This Sweet and Smoky Grilled Salmon recipe is a family favorite. The salmon is perfectly moist inside, with a gorgeous charred caramelization on the outside. The sweet-and-savory, smoky flavor is absolutely irresistible!
This Sweet and Smoky Grilled Salmon recipe is the one that convinced our daughters to fall for salmon. The recipe is easy to make, and nobody – and I mean nobody – can resist its moist, tender, sweetly caramelized goodness. Just like Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Salmon, it pairs with just about any side, from grilled vegetables to Spoon Bread. We serve the grilled salmon straight from the plank — such a fun presentation on the table!
Why This Grilled Salmon Recipe Is a Family Favorite
This recipe is a creation from my husband Blake – he does most of the grilling around here. It’s his signature grilled salmon recipe, and one that we make just as much for casual family dinners as we do when entertaining friends. Here’s why we love it so much:
- No-fail recipe. This easy recipe always has people coming back for a second helping. The salmon is moist and flaky, and the flavor is perfectly sweet-and-savory balanced, with the grill and smoking cedar plank adding tons of flavor and aroma.
- Short ingredient list. Each ingredient in this recipe, including the cedar plank for grilling, does a lot of heavy lifting – which means you don’t need all that much to build big flavor.
- Ready to impress. Whenever we serve this sweet and smoky salmon, our guests are bowled over by the taste and texture – and its appearance. It’s beautiful. I know you’ll feel the same way!
What You’ll Need
Below I’m listing both the ingredients and the equipment you’ll need for this grilled salmon recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card to find the exact ingredient quantities and full recipe instructions.
- Cedar grilling plank – Grilling planks yield a moist piece of fish with a lovely smokiness, plus they’re perfect for presentation on the table.
- Spray bottle of water – To wet the plank in case it starts to burn.
- Salmon – While we prefer to use a skin-on salmon fillet, this grilled salmon recipe works well with the skin on or off. It’s worth splurging on high quality salmon for this recipe.
- Brown sugar – You can use either dark or light brown sugar.
- Maple syrup – Use pure maple syrup, not breakfast or pancake syrup.
- Smoked salt – We use a bourbon smoked salt with a pronounced smokiness, but any smoked salt you personally like will work here.
- Black pepper – For some warmth.
- Lemon – Offer fresh lemon wedges when serving, for squeezing over the top of individual portions. This adds a wonderful pop of bright acidity, just like it does with so many dishes from the sea – like simple Grilled Shrimp.
How to Make Sweet and Smoky Grilled Salmon
This recipe comes together easily. Here’s how to make it!
- Soak the cedar plank. Set the cedar plank in a rimmed baking pan and add water to cover it. Weigh down the plank by setting something heavy on top, which will keep it submerged in the water.
- Prepare. About 30 minutes before grilling, remove the plank from the water and set it on a sheet pan. Add the salmon fillet.
- Create the glaze. Stir together 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and maple syrup.
- Add the glaze. Brush this the simple glaze all over the salmon.
- Preheat the grill and season the salmon. Heat the grill to medium-high and once it’s hot, sprinkle the remaining brown sugar, smoked salt, and black pepper over the salmon.
- Cook. Set the plank with the salmon onto the grill and close the lid. Cook for 20 minutes. At this point, you can begin checking for doneness every 3 to 5 minutes. The exterior will be bronzed and the flesh should flake easily at the thickest part of the fillet.
- Serve. Transfer the plank of salmon to a pan or platter and serve straight from the plank, with fresh lemon wedges on the side.
Tips & Variations
Here are a few more pointers to help you with this recipe if you’ve never grilled salmon on a cedar plank before. (I also have a small variation you can try!)
- Don’t skip the soaking. Not only does soaking the plank in water keep it from burning up on the grill, it also produces steam which is what makes this sweet and smoky grilled salmon so awesomely tender.
- Keep that bottle of water on hand. Use it to wet the plank if it starts to smolder. Take care to not spray the fish directly. You can also move the plank to a different part of the grill for more indirect heat.
- Add lemon slices. Just like my Grilled Chipotle-Orange Salmon recipe incorporates thin orange slices over the top of the salmon, you can add some lemon slices to the top of this salmon.
What to Serve With This Grilled Salmon
This sweet and smoky grilled salmon pairs well with all kinds of side dishes, and we especially like to pair it with other grilling recipes – like Grilled Pineapple, Grilled Peach Salad, and Grilled Asparagus. It would also be excellent added to this Sweet Potato Bowl or Strawberry Salad.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Store leftover sweet and smoky grilled salmon in an airtight container. Enjoy it within 2 days.
- Freezer: Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap, then in foil, or place it in an airtight container or freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. Store for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To reheat: Place the salmon in a baking dish, cover loosely with foil, and warm in a 275°F oven for 12–15 minutes, or until just heated through. This keeps the salmon moist and prevents overcooking. Or, reheat gently in a covered skillet set over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. If you like a little crispness, melt some butter or olive oil to a skillet set over medium-low heat, then add the salmon and cook gently until warmed to your liking.
More Seafood Recipes for the Grill
Sweet & Smoky Grilled Salmon Recipe
Yield: 4 servings
This Sweet and Smoky Grilled Salmon recipe is guaranteed to be perfectly moist, with a smoky maple brown sugar glaze that’s irresistible!
