• Home
  • Beef
  • Chicken
  • Pork
  • Sauces and Dips
  • Seafood
  • Sides
↑

Grilling, Smoking, Living

Living the Barbecue Life

  • Beef
  • Chicken
  • Pork
  • Seafood
  • Sauces & Rubs
  • Sides
  • Misc
    • Dessert
  • Home
    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Tips & Tricks

Maple BBQ Grilled Salmon

October 30, 2021 by Lyuba Leave a Comment

Pin
Share
Post
Share
Pin
Share
Post
Share
Jump to Recipe

Delicious, juicy grilled salmon slathered in a simple maple BBQ sauce with a hint of spice from cayenne pepper. It’s a beautiful combination of sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors to go with salmon. This dish will take you less than 30 minutes to prepare, which is perfect for dinner any day of the week!

closeup of grilled salmon with maple bbq sauce glazed on top

Glazed Grilled Salmon

Salmon is a fantastic fish to prepare on the grill. It’s so easy to cook and with its mild flavor, it goes with so many seasoning, sauces, and side dishes. Flesh of salmon is moderately dense, thick, and meaty, which is why it can stand up to many different cooking methods and retain its shape and moisture.

Salmon takes of the smoky flavor of the grill very well and doesn’t fall apart when you try to touch it, which is great to be able to grill it right on the grate. You just have to make sure to keep the salmon skin on, clean the grill grate very well, and great the salmon skin with oil before plating it on the grill.

As I mentioned, salmon has a mild flavor, so it goes well with many different ingredients. This sweet and tangy combination of BBQ sauce and maple syrup is one of our favorites! I also like to add some heat with a pinch (or two) of cayenne pepper.

4 glazed grilled salmon filets on a wooden plate

QUICK GRILLING NOTES

Grill temperature to cook salmon: high 425°-450°

Grill set up: prepare two temperature zones so you can move the salmon over to the cooler side.

Placement on the grill: over direct heat.

How long to grill salmon? 8-12 minutes for most salmon filets but exact times depends on the thickness of the meat.

Temperature of salmon when done: take salmon off the grill when it reaches 135° at the thickest part and let it rest. (USDA recommends salmon safe temperature to be 145° but some people feel that it is overdone.)

Wood if desired: cedar, alder.

Ingredients You Need:

Salmon Filets – you will need 4 salmon filets that are 6-8 oz. each.

BBQ sauce – use your favorite classic BBQ sauce.

Maple syrup – for the best flavor, use pure maple syrup.

Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper – use the amount of cayenne pepper to your own personal taste. Remember, cayenne is quite spicy.

How To Make Glazed Grilled Salmon

Note: normally, the way to grill salmon filets is to start skin side up for a few minutes and then flip it over onto the skin and finish cooking. Since we have a glazed salmon, you don’t want glaze to burn. So instead, grill salmon skin side down the whole but, but move it over to the indirect heat to finish cooking for the last 3-4 minutes.

glazing salmon filet with BBQ mixture with a silicone brush

Prepare the grill to high temperature, 425°-450° and make sure to set up two temperature zones. Clean the grill grate well and close the grill to preheat.

Mix together the BBQ sauce, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. (Divide in two.)

Pat salmon fillets dry with a paper towel and season each fillet with salt and pepper on all sides.

Rub the skin with oil and brush the other three sides with BBQ sauce mixture. (Leave half to brush in the middle of cooking.)

Place each salmon fillet on the grill skin side down over direct heat and close the lid. Let it cook about 6-8 minutes. Check on the salmon to see if you need to move it over to the cool side if the skin is getting dark too fast.

If you need to, move it over to the cool side, brush with some more BBQ sauce mixture, and cook another 3-4 minutes. To check if salmon is done, you can either touch the top to feel the firmness of the flesh or use a meat thermometer.

closeup of flaking off glazed grilled salmon with a fork

Some More Salmon Recipes To Try:

Cedar Plank Salmon

Smoked Salmon

Grilled Salmon Kebabs

Lemon Herb Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER

Maple BBQ Grilled Salmon

Delicious, juicy grilled salmon slathered in a simple maple BBQ sauce with a hint of spice from cayenne pepper.
Print Recipe
CourseMain Course
CuisineAmerican
Keywordgrilled salmon
Prep Time15 minutes minutes
Cook Time12 minutes minutes
Total Time27 minutes minutes
Servings4
Calories303kcal

Ingredients

  • 24 oz skin on salmon filets (4 filets that are 6-8 oz. each)
  • canola oil to run the skin
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
  • 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper to taste
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Prepare the grill to high temperature, 425°-450° and make sure to set up two temperature zones. Clean the grill grate well and close the grill lid to preheat.
  • Mix together the BBQ sauce, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Divide in two to brush some on before grilling and some during.
  • Pat salmon fillets dry with a paper towel and season each fillet with salt and pepper on all sides.
  • Rub the skin with oil and brush the other three sides with BBQ sauce mixture.
  • Place each salmon fillet on the grill skin side down over direct heat and close the lid. Let it cook about 6-8 minutes. Check on the salmon to see if you need to move it over to the cool side if the skin is getting dark too fast.
  • If you need to, move it over to the cool side, brush with some more BBQ sauce mixture, and cook another 3-4 minutes. To check if salmon is done, you can either touch the top to feel the firmness of the flesh or use a meat thermometer.
  • To use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature, check the thickest part of the fish. Take salmon off the grill when it reaches 135° at the thickest part and let it rest. (USDA recommends salmon safe temperature to be 145° but some people feel that it is overdone.)

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 907mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 147IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg
collage of two images of close up grilled salmon and brushing it with glaze
Pin
Share
Post
Share
Pin
Share
Post
Share

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Filed Under: Seafood

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Let's get grilling!

Welcome, everyone! I’m Lyuba Brooke, come in, grab a beer, and head to the backyard. Here, I love to grill, barbecue, and share everything I make. You will find a ton of recipes for grilling, smoking, and the sauces to dip it in.

Our Popular Recipes

  • Smoking Sausage
  • top view of grilled chicken legs stacked on top of each other on a white plate Grilled Chicken Legs
  • Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
  • cooked smoked tenderloin on a cutting board Smoked Pork Tenderloin
  • holding a smoked turkey leg Smoked Turkey Legs
  • top view of spices of the beef rub on baking sheet Beef Rub Recipe
  • adding BBQ sauce to pulled chicken Smoked Pulled Chicken
  • starting to scoop the smoked baked beans with a spoon in a skillet Smoked Baked Beans

Categories

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.
Privacy Policy
Copyright ©2025, Grilling, Smoking, Living. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs

 

Subscribe to the

Grilling, Smoking, Living Recipe Newsletter

 

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.


.