Name: Broiled Glazed Salmon
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 46 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 4 6-ounce salmon fillets with the skin on; 1 cup of apricot jam or preserves (a 10-ounce jar is ample)*; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 4-5 large garlic cloves, squeezed through a garlic press or minced; Scallions, finely sliced; Steamed broccoli or sautéd spinach; Steamed rice

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This easy broiled glazed salmon recipe has a 4-ingredient marinade that doubles as the glaze, and a special cooking technique that yields melt-in-your-mouth tender juicy salmon with an irresistible sweet tangy garlicky glaze. It's a great recipe for the weekly dinner rotation...and for dinner parties, too.

Salmon doesn't get any better than this!

This is as easy as any recipe I know, and one of the most delicious! There are only 4 ingredients in the glaze and two of them you just pour from a jar. The salmon marinates in the glaze for 30 minutes; cooks in the oven for 6 minutes; finishes cooking under a tent of foil for 5 minutes; and the end result is perfect fork-tender broiled salmon with the most incredible sweet garlicky glaze.

Broiled Salmon

Broiling salmon is the quickest way to cook it, other than on the barbecue. And, if you time it right and use my special foil technique when it comes out of the oven, you never have to worry about overcooking it. It won't be raw in the middle or dry on the edges. It will be juicy and tender and perfectly cooked all the way through, every time.

I used to be skeptical about broiling salmon. I thought, how could you possibly cook something so delicate as a fish fillet, at the hottest oven temperature, without drying it out or burning it? But what I discovered, after many years of testing salmon recipes in the oven at different temperatures, is that you can cook excellent moist and tender fish at any oven temperature. It's not the heat of the oven that dries out fish; it's all about the timing. And my special foil technique (more on that below) ensures that your broiled salmon will never be overcooked or dry.

Broiled Glazed Salmon

As the glaze on the salmon heats under the broiler element, the sugar in the apricot preserves caramelizes, becoming thicker and stickier. The result is an irresistible complexity of burnt sweet fruitiness along with garlic, lemon and soy sauce, for the most delicious glazed salmon ever!

Broiled Glazed Salmon Ingredients

You only need 5 ingredients for this recipe:

• Salmon, of course! Salmon fillets with skin are best. The skin provides a safely layer between the fish and the hot pan, and it will stick to the foil when you remove the broiled salmon fillets, so you'll end up with perfectly cooked, skinless salmon.

• Apricot Jam or Preserves make the marinade/glaze sweet and tangy, and the sugars in the jam bubble and caramelize under the high heat of the broiler (grill), creating a rich dark flavorful glaze.

• Soy Sauce with its salty umami flavors, balances out the sweetness of the apricot preserves and makes all the flavors in this dish pop!

• Lemon Juice adds brightness and tang.

• Garlic gives this dish that irresistible garlic flavor!

4 salmon fillets on a square white plate in the foreground, behind it are 3 whole lemons, a head of garlic, a bottle of soy sauce and a jar of apricots preserves.

How To Make Broiled Glazed Salmon

Mix up the 4-ingredient marinade/glaze.

Coat the salmon with the marinade/glaze and leave it in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the salmon on top, leaving space between the fillets. Spoon any excess marinade over the salmon. Don't worry if lots of it drips off, the excess glaze creates delicious pan juices that can be spooned over the fish or on rice or mashed potatoes.
Broil the salmon for 6 minutes.

4 salmon fillets topped with apricot glaze, on a tin foil lined baking sheet, seen from above.

Remove the salmon from the oven; put the baking pan on the stove or some other heat-proof surface; and immediately add another sheet of foil on top, folding it in and sealing it with the edges of foil that the salmon is on, to create a foil packet that will allow the heat of the roasting pan to permeate and gently finish cooking the salmon.
Remove the foil after 5 minutes and serve the salmon immediately.

A tinfoil packed sitting on top of a dark baking sheet

The Special Foil Technique for Perfect Broiled Salmon

Have you ever been asked at a restaurant "how would you like your salmon cooked." I'm always tempted to say "perfectly," but that would be SO snarky, so I usually say "medium rare," because dry overcooked salmon is such a disappointment.

Honestly, I'm hardly ever served salmon at a restaurant that's as perfectly cooked as this broiled salmon is. I've spent years in search of the best way to cook salmon in the oven and this method is hands-down the absolute BEST.

