Rustic Grilled Salmon
gluten-free | grain-free | dairy-free option | tree nut free | egg free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | August 1, 2024
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Moist, flakey, and full of flavor… this rustic grilled salmon is a popular meal on my homestead! I have always been a big fan of fish dinners, but this grilled salmon has got to be one of my favorite fish meals. My family loves to fish, so we are always experimenting with how to cook and serve different species of fish. This grilling method has worked for several different types of fish and has always produced fantastic, delicious results! It is super simple and can easily be adapted to different flavors like citrus, chili, or herbed.

Pioneer Recipe

This fish dinner meal is definitely a pioneer recipe! Along with venison, fish was another staple source of protein for the pioneers. When I say fish, I mean fresh, wild-caught fish. Fish straight from the unpolluted mountain streams, wild and undisturbed. This was the healthy kind of fish.

Sustainable– As modern pioneers, we have to be careful where we source our fish from. With our water sources being so polluted now and methods being developed for farm raising fish, the fish we have available to use now are different than what the pioneers would have consumed. However, there are still ways to incorporate healthy, sustainable fish into your modern pioneer diet! Try doing what the pioneers did! Fish for your food from local streams, lakes, or rivers! You still have to be cautious about those resources, since some may not be clean enough for eating the fish from, but you should be able to find at least one clean source.

Alternately, look for wild caught fish in health food stores or fish markets. Buying wild caught fish that has been sustainably harvested is important for a making sustainable, modern pioneer choice.

Allergy-Friendly– With all that being said, another reason why this grilled salmon meal is a pioneer recipe is because it is healthy for you! Fish provides an excellent source of omega3’s, vitamins, minerals, and protein. This rustic grilled salmon is also an allergy friendly dish because it is….

• gluten-free
• grain-free
• dairy-free option
• nut free
• corn free
• soy free
• sugar free
• high protein
• anti-inflammatory

Want some more healthy wild game or fish recipes? Check out these grain-free breaded perch fillets, this gluten-free venison quinoa bowl, or this homemade BBQ venison recipe!

Salmon Charter Fishing…

All that talk about sourcing your fish sustainably makes me want to share the story behind this recipe. A few years ago my dad went on a charter fishing trip on Lake Michigan. He had a great time and came back with lots of delicious king salmon. That’s when we first learned how to grill salmon.

In 2019, he gifted Anna and I with a trip to go charter fishing with him and our grandpa. Well, that year it got canceled because of bad weather on the Lake. But finally, in 2020, we got to go on our first, long anticipated charter fishing trip!

We left the dock at 5:00 in the morning, before the sun had even risen. It was a beautiful morning on Lake Michigan! With charter fishing, the boat captain takes care of choosing what lures to use, setting the poles, and monitoring them for when a fish bites. All you have to do is reel in the fish, and that’s a chore! It takes some of the fun out of fishing not being able to do everything yourself, but at the same time, I would have never known what lures to use or how to reel in the types of fish we were catching!

We were fishing for BIG fish. In fact, these were the biggest fish I had ever caught! The three species we were able to catch were lake trout, king salmon, and steelhead salmon. Our biggest lake trout weighed almost 13lbs and we caught a king salmon that was even bigger! Anna, my dad, my grandpa, and I had tons of fun reeling them in all morning!

How it Works…

Our captain would have at least a dozen fishing lines running all at once (and yes, we did have a few tangles). Whenever a fish was on, we would take turns reeling it in. Reeling in a fish would take between 10-20 minutes depending on how much line was out and what type of fish it was.

The lake trout were notoriously hard to reel all the way in because they have ‘soft mouths’ as our captain put it, and could easily throw the hook. My favorite fish to catch were the king salmon because they were fighters, they were big, and they had beautiful coloring. Not to mention they taste delicious!

We came home that day with about 30lbs of fish! Now our freezer is full of fish and venison and we have lots of grilled fish on the menu!

Ideas for Serving Salmon

I have tried salmon both baked in the oven and grilled. My favorite is definitely grilled salmon! Also, the grilling method we use can be used for any large fillet of fish that still has the skin attached. We use this grilling method for the salmon and the lake trout that we caught.

Seasoning– Salmon is delicious served warm and fresh off the grill, but it also makes great leftovers. I enjoy having leftover grilled fish for lunch the following day or even for breakfast! You can season your salmon however you like. Citrus is a common flavor to pair with fish and it goes nicely with both salmon and lake trout. I like to use the Borsari citrus seasoning that I find at Whole Foods Market. My dad also like to season his fish with cracked pepper blends. My mom prefers her fish more lightly seasoned with some herbs.

