- April 8, 2020
- 30 Minute Meals
Easy Grilled Pistachio Sesame Salmon
Fire up the gas grill with this beautiful side of salmon with ease! This recipe features the nutty flavor of pistachios and toasted sesames, mixed with a bright pop of fresh lemon for a perfect refreshing salmon filet dinner.
Salmon is a popular staple in my diet and you will find a lot of salmon recipes (both for on and off the grill) here at Bon Appeteach. Though I love these grilled cedar plank salmon burgers, this coconut crusted salmon, and this easy salmon salad recipe, I love sharing a show stopping salmon dish like this for my family and friends.
Though I have designed this recipe for gas grilling, you can easily adapt for a charcoal grill or even for the oven. The flavor combination of toasted sesame seeds and pistachio crusted salmon is one of my favorites to date. It’s light and flavorful, a little nutty, salty, and gives a good texture with that crispy crunch on top of a tender flaky fish.
Get the full recipe below and all the helpful tips and techniques on how to cook salmon on a gas grill!
“School” Supplies:
- Food Processor (can use a knife to chop the pistachios if needed)
- Small Bowl
- Measuring Spoons
- Baking Sheet
- Cooling Rack
“Class” Notes:
Have you ever paired salmon with pistachios? They combine so well with salmon fillets and I can’t get enough! Start by prepping the pistachio mixture first; this works best with a food processor to combine everything together nicely. You want the pistachios to be a mixture of finely chopped and large pieces to add texture.
Pistachio Coating-
In a food processor, combine the pistachios, toasted sesame seeds (you can toast yourself if needed but toasted definitely adds more flavor), coriander, cumin, fresh lemon zest and any additional salt and pepper to taste. Pulse until everything is mixed and the pistachios are coarsely chopped.
No food processor? Use a chef’s knife to roughly chop your pistachios. They need to be fine enough to help mix with the other spices and help adhere better to the outside of the salmon. Add the pistachios to a small bowl, combine with your other topping ingredients and mix well with a whisk instead.
Prepping Your Salmon-
Remove the salmon from the packaging and rinse if needed then pat it very dry with paper towels. I like to lay the fish onto my baking sheet over the cooling rack (this is how I will grill it) and check for any pin bones (I use these tweezers).
Pro Tip: For this recipe I left the salmon skin on, spraying the cooling rack helps prevent the skin from sticking. Add sliced lemon rounds to the bottom layer to help infuse the lemon flavor into the salmon!
Lightly add olive oil to the flesh side of the salmon. Sprinkle the pistachio mixture on top of the salmon only in an even layer that covers it completely. Do not rub, but lightly pat it into the salmon to help with its adherence.
Gas Grilling Your Salmon-
Next up, prepping your gas grill (or grill of choice) for two zone cooking with indirect heat. Indirect heat from a grill essentially means you’re only heating one half of your grill (direct heat) and keeping the other half cool (no gas burners lit or no charcoal). This is a popular method I use often if I reverse sear any protein like I did here with this lamb, these Greek chicken kebabs, and even these crispy grilled chicken wings.
Indirect heat on the grill makes it much easier to control the temperature you cook your fish to as well. I place the fish on an elevated rack over a baking sheet (allows for the heat to go under and over the fish) to help prevent juices, fat, and prevent the fish skin from sticking to the grill.
Indirect cooking is also essential when you have a recipe with a heavier outside crust. Often times, the crust will fall off when flipping the salmon and ends up falling of or sticking to the grates and tearing your fish. No good!
Once the grill reaches a temperature of 300 degrees, place the baking sheet on the cool side and close the lid. Salmon should cook to an internal temperature of 145 degrees according to the USDA. Often times, salmon is thicker on one side of the filet, so make sure to take the temperature at the thickest part. My filet too about 15 minutes.
Serving & Storing-
I like to serve this recipe on a large platter, family style. Grill a few lemons and squeeze the juice over the top right before plating if desired as well. Leftovers (if that happens) make great tacos or mixed with eggs the next day!
Pair this dish with my keto roasted smashed radishes, this tasty cauliflower grilled mac and cheese or my blistered green beans! Be sure to save to your browser or pin for later on Pinterest. Happy grilling!
Bon Appeteach,
-L
Easy Grilled Pistachio Sesame Salmon
Ingredients
- 1/2 Salmon Filet
- 1/2 cup Pistachios crushed
- 1 tbsp. Toasted Sesame
- 1 tsp. Cumin
- 1 tsp. Coriander
- 1 Lemon Zested
- Salt & Pepper to taste if needed
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Prep your grill for indirect heat and set it to 300 degrees.
- Place a greased cooling rack over a baking sheet. Remove the salmon from the packaging, rinse if needed, and pat it very dry. Remove any pin bones if needed.
- In a food processor, pulse the pistachios to make them finer. It’s OK if there are still some larger pieces, this will add some dimension and texture to the dish.
- Combine all the remaining ingredients with the pistachios and mix until combine.
- Lightly coat the salmon flesh (skin side down on the rack) with olive oil and then do a thin, even coating over the top.
- Place the baking sheet onto the cooler side of the grill and cook it indirectly until the thickest part reaches 425 degrees.