Grilling skinless salmon

Powak

Grilled seafood for the first time tonight on the egg. I don't have a plank or a fish grate but skinless salmon fillets cooked at 350 direct, raised to the felt, seemed to come out damn good. Most of the recipes and tips I read said to just grill on one side and pull 120-135ish, however Can you flip and grill both sides with success? 

SGH

Powak said:

 Can you flip and grill both sides with success? 

You sure can brother. However you have to be very carful to keep the fish from falling apart. It's very delicate to put it mildly. 

Carolina Q

I always do both sides, but I cook salmon in a pan, not on the grid. If cooking skin on (preferred), put it in a little oil, skin side up just long enough to give the skinless side some color. Then flip it skin down and cook till done. The skin protects the salmon from burning and is delightfully crispy. DO NOT DISCARD! If it's skinless to begin with, just be careful not to overcook. And buy skin on next time.

Disclaimer... I've been buying a lot of frozen skinless wild caught salmon lately. ALDI, about $4/lb. Is it as good as skin on wild caught coho? No, but it's not $12/lb either. Just wish it had skin!

DonWW

My wife and I love grilled salmon, one of our favorite cooks.  But, I always leave skin on and cook about 60-70% of grill time skin down, then flip.  Skin serves as a great protector (like a pan, Carolina).  Fish will just slide off skin when finished. 

Carolina Q

DonWW said:

Fish will just slide off skin when finished. 

Wait, you discard the skin? That crispy skin is delicious!

Teefus

I grill skinless salmon all the time. We did some yesterday in fact. All the salmon we get at Costco is skinless.

I make a small tray out of foil large enough for the filet I'm cooking. A couple pats of butter go under the fish. On top, I go a number of different ways:

1) Spice Rub
2) Salsa
3) Thin Lemon slices atop butter pats, plus sprinkles of brown sugar and kosher salt.
4) A BBQ sauce glaze.

Bake indirect on the Egg at about 300-325 until cooked through. Normally it takes about 30 minutes. I usually add a small hunk of apple wood to the lump for a little smoke.

We went with #3 last night. It was awesome. No leftovers.

Legume

I grill skinless salmon or other flaky fish when I get it that way, I also grill both sides of skin-on filets.  For salmon, I usually grill hot and direct.  Only flip once and don't move it around to get 45-degree grill marks or anything.  Hot and fast, flip after maybe 30% cooked and then let it sit and let the rest cook.  Bare-side first if it has skin on it.  If no skin, you really need to leave it alone once you've flipped it until you pull it off.