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    Home » Seafood

    Grilled King Salmon with Plum Sauce

    Published: Aug 2, 2017 · Modified: Dec 2, 2022 · 17 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    This grilled King salmon recipe features luscious King salmon cooked on a grill and served with a fresh, homemade plum sauce.
    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    This grilled King salmon recipe features luscious King salmon cooked on a grill and served with a fresh, homemade plum sauce.

    This post is sponsored by Regal New Zealand King Salmon.
    Grilled King Salmon with Plum Sauce in a Serving Dish

    How do you feel about grilling fish?

    Do you adore the smoky, extra-deliciousness, but dread the grilling part?

    Do you watch your fish nervously, and hold your breath to make sure that it doesn’t fall to its doom down into the charcoal pit?

    I don’t– not normally, that is.

    Why not?

    Well, partly because it’s the husband manning the grill. I trust his fish-flipping skills, and grilling fish is easy if your grill plates are clean.

    Recently, however, I was staring as two gorgeous, GORGEOUS, fillets of thick, marbled, prized, luxurious King salmon sat on my grill, and I felt fear in my heart.

    Suddenly the grill seemed a little scarier, and the fillets a little too delicate– and I wanted reassurance that my fish would NOT fall into the grill.

    What did I do?

    What can you do, if you’ve got an especially pretty fillet to grill?  Keep reading, and find out!

    Plus, find out how to make grilled salmon with plum sauce– a spectacular, date-night worthy meal!

    Two King Salmon Fillets in a Fish Basket over a Charcoal Grill
    Using a Fish Basket

    How to Use a Fish Basket

    How did I ease my worried mind, and keep my fish safe and sound on the grill?  I used a fish grilling basket!

    A fish grilling basket is a metal basket with a long handle.

    They’re inexpensive, and will hold your fish up against the grill, without it actually touching the grill grates.

    These baskets are fabulous for fillets– particularly delicate fillets– because when it’s time to flip your fish, you just flip over the entire basket.

    For the record, King salmon is not a ‘particularly delicate’ fish– but it is a high-quality, more luxurious fillet, and losing even a little corner of the fish on a grill would be a minor tragedy.

    Grilled King Salmon with Plum Sauce in a Serving Dish

    What Makes King Salmon Special?

    Have you tried King salmon (or Chinook salmon) before?

    It’s the largest species of salmon, has more healthy omega-3 fatty acids than any other species of salmon, has a buttery and rich flavor, and meat that melts in your mouth.

    If you love King salmon, check out my other favorite King salmon recipes.

    Learn more about salmon: Wild Salmon vs. Farmed Salmon and Types of Salmon

    Using (Well) Farmed King Salmon

    This summer, I had the chance to try out some King salmon from Regal New Zealand King Salmon.

    Regal’s sustainable seafood practices are eco-friendly and sustainable, have earned the Best Aquaculture Practices certification from the Global Aquaculture Alliance, and New Zealand farmed salmon is considered a ‘Best Choice’ by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program.

    Plus, their King salmon is DELICIOUS on the grill!

    King salmon recipe: Grilled with Plum Sauce on Top
    This luscious Grilled King Salmon with Plum Sauce is made with rich and meaty King salmon fillets and fresh plum sauce!
    Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 7 votes

    Grilled King Salmon with Plum Sauce

    This grilled King salmon recipe features lucious King salmon cooked on a grill and served with a fresh, homemade plum sauce.
    Author: Sarah Trenalone
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time25 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free
    Servings: 2 people
    Calories: 387kcal
    Freezer Friendly?

    No

    Will It Keep?

    No

    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • Grill
    • Grilling basket
    • heat-proof gloves (if your grilling basket does not have an insulated handle)

    Ingredients

    Plum Sauce:

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 5 plums (red or black), pitted and diced Optionally, peel the plums for a smoother sauce
    • ¼ cup soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if needed)
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
    • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon sugar (optional, to taste) Amount needed will depend on how sweet your plums are. If plums are very sweet, you can omit.

    Grilled King Salmon:

    • 2 King salmon fillets (~4oz each) Regal New Zealand King Salmon recommended
    • pinch salt, pepper

    Instructions

    • Preheat grill and fish basket until they’re both very hot.  
    • While grill heats up, heat the olive oil on medium-high in a sauté pan.  When the oil is hot, and ripples when swirled around the pan, add the plums and stir with a wooden spoon.  Sauté about 2 minutes, until the plums soften.
    • Add the soy sauce and cayenne, and continue sautéing for another 2 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, turn the heat to low, and add the vinegar. Taste the sauce, and add sugar if desired. 
      Remove the sauce from heat, and cover the pan to keep the sauce warm while you grill the salmon.
    • Pat salmon dry. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.  
    • Carefully open the hot fish basket, using heat proof gloves if your basket doesn’t have an insulated handle, and set salmon inside the basket.  
    • Grill the salmon 4-5 minutes, skin side down, then flip the basket.  Grill the salmon for about 4 more minutes, until the salmon's translucent pink flesh has just barely turned pale pink.
      If you're concerned about overcooking your salmon, you can leave the grill lid off, and wait until the flesh has turned cooked through about halfway before flipping the fish.  If you leave the lid off, take care to stand back from the grill, since the oil dripping off this extra-oily fish can cause the grill to flame up.
    • Remove salmon from the basket, and serve immediately with the plum sauce.

