Recipe: Grilled Miso Butter Salmon in Foil
When you think about summer grilling, your first thought is likely hamburgers and hot dogs. But a beautiful side of salmon cooks up just as easily and brings an added touch of elegance to the table. For a light summer meal, just employ a few sheets of aluminum foil and a creamy, savory miso butter to elevate the salmon into something a little fancier that you can still pull off on a weeknight.
The ingredient list for this recipe is beautifully short but delivers on bold flavors. Soak the salmon in a brine first—this seasons it and reduces the white film that can come out of the fish as it cooks—then spread on some miso paste mixed with Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil, which has just three simple ingredients: sweet cream, canola oil, and salt. It has a classic, creamy buttery taste but also spreads easily right out the refrigerator so that you don’t have to remember to soften it beforehand. What makes it taste so great is that Land O Lakes® is a co-op of more than 1,700 farmers working together, and it’s milk from these farmers’ cows that makes the cream so rich and sweet.
An Easier Way to Grill Fish
Grilling the fish—especially something as big as a side of salmon—may be intimidating or bring back traumatic memories of fish sticking to the grill grates. Forget all that here! By using a foil packet, there’s no danger of the fish sticking at all. Plus, it seals in the tasty sauce that makes itself as the fish cooks and lets out juices that mingle with the melting miso butter. Throw the packet on the grill, set a timer, and relax with a cold drink. You don’t have to worry about any flare-ups, and you’ll know your salmon will emerge perfectly cooked in just about 20 minutes.
Grilled Miso Butter Salmon in Foil
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 18 minutes to 20 minutes
Serves 6 to 8
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 2 cups
cold water
- 1 tablespoon
kosher salt
- 1
(2-pound) side skin-on salmon, pin bones removed
- 4 tablespoons
Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil
- 1 tablespoon
white miso paste
For serving: toasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
Stir the water and salt together in a 9x13-inch baking dish until the salt is dissolved. Place the salmon skin-side up in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. This reduces the white film that can result from baking salmon in foil.
Heat a grill for direct, medium-high heat (400 to 450ºF). Meanwhile, stir the Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil and miso together in a small bowl until combined.
Remove the salmon from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place skin-side down onto a large (18x18-inch) piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil (use 2 sheets if necessary). Spread the miso butter in a thin, even layer over the salmon.
Fold up two opposite sides of the foil and roll them together tightly to seal. Repeat with the remaining two sides, enclosing the salmon in foil. Transfer to a baking sheet to easily move the foil packet to the grill.
Place the foil packet on the grill grates, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Open the foil packet, being careful of the steam that will be released. Cover and grill until the salmon is pink, no longer translucent, and registers 135 to 140ºF on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer the packet back to the baking sheet. Let the salmon rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and scallions and serve.
Recipe Notes
Make ahead: The miso butter can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.