Grilled or Baked Salmon or Tuna Steaks

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 03/17/21
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Marinate Time: 60 mins
Total: 80 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Eating salmon has benefits like healthy fats and high levels of protein, iron, and potassium. On the other hand, tuna provides high levels of protein with low levels of fat, plus numerous essential amino acids. Either fish is a winner, so try your favorite in this easy recipe for a quick weeknight dinner with very little cleanup but lots of flavors and healthy nutrition.

If you have access to wild-caught tuna or salmon, make the investment as their flavor and tenderness have no equal. But if only farmed fish is available, get it and don't miss out on the chance of enjoying this recipe, as this more available type of fish cut will also yield a wonderful dinner.

These salmon or tuna steaks are marinated and you can choose either to grill or bake them to perfection; the recipe has the instructions for both cooking methods, and they're both easy and quick to make. The marinade adds a garlicky punch to the fish, a perfect flavor to pair with potatoes and a lemon vinaigrette with a simple avocado salad.

Grilled salmon or tuna steak recipe

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
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Ingredients

For the Marinade:

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or gluten-free tamari

  • 1/4 cup cooking sherry

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

For the Fish:

  • 4 steaks salmon or tuna, about 1-inch thick

Steps to Make It

Marinate the Fish

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for marinate
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Whisk together marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

    Whisk together
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Arrange the fish in a shallow glass or plastic dish—or a sturdy plastic food storage bag.

    Arrange the fish in glass
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Pour the marinade over the fish. Cover or seal and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning the steaks frequently. Overmarinating fish in an acidic mixture can make the fish mushy, so stick to one hour and never marinate the fish overnight.

    Pour over the fish
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Remove the fish from the marinade. Pour the marinade into a saucepan, and boil the mixture for 5 minutes. Reserve.

    Remove fish
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Grill the Fish

  1. Preheat your grill.

  2. Place fish on a well-oiled grill or grilling basket. Grill over medium coals for about 3 to 5 minutes on one side, basting frequently with the boiled marinade.

    Grill salmon
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Turn the steaks and cook for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the fish is nicely grilled on the outside. Tuna should still be pink in the center. Salmon should flake easily with a fork and will be opaque.

    Turn
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Bake the Fish

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.

  2. Place the fish in a non-stick baking pan or nonstick oven-safe skillet—salmon should be skin-side down. Place the pan or skillet in the oven.

    Put in frying pan
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Bake salmon for about 12 to 15 minutes and tuna for 8 to 12 minutes. Salmon should be cooked through and will flake easily with a fork inserted into the center and twisted slightly. Tuna should begin to flake but should still be pink in the center. Serve the grilled or baked fish with your favorite sides.

    Bake salmon
    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Enjoy!

Cook Your Fish to a Safe Temperature

Here are the standard temperatures for safely eating tuna and salmon:

  • Fish and shellfish must be cooked to a minimum safe temperature of 145 F (62.8 C).
  • Another way of knowing your fish is cooked safely when grilled or pan-seared is to follow the 10-minute rule per inch of thickness: a steak of 1-inch of thickness should cook on the grill an average of 5 minutes per side.
  • When baking the fish, an instant-read thermometer is a good tool to have at hand.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
839 Calories
58g Fat
2g Carbs
72g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 839
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 58g 74%
Saturated Fat 19g 94%
Cholesterol 250mg 83%
Sodium 1117mg 49%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 72g
Vitamin C 4mg 21%
Calcium 55mg 4%
Iron 4mg 25%
Potassium 1006mg 21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Salmon, Raw. FoodData Central. Published 4/1/2020

  2. Tuna, Raw. FoodData Central. Published 4/1/2020.