    Notes

    Salmon Types + Cook Time: This recipe is specifically written for thick King salmon fillets.  For thinner fillets of Atlantic, pink, or other salmon– reduce cook time to 3-4 minutes.
    Serving Size: Calorie Information was calculated using 4oz servings of King salmon.  You may need to cut store-bought salmon fillets into smaller pieces before cooking to stick to a 4oz fillet– I recommend doing this since the fish is very rich and filling.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 387kcal (19%) | Carbohydrates: 20g (7%) | Protein: 27g (54%) | Fat: 20g (31%) | Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 65mg (22%) | Potassium: 343mg (10%) | Fiber: 2g (8%) | Sugar: 16g (18%) | Vitamin A: 1355IU (27%) | Vitamin C: 15.7mg (19%) | Calcium: 56mg (6%) | Iron: 1.7mg (9%)
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
    « Grilled Lobster Tails with Bourbon Sauce
    Poached Pears with Cardamom »

    About Sarah Trenalone

    Sarah is the primary creator at Champagne Tastes. She's a photographer, food writer and traveler, and is certified in Backcountry Kitchen and Backcountry Navigation from the Colorado Outward Bound School and Identifying Wild Plants from Backpacker.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lisa Bryan

      August 03, 2017 at 8:56 pm

      5 stars
      I’m such a fan of good quality salmon. And that plum sauce sounds divine!

      Reply
    2. Jenn

      August 03, 2017 at 11:16 pm

      My mom loves salmon – I’m forwarding this on to her. And that plum sauce is calling my name!

      Reply
    3. Luci's Morsels

      August 03, 2017 at 11:56 pm

      5 stars
      This plum sauce looks amazing and the perfect addition to the salmon! This would be a perfect meal for a date night in and I can’t wait to try this. Thank for sharing!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 04, 2017 at 3:54 pm

        Thanks Luci!

        Reply
    4. Marie | Yay! For Food

      August 04, 2017 at 1:25 am

      5 stars
      The King salmon fillets looks absolutely delicious. Love that Regal’s seafood practices are eco-friendly and sustainable too. The plum sauce sounds wonderful as well!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 04, 2017 at 3:54 pm

        Yes! I’m really impressed with their salmon- it’s DELICIOUS!

        Reply
    5. Calleigh - TheForkBite

      August 04, 2017 at 1:34 am

      I love eating grilled salmon..this one looks so perfect!

      Reply
    6. Dawn - Girl Heart Food

      August 07, 2017 at 9:12 am

      5 stars
      Girl, I’ve got to get myself a fish basket! Keeps everything right in place and definitely no fear of falling through! Love that plum sauce made with real plums! Delicious!!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 09, 2017 at 12:58 pm

        Yesss I love our fish basket! It’s perfect for fillets 🙂

        Reply
    7. Lisa | Garlic & Zest

      August 09, 2017 at 10:14 am

      5 stars
      Sarah — you are tugging at my heartstrings with all these seafood posts! King salmon is the BEST! It’s so fatty and flavorful you’d swear it was coated in butter. But it’s not — and it’s good for you! Bonus. The plum sauce on your salmon sounds positively tingly! I adore spice so the cayenne is right up my alley. Also, I am on the lookout for a good fish rack for my husband — you should have seen how he butchered my fresh mahi fillets last time…

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 09, 2017 at 1:00 pm

        Awww thanks Lisa! King salmon is pretty amazing isn’t it?! And get yourself a fish basket- save those fillets!! 😉

        Reply
    8. peter @feed your soul too

      August 09, 2017 at 9:59 pm

      Love working with salmon. It takes on flavors so well, both mild and strong. The plum sauce is a unique ingredient but it sounds divine.

      Reply
    9. [email protected]

      August 14, 2017 at 3:30 pm

      Oooh, one thing I’ve wanted to try for a while (the fish basket), and another that I’ve been a fan of for a very long time (cooking with fruit!). Can’t argue with results, and it certainly looks like you got some beautiful barbecued fish with that basket. When I grill fish, it’s often on a cedar plank so that I can avoid any worries about it getting ruined, but this is a great (and faster) alternative. I might have to invest in one. And as for the flavour combination – well, that simple, sweet/salty/sour sauce is the PERFECT accompaniment to a nice piece of salmon like this! Great idea – and something I need to remember given that we’re in peak plum season right now. Thanks for posting this!

      Reply
    10. Amanda

      August 15, 2017 at 6:33 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely love the sauces you come up with for serving salmon. We so easily fall into the “same ol” trap with our salmon (we eat it a lot!) and I’m really excited to start making these recipes and refreshing our menu. The grill basket is also such a great tip for fish fillets. We absolutely love ours. I’m one of those people who will flip fish perfectly when it’s just me eating it, and then when I have company, it’ll stick all over the grates. haha. The grilling basket makes it foolproof!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 16, 2017 at 8:11 am

        I’m really loving the grill basket! It’s funny- I never have trouble even with flimsy fillets like tilapia- until I HAVE to have them look perfect (like for photos or company), and then- disaster! Haha. This definitely takes away all pressure!

        Reply
    11. Meg | Meg is Well

      August 15, 2017 at 10:36 pm

      5 stars
      Lol, the fish basket without insulated handles reminds me of skillets without them-when I’m in a rush I always end up forgetting. I love how simple the sauce is, gotta love plums and soy sauce!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 16, 2017 at 8:09 am

        Thanks! And yesss I’m always accidentally grabbing my cast iron skillet’s handle after it’s too hot. I know they sell silicon handles to slide over it, but I’d probably just forget to put it on!! lol

        Reply

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