Texture– Salmon is a firm fish that flakes nicely once it is cooked. The taste is bold, and if sourced sustainably and cooked correctly, it doesn’t have too much of a fishy taste. Lake trout also has a somewhat firmer texture but is softer than the salmon. It has a very mild taste and is not fishy at all. The steelhead salmon is similar to the lake trout but has a little more flavor. The variety of steelhead we caught was known to be the sweetest variety of steelhead, and it was delicious!

Sides– I like to serve my grilled fish with veggies. Here are a few veggies and sides that I like to use when making a grilled fish meal:

• roasted asparagus
• grilled summer squash
• garden salad (homegrown lettuce and carrots)
• mashed sweet potato or new potatoes
• steamed broccoli or fresh green beans
• cauliflower rice
• quinoa & brown rice blend

How to Store Salmon

Bringing home so much fish left us with the problem of how to store it all! We wanted to find a way to preserve the fresh fish for as long as possible without degrading the freshness, nutrition, and taste. After doing some research, we found that storing the fish in a vacuumed sealed bag in the freezer seemed to be the most popular option.

However, before we could freeze it, we had to remove the pin bones. With big fish like salmon and trout, their fillets have small pin bones in the portion closest to the head. So, Anna’s and my job was to take pliers and pull out all the pin bones before we vacuumed sealed and froze the fillets! It was actually kind of fun, and totally worth it when you got to eat a boneless fillet of fish!

When we want to cook the fish, such as for this grilling recipe, we simply take out a package and unthaw it in the fridge. A little trick we learned was to take the fish out of the vacuum sealed bag to let it unthaw. This kept the fillet from drying out. Also, we had to let the fillet unthaw overnight in the fridge since it has to be unthawed gradually.

To store salmon that has already been cooked, such as this grilled salmon, I recommend just storing it in the fridge. I have not tried freezing already cooked fish, so I don’t know how it would do. To store already cooked fish in the fridge, just keep it in an airtight container. You can store it this way for 2-3 days.

Grilled Salmon Recipe Tips

Grilling salmon is not hard at all! It may sound daunting and messy, but I was actually quite surprised at how simple it was! My dad usually does all the grilling, but I got him to teach me how to grill the salmon so I could share the recipe with you! Here are a few tips I took note of when he was teaching me how to grill fish:

Prepping Tips

• Marinate: About 30 minutes prior to grilling, you will want to dry the fillets with paper towel, season them, and let them marinate for no longer than 30 minutes. You don’t want to let fish marinate for too long otherwise you run the risk of the flesh becoming soft or mushy.
• Preheat: Preheat the grill on high heat, this took about 5 minutes, then decrease the heat to medium-low. You want a grill temperature around 375-400°F. I use avocado oil spray to lightly oil the grilling grates.

Cooking Tips

• Cooking Side: Cook the fish flesh side down first, the fish is ready to be flipped when the flesh willingly releases from the grill and does not stick, this may take 5-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet.
• Cook Time: After flipping so that the skin side is on the grill, you let the fillet cook until the desired internal temperature has been reached
  • small fillets (1″ thick)- 5 minutes on flesh side, 5-8 minutes on skin side
  • large fillets (1.5-2″ thick)- 8 minutes on flesh side, 8-10 minutes on skin side
• Internal Temperature: The USDA’s recommendation for the internal temperature of cooked salmon is 145°F. However, I have found that the flakiest and moistest fillets are cooked to an internal temperature of 125-130°F.
• Resting: Once the fillets have been removed from the grill, cover them and allow them to rest for 10-15 minutes. This allows all the juices to redistribute throughout the fillet.

This method for grilling rustic grilled salmon is easy and fool-proof! You can get flakey, tender, and moist salmon fillets cooked to perfection. Serve with a side of homegrown, fresh veggies for a nutritious pioneer meal on the homestead!

Where to Find the Ingredients

• Borsari citrus seasoning
• Bragg’s herb seasoning
• Bragg’s organic vinaigrette
• Chosen Foods avocado oil spray
• supplies: stainless steel grilling spatula, meat thermometer

Rustic grilled salmon makes a meal that is packed with nutrition, flavor, and simplicity! This grilled fish is my favorite way to have salmon and trout. The fillets turn out moist, flakey, and flavorful every time! Serve this grilled salmon with homegrown veggies and a gluten-free side like homemade bread, herbed quinoa, or Instant Pot wild rice. Wholesome, sustainable, and nutritious is what this meal is!

Get more sustainable and simple recipes when you join our modern pioneer community! We love sharing our experiences with you as we strive towards creating a more self-sufficient lifestyle, raise our flock of chickens, and eat a modern pioneer diet that is both delicious and fitted to our dietary restrictions!