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A wooden platter with cedar wrapped salmon, asparagus, and lemon butter.
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5 from 1 vote

Cedar Grilled Salmon

Cedar Grilled Salmon with asparagus, zucchini ribbons, and a delicious lemon dill fish butter. This healthy dinner cooks everything at once!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Dinner & Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cedar grilled salmon recipe, grilled salmon butter, salmon butter
Servings: 4
Calories: 68kcal

Ingredients

Grilled Salmon and Vegetables

  • 4 pieces salmon fish
  • 20 asparagus 6-8” spears trimmed pieces
  • 1 zucchini cut into ribbons
  • 1 tablespoon BBQ Grill Dry Rub
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 fresh lemon cut into ¼" half-round slices

Salmon Butter

  • ½ cup butter softened (salted or unsalted butter)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt (kosher sea salt)
  • 1 lemon fresh lemon juice and zest

Instructions

Make Lemon-Dill Salmon Butter

  • In a small bowl, place the room temperature soft butter, zest of one fresh lemon, one squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Mix until combined using a small spatula, place on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
  • Push the lemon dill butter into a long roll shape using the plastic wrap or paper to get it about an inch wide in a long roll. Twist the ends closed. Place in fridge to firm up and use that day. Slice into coins, and serve over grilled fish, potatoes, or asparagus. Will keep in the freezer for up to two months. Wrap well and store in a freezer zip top bag.

Prep Cedar Salmon and Vegetables

  • Soak cedar wraps/butcher string or cedar planks for 20 minutes in cool water. This prevents them from catching on fire while grilling. Slice lemons in ¼" half rounds. Peel the zucchini using a potato peeler then cut wide ribbons down the full length of the zucchini using a potato peeler.
  • On a plate, drizzle a little olive oil on cleaned asparagus and microwave for 15-30 seconds. This pre-cooks the asparagus perfectly.
  • In cedar wraps: on the diagonal, lay a piece of salmon skin side down, sprinkle on spice rub, and layer with asparagus, zucchini ribbons, and lemon slices. Tie with butcher string that was soaked in cold water.
  • On the cedar plank: place cedar plank down, then lay a piece of salmon skin side down, sprinkle spice rub, and layer with asparagus, zucchini ribbons, and lemon slices.

Grill Salmon

  •  Heat the grill to medium heat, so the temperature of your gas grill reaches 450 degrees.
  • Cook for 7-8 minutes grill time until salmon is cooked through. It will turn to a lighter color and 145 degrees internal temperature on a meat thermometer. Salmon cooks very fast on an outdoor grill, so keep an eye on it. You can also add a few wood chips to add additional smoke flavor.
  • Serve this easy grilled salmon warm with lemon butter.

Notes

Salmon

Use a wild-caught salmon variety,  some of the best salmon fish are Chinook, King, Coho, Silver, and Pink/Humpback.
For this recipe, I used skin off Coho/Silver Salmon from Trader Joe's. For the best salmon steaks, use a wild-caught variety
For this recipe, you can use skin-on or skinless because the cedar wrap keeps the fish moist and you don't have to worry about it sticking to the grill!

Salmon Fish Rub Seasoning

Try my Rub Recipe or sub in one you have or make at home!

When is salmon done? 

Grilled Salmon starts out a raw pink translucent color and turns whiter or opaque lighter with a pink color.
A 1" thick filet without a cedar wrap takes about 8 minutes of grilling. What you want to do is check for doneness, by taking a sharp knife to peek into the thickest part of the fish. As the fish starts to flake, it will still be a bit raw in the middle, it is done.
It should not, however, look totally raw. And again look for that 145-degree internal temperature. Pull off the grill, cover with foil, and rest for at least 5 minutes to finish cooking.
 
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 327mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 730IU | Vitamin C: 27.6mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2.4mg