There are two sources of heat at work in this recipe, which results in the best broiled salmon. First, the very intense direct heat of the broiler, which caramelizes the glaze and cooks the salmon three quarters of the way through. And then, the heat that remains in the roasting pan even when you take it out of the oven, finishes cooking the salmon fillets, ever so gently, inside a foil package.

This technique is super easy and it works like magic. Whenever I serve this broiled salmon to anyone, I am always asked: how did you get the salmon to be so tender and juicy? I've been making this broiled glazed salmon for years and I've given the recipe to countless friends and family members. I'm so happy to finally share it with all of you. I have a growing collection of my favorite delicious easy salmon recipes on the blog and this broiled glazed salmon recipe is one of the greats!

three broiled glazed salmon fillets in a black serving bowl, topped with chopped scallions

Broiled Glazed Salmon Tips & FAQ

Don't be tempted to brush oil on the foil. You actually want the skin to stick to the foil, so when you remove the cooked fillets with a spatula, you leave the skin behind.
Be sure the oven is fully preheated to the highest temperature before you put the salmon in. The salmon needs to cook for a short time at maximum heat.
Be sure the oven rack is up high near the broiler element so the intense direct heat can caramelize the glaze.
What kind of apricot preserves are best for this recipe? For maximum caramelization, use apricot preserves that has sugar listed as an ingredient. If you use pure fruit preserves with no added sugar, the broiled salmon will still be delicious but it will have less of that complex caramelized color and flavor.
Can you make this with a whole fillet of salmon rather than individual pieces? Yes! In fact I've often cooked one or two big fillets of broiled glazed salmon for Thanksgiving or New Year's Eve. You can estimate the amount of glaze based on how many pounds of salmon you're cooking - it's not crucial to be exact. You want to have enough glaze to coat the salmon generously. The timing is the same for a whole fillet.

Here's the Broiled Glazed Salmon Recipe. If you cook this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Broiled Glazed Salmon

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5 from 5 reviews

Author: Lisa
Total Time: 46 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings 1x

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Description

This easy recipe for broiled glazed salmon has a simple 4-ingredient marinade that doubles as the glaze, and a special cooking technique that yields meltingly tender juicy salmon with an irresistible sweet garlicky glaze.

Ingredients

Units Scale

4 6-ounce salmon fillets with the skin on
1 cup of apricot jam or preserves (a 10-ounce jar is ample)*
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4-5 large garlic cloves, squeezed through a garlic press or minced

To Serve, Optional

Scallions, finely sliced
Steamed broccoli or sautéd spinach
Steamed rice

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Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk the apricot preserves with the soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. Place the salmon in a large shallow bowl or plastic container and coat it with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate it for 30 minutes to an hour.
Set an oven rack 6-10 inches from the top broiler element and preheat the oven to high broil (grill).
Remove the salmon from the marinade and arrange on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet, leaving a little space between the fillets. Spoon all the marinade/glaze on top of the fish, allowing the excess to drip down onto the foil.
Broil the salmon for 6 minutes; then set the roasting pan on the stove top or on another heat-proof surface. Immediately place a sheet of foil over the salmon; unwrap the foil from the edges of the pan and join it with the new foil, to create a sealed packet for the fish. Leave the fish in the packet for 5 minutes.
Open the packet and serve

Notes

Which apricot preserves are best for this recipe? For maximum caramelization, choose apricot jam or preserves that list sugar as an ingredient. If you use pure fruit preserves with no added sugar, but it will have less of that complex caramelized color and burnt sugar flavor.

Make this with a whole side of salmon: If you're cooking salmon for a crowd, you have the option of making this with a whole large fillet of salmon, rather than individual portions. Don't worry about calculating a precise amount of glaze. As long as you have enough glaze to cover the salmon generously, it will turn out well. The timing is the same for a whole piece of salmon as it is for individual 6-ounce portions.

Prep Time: 10 min
Marinating time: 30 min
Cook Time: 6 min
Category: Dinner
Method: Broil
Cuisine: Asian

Broiled Glazed Salmon

Broiled Salmon

Broiled Glazed Salmon

Broiled Glazed Salmon Ingredients

How To Make Broiled Glazed Salmon