Print
Equipment
- 1 cedar grilling plank (we use 6" x 12" size)
- 1 spray bottle of water
Ingredients
- 1¾ pounds salmon fillet, with skin on and about 1" thick at the thickest area of the fillet
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon tightly-packed (dark or light) brown sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1½ teaspoons course smoked salt (use a bit more if you like a more salt-pronounced flavor)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large lemon wedges
Instructions
- 2 hours (or more) prior to grilling: Place cedar grilling plank in a 9'' x 13'' rimmed pan and add enough water to cover the plank by 1". Set a heavy mug or two on top of the plank to keep it submerged. Set aside.
- 30 minutes prior to grilling: Move plank to a large rimmed baking sheet. If needed, cut off ends of salmon fillet to allow about ½" bare space at each end of the plank. Place salmon on plank and, if needed, tuck the thinnest side flesh underneath the fillet a bit, to fit on the plank.
- In a small bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar and maple syrup to create a paste. Brush this mixture over the top and sides of the salmon flesh. As the salmon sits, the sweet mixture will start to weep off the salmon, onto the plank – that's just fine.
- Preheat grill to medium-high, about 435° F.
- Once grill is hot, sprinkle remaining one teaspoon of brown sugar over top of salmon, followed by the smoked salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Set plank with salmon directly onto the grill grates and shut grill. Cook for 20 minutes without opening the grill lid, to keep the cedar smoke inside the grill. Depending on your grill plank and grill heat, the plank will smoke and smolder, and possibly char and burn. We like to keep a spray bottle of water on hand if the plank wants to char/burn excessively – just give a few squirts to the plank (do not directly spray the salmon) if you need to tame some flame – or turn the heat down a bit – or move the plank to less direct heat.
- Depending on the size and thickness of the salmon, cook for roughly 30-35 minutes total, checking every 3-5 minutes after the initial 20-minute cook time. The salmon is done when the surface is deeply bronzed and when the flesh flakes easily when you insert a fork into the thickest part of the fillet. We find that it's difficult to over-cook salmon when grilling skin-on fillets, on a cedar plank – our goal is always beautifully bronzed flesh that yields delicious smoky flavor; we are rarely concerned about overcooked/dry salmon using this method.
- Use a large grilling spatula to carefully transfer the plank of salmon to a clean rimmed pan or platter, and serve the salmon straight from the plank. This makes for a fuss-free presentation and fun conversation piece at the table. Offer fresh lemon wedges on the side, for squeezing over the top of individual portions.
Notes
We make this recipe using both skin-on salmon and fillets with the skin removed. It works well either way – whatever you prefer – just pay attention to the cook time, either way.
from Blake at a farmgirl’s dabbles
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 410kcal Carbohydrates: 37g Protein: 26g Fat: 14g Saturated Fat: 3g Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g Cholesterol: 71mg Sodium: 1244mg Sugar: 30g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!
This post was originally published in 2013, then updated in 2025.
Making this again for dinner tonight!!!! Yeah!
So glad you like!! xo
I don’t remember how I first stumbled across your recipe, but rediscovered it while looking through my saved recipes for ideas for the Fourth of July this year. I made this salmon for my two young adult sons, and it got rave reviews! My picky eater declared it his favorite salmon recipe of all time! Thank you for sharing it!
I used the recipe, the salmon was amazing!!! Thank you.
So very AWESOME to hear. We make this quite alot!
Writing the ingredients on my shopping list now!
Oh my goodness, this was sooo good. What is Blake making us this year???? Can’t wait to find out!
We’re not quite that far along, but I’ve been thinking about menus. ;)
Hi, any chance you could give me directions for making this in the oven? Thank you.
Hi Tammy – I’m sorry, I have not played around with baking this in the oven. Please let me know if you give it a try.
Oh Brenda, you really have to pat your husband on the back for this one! I mean, it was soooooo good and a huge hit at my table.
I am so happy to know you tried this, thanks for coming back to let me know! I made sure Blake got your comment. ;)
Reading this, I didn’t know that everyone didn’t use planks to grill their salmon. However, I am from BC and this is the mainstay of salmon grilling here. Another cool way to do this is to soak the plank (or for a large, whole fish use cedar chips), at whatever you like to the fish, wrap the whole thing in tinfoil and put it in a dug out pit with coals for a little while. It’s like an earth slow cooker :)
You can also use the wet cedar planks in the actual slow cooker to cook the salmon. I have a son who loves salmon and since grilling at -40 C is not really an option, I have learned how to do this. Just cut the plank down to size to fit in your slow cooker, soak it for an hour or 2, add whatever rub you like to the fish and cook for 2 hours. If you have a huge slow cooker, 5 or 6 quart, make a tent of tinfoil over the fish. The best part? The house does not smell of fish at all! Only the spice smells escape.
This was by far the best salmon that I have ever eaten… and of course with the best company!!!!
Blake’s grinning over here, thank you! It was such a lovely evening. Love you!
I love grilling on the plank…though it’s been quite a long time since I’ve done it. Tell Blake this salmon looks incredible!! I’m really loving the smoked salt, delicious.
Thanks, Aggie. I’ll let Blake know! ;)
This looks fantastic, I love grilled salmon.
Hi! I LOVE the salmon recipe! My parents have some salmon from a trip to Alaska-I will try this for them! I noticed many different “flavors” of planks on Amazon. Which did you use?
We really like the cedar. But I def want to experiment more, I’m sure there’s more to like! Nice to hear from you, hope you like the grilled salmon! :)
Very interesting grilling tips. Using a small piece of foil just large enough to hold the salmon makes a lot sense. I look forward to trying it. Thanks.
This looks fantastic! That top photo is making me drool!
Thank you, Kelly. It’s such a great meal!