauce with dijon mustard and served it inside the foil pocket. The salmon was cooked to perfection!
That sounds heavenly, CC! I think I will give it a try. I LOVE Salmon. Dijon mustard and brown sugar, oh yeah! What a great variation on the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing this great idea.
I almost exclusively make it with Garlic Parmesan Roasted Squash. I often have Uncle Ben’s wild rice blend too. Hope you enjoy, Lisa.
I made this last night and I skipped the grilling and just baked. I didn’t cover them in foil, just laid them on foil. I didn’t get the carmalized results I was hoping for doing it that way…. But the taste was still very good!
Great to hear! So glad you liked it, Angela. This is a very adaptable recipe.
good thing because i did the same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This recipe is a fail safe recipe! has become one of my favorites!
I am so glad to hear that! Thanks so much for your kind comment Teri! Sherri – The Youngest Sister
I just made this tonight, and my 4 year old picky eater loved it. Thanks!
4 year old approved! Awesome!
The most best recipe ever! We love the marinate. I always bake my salmon with this recipe.
I am so happy to read your comment. Glad you like this recipe as much as I do! It is great on the grill, too. Perfect now that warm weather is returning!
I have found that the oil is not necessary at all. Salmon is oily enough on it’s own.
This could be a great option for those who want to cut down on fat. Thanks for sharing your experience, Karissa.
We made this for dinner last night and it was really enjoyed! Thank you for posting it. I’ve added it to the fish and seafood section of my website.
Thanks for letting me know. I am so glad you liked it.
Anyone know of a healthier sub for brown sugar? I have been soon this exact recipe for years, in the foil packet, but now I am clean eating…. Stevia maybe?
Or turbinado sugar or agave. Let us know how you like it.
Do you think I could duplicate this recipe in a foil packet maybe on broil? I much prefer it grilled to baked, but not outdoors in MI in the winter! 🙂
You could even pan fry it, Kate. I would try broiling it without the foil and let it caramelize. Just flip it over halfway through the cooking time. I haven’t tried it this way, but I bet it would be good!
i made this last night- due to short notice, i did not marinate- i simply seasoned the fish and mixed equal parts brown sugar and soy sauce, and then drizzled it over the fish- it was SO delicious! there is HOPE if you dont plan ahead 🙂
Well that’s good news! Thanks, Jessica.
You said when you flip the salmon over, that’s where the carmalized goodness is. Which side do you cook it on then? Do you bake it with skin side up, so when you flip it over to serve, the skin will be the opposite side? Thanks
My salmon filets did not have skin on, so it didn’t matter. If you have skin, I would do skin side on top. That way when you flip it over it will be beautiful. You can also grill or pan fry it. You are so welcome. Hope you enjoy.
Does this work if you’re grilling your salmon on a plank? Thanks!
It tastes great any way you cook it!
Do you think i can marinate while the salmon is frozen?
Hmmm…I am not sure if you mean to pour the marinade over frozen filets and let them thaw, or if you mean to put the marinade over fresh Salmon and then freeze. For option one, I think so. As the meat thaws, it may dilute the marinade a smidge, but I don’t think it will affect flavor. For option two, I think it should be fine, as long as it is fresh Salmon that has not been frozen before. For food safety, you are not supposed to thaw and refreeze meat. I hope this helps and that it turns out well.
Mmmmmmmmm looks absolutely delicious, can’t wait to try this out. Lately we’ve been eating salmon once a week and I’ve run out of ideas as I’m stuck with just grilling it. Thanks for sharing this great buy simple recipe.
I think you are going to be very pleased, Eli. Let me know how you like it. You are so welcome. I hope we will see you on our site again. – Sherri
Light or dark brown sugar? This sounds amazing!
I used light brown sugar. Dark would work too, but it will have a stronger flavor. Enjoy!
Made this twice – it is delicious.
So glad you liked it Krystal! It’s a keeper